Petras Juodka (1919-1978): A Troubled Start in Australia, by Rasa Ščevinksienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

We have written a little about Petras Juodka in the blog entry for Domas Valancius.  After maybe two weeks of fruit-picking in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley for Anton Lenne, he had returned to the Bonegilla camp.  Less than one week later, on 19 February 1948, he was sent to Iron Knob in South Australia.  There he met Domas and trouble.

The Port Augusta District Employment Officer travelled to Iron Knob following a phone call from the Registrar of the Broken Hill Proprietory Limited company, to talk with Broken Hill’s Iron Knob foreman.  Two First Transport arrivals, Domas and Petras, were said to have ‘given quite a lot of trouble on and off the job’.

Disorderly Behaviour

Both had been before the Iron Knob court where they had been fined for disorderly behaviour in a public place.

Petras Juodka around 1947

Source:  Bonegilla Migrant Experience

The foreman told the Employment Officer that Domas was ‘of an argumentative and repulsive nature’.  Domas was considered the leader with Petras a follower, despite Petras having been before the local court one more time than Domas.  The foreman thought that Petras would settle down if separated from Domas.

The local policeman said that he thought it would be necessary to transfer both of the men ‘as there appeared to be a feeling amongst others that there was trouble ahead.’

The Employment official and the foreman then interviewed the two men together.  The Employment official recorded that Petras ‘was very repentant, but (Domas) did not appear to care what happened to him’.

The company agreed to give the men one week’s notice and told them that they would have to pay their own fares to Adelaide in order to visit the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) there.  Their ‘services were terminated’ on 23 September.

Domas had caught the express train eastwards on the night of 25 September.  He had stated that he was returning to the Bonegilla camp.  This would have left Petras on his own in Adelaide, unless he knew how to contact friends from the First Transport.

From Iron Knob to Harbours Board

Petras reported to the CES as directed and was found employment with the SA Harbours Board.  He started there on 27 September, according the Alien Registration card record kept by the Adelaide office of the Department of Immigration.

Someone has made sure that the card also recorded some of the trouble he got into while in Iron Knob. P olice Gazette 39 of 1948 recorded an appearance before the Iron Knob Police Court on 14 September 1948, when he was fined 30 shillings plus 10 shilling costs, a total of 40 shillings or £2, for disorderly behaviour.

The second court appearance is not recorded but a large file from the Department of Immigration’s Adelaide office contains Petras’ original application for citizenship.  Having been told the penalties for not being completely truthful, he recorded all 6 court appearances between 1948 and 1953, plus their consequences.

The first Iron Knob Iron Knob Police Court appearance had been on 21 June 1948, when he was fined 27 shillings and 6 pence (27/6 or £1/7/6) for being drunk.  This would have been in a public place.

More court appearances and fines

He did not calm down in Adelaide, at least, not initially.   Police List 8 had him fined £7 for indecent exposure, which would have been urinating in public, thanks to an appearance in the Adelaide Police Court.

The Adelaide Advertiser newspaper reported the appearance as well, saying that it was on 10 July 1950.  His occupation was given as sawyer.

In his application for citizenship, Petras admitted to having to pay an extra 7/6 for court costs on this occasion.

In the Port Adelaide Police Court of 14 August 1950, according to Police List 9, he was fined a further 10 shillings for being drunk, which also would have been in a public place.

He was still working for the Harbour Board in September 1949 when, in excellent handwriting, he filled out a form labelled Application for Release from Period of Exemption.  In more than 25 years of researching the First Transport arrivals, this is the first time that Ann has seen such a form on one of National Archives’ files.  The form was dated 27 September 1949 and, like most of the other arrivals, Petras was granted his release 3 days later.

Petras Juodka's completed Application for Release from Exemption form;
the result of a successful application was a Certificate of Authority to Remain in Australia
click once on image for a more legible version 

Source:  National Archives of Australia

The Alien Registration card record kept by the Department of Immigration in Adelaide then has an undated transfer to General Motors Holden (GMH), Woodville, and a total of 5 residential address for the period from April 1950 to February 1951.

He then had 2 changes of employment, to the Shell petroleum company in April 1951 and back to the Harbour Board about 2 weeks later.  In July 1952, he was back to GMH as a machine operator.

A Re-entry Permit

The Adelaide Immigration office’s file shows that, in June 1952, Petras applied for a re-entry permit, that is, permission to come back into Australia if he left.  His reason for the application was that he wanted to be away for 2-3 years to get his seaman’s ticket on a foreign ship before joining the Australian merchant marine.

Petras' 1952 photo for his Application for a Re-entry Permit

Source:  National Archives of Australia

The Department did issue a Re-entry Permit to Petras, but it never was used.  Perhaps an Immigration official took the time to explain to him that any time outside Australia would be deducted from the 5 years required to obtain Australian citizenship.  The next papers on his file are the several pages of his citizenship application form, completed on 14 January 1953.

Dairy Farming But More Trouble

In early December 1952, he had had a change of scenery.  He had left urban Adelaide to became a labourer on a dairy farm operated by H Brown at Nangkita, on the Fleurieu Peninsula.  Nangkita is still around 80 Km and 75 minutes by road from Petras’ previous address in Adelaide.  While the change of employment was noted, a change of address was not, unless it was assumed that the address of H Brown at Nangkita was sufficient.

The record of misbehaviour published by the Adelaide Advertiser does not stop though. On 14 January 1953, the date that he completed his naturalisation application, he had been found by the police hammering on a door in the suburb where he used to live, Semaphore.

When the occupant of the house told him to go away, he shouted, “I’m cold and I want shelter”.  He was fined £3 and had to pay an additional 7/6 court costs.  Presumably there would have been additional charges if the police had judge that he had been drinking.  His address was given as Nangkita.

He may well have felt that the next move, away from Nangkita, was a great opportunity, since it was to a winery.   His new employer, as of April 1953, was Hamilton Wines of Glenelg, in inner urban Adelaide.   He lasted less than 5 weeks there though, as it was back to GMH in May.

He changed his home address 5 months later, then moved to what may have become a permanent employer, the South Australian Railways, in July 1954.  At first he was employed as a porter, someone moving heavy luggage and freight, in Port Adelaide. Then came what seems to have been a longterm move, with the Railways to Port Lincoln.

Port Lincoln is around 650 Km by road from the northern Adelaide suburbs and nearly 7 hours away. Perhaps Petras had removed himself from bad influences. His date of arrival there, as recorded on his citizenship application, was 30 December 1954.

Citizenship and the Army

For some reason not explained by the papers on file, he was sent a form letter on 16 January 1953, stating that he would not be eligible to apply for citizenship unless he continued to reside continuously in Australia for another two years.

As a former Immigration official, Ann can work out that he was eligible to apply from 28 or 29 November 1953. Admittedly, he had applied early, a good sign, but was misdirected by officialdom, bad practice.

On 15 March in the same year, he wrote to the Department of Immigration to say that he was interested in joining the Army.  He had attended a recruiting office but there was told that he should be in contact with the Department of Immigration.

The reply he received said that he should present his receipt for his Declaration of Intention to become Naturalised to the recruiting centre.  The Department thought that this would be sufficient for enlistment, if the Army found him otherwise eligible.

What motivated him to want to join the Army, after a previously expressed desire to join the merchant marine?  Was he just a restless person, as suggested by the changes of employment listed on the Department’s Alien Registration card?

Yet more trouble

Later the same year, he gave a Cheltenham address in suburban Adelaide and a press operator occupation when he appeared before a court yet again.  This time the charge was offensive behaviour in a Port Adelaide hotel on 12 September.  He admitted the charge and was fined £2/10/- and ordered to pay another £1/8/6 court costs.

This was the last court appearance to be reported by Petras himself, or the police.  However, it was not the end of his appearances in the press, with the Port Lincoln Times taking over the role of the Advertiser.

A list of Petras' offences supplied to the Department of Immigration by the police

Source:  National Archives of Australia

Port Lincoln and Citizenship

On 15 March 1955, following the incorrect previous advice from the Department of Immigration, he wrote to ask what he now needed to do to obtain citizenship.  He was sent the appropriate forms and told about the requirement to advertise his intention in two newspapers circulating where he lived.

On 7 July, the Department of Immigration wrote to the CES, asking that it make someone available in Port Lincoln to interview Petras.  That interview took place during that month.

He gave his previous occupation as labourer or deckhand.  The second would explain the interest in returning to shipboard life evinced in June 1952.

At the time of the interview, he was described as a porter for South Australian Railways, living in the South Australian Railways Hostel.

The Port Lincoln Times carried an advertisement, also on 7 July, in which he was seeking somewhere to live other than his current home in the Hostel.  Of particular interest is his description of himself as “respectable sober gent”.  He must have really cleaned up his act in the 21 months since his last court appearance!

Looking for somewhere else to live
Source:  Port Lincoln Times through Trove

Yes, all of that offending did interfere with Petras’ application to become an Australian citizen.  The Adelaide office of the Department of Immigration referred the application to its Canberra head office in January 1956.  Two weeks later, Canberra wanted more details.  Adelaide replied that it was due primarily to drinking.  Petras had not been recorded adversely in the 3 years prior to February 1956 (if the 12 September 1953 conviction for offensive behaviour in a hotel was ignored).

On 7 May 1956, Petras was sent a letter which said that “… the Minister has decided to withhold the grant of naturalization (sic) to you for a period of twelve months.”  He was not told why this decision had been taken or what would make a difference at the end of the twelve-month period.

On 7 October 1956, Petras wrote to the Adelaide office enclosing another letter which he wanted to be sent to the Minister for Immigration.  No copy of the second letter is on file.  The second letter was forwarded to the Department’s Canberra office with a note that said he had not been recorded adversely since 18 November 1953.

The public record does not say anything about an 18 November charge or conviction. Nor, for that matter, does the list of 6 offences to which Petras admitted on his application or the police version above.  This ends, as does the public record on 14 (rather than 12) September 1953.

On 22 March 1957, Petras wrote again, asking to revive his application for naturalisation.

Railway Injury

Petras had moved to Port Lincoln, but not away from trouble.  The Port Lincoln Times reported on 6 September 1956 that he had been badly injured when coupling railway trucks on a jetty.  Two fingers on his right hand were crushed by coupling hooks.  The injury was treated in the local hospital.

He responded to the hospital treatment by inserting an advertisement in the same 6 September issue of the Port Lincoln Times, thanking the doctor and nursing staff who had helped him after the accident.  He started, “I am grateful to all those very good Australian people …” and ended, “… that further obliges me for a greater contribution to this country.”

Petras (Peter) thanks all who helped him
Source:  Port Lincoln Times through Trove

What we don't know is whether he was recovering from his injury or, indeed, has lost those two fingers.

Citizenship, Finally!

The last Port Lincoln Times report is the most positive.  Petras was one of 13 people to receive Australian citizenship at a ceremony led by the Mayor of Port Lincoln on 5 December 1957.  That’s 10 years to the day since he was travelling across the Great Australian Bight on the temporary warship, the Kanimbla.

Had he really given up alcohol?  He certainly had learned to moderate his behaviour, as we know of no more court appearances.  The overuse of alcohol was almost certainly connected with what he had experienced in 5 years of war, with 2 more years in an occupied but still troubled Germany no help either.

It should be possible to follow any further changes of residence through an Ancestry.com account, since Ancestry has digitised all electoral rolls for Australia up to 1980.  However, checking using all three known spelling variants of Petras' surname (see below) produced no results.  This suggests that having been granted Australian citizenship, Petras failed to accept its major obligation, to enrol for elections and vote, at both the State and Federal levels.

In Germany

On his citizenship application form, Petras had written that left Lithuania and arrived in Germany on the same day, 7 July 1944.  This probably seemed easier than explaining how it may have taken several days to travel from the Lithuanian border to Germany, avoiding bombing and gunfire from the Soviets, the Germans and the Allies.

His name appeared in a list of Lithuanians searching for others in a Lithuanian language newspaper, published in Augsburg, Germany, in January 1946.  The notice indicates that, at that time, he was living in Karolinenschloschen, Bad Aibling.

Karolinenschloschen means Caroline’s Little Palace in English.  If his DP camp really was in a former palace, it must have been an interesting place in which to live.

Bad Aibling is a spa town in the far south of Germany, between Munich and Salzburg, the latter in Austria.  He had managed to get as far away from the Soviets as he could go, without crossing mountains into Austria or Switzerland.

An American Expeditionary Force (AEF) DP Registration form filled out at the very end of 1945 tells us that Petras was born on 2 March 1919, so he was 26 years old at the time.  His parents were recorded as “Johann”, probably meaning Jonas in Lithuanian, and Aniela, the latter being an equivalent of Angela.

Life in Lithuania

He had been born in Serasai, according to the AEF form, probably meaning Zerasai in northeastern Lithuania.  His place of birth on the application form for migration to Australia was recorded oddly as Rainiai-Salakas, 2 towns in the north of Lithuania which are nearly 300 Km apart by road.  Zerasai is less than 30 Km from Salakas, so more likely to be the birthplace.

His usual occupation on the AEF form was farmer.  In mid-October 1947, the Australian selection panel’s report recorded that he had only 3 years of primary schooling but 2 more years at a commercial school.  His previous occupation was not recorded on the application form, where his current occupation was said to be general labourer.

Languages

Neither form nominated English as one of Petras’ languages, although he had Polish as well as Lithuanian.  We have to hope that he attended Edna Davis’ classes on board the Heintzelman.  Problems with understanding those around him in Australia would have added to his psychological difficulties.

On the other hand, the letters that he clearly wrote himself, since all are in the same script and use the same ink colour, indicate somewhere who had learned to express himself well – if not with complete fluency – in English by the mid-1950s.

Later years

After so much publicity for Petras in his first 10 years in Australia, the record goes quiet.  That’s apart from 2 appearances in Australia’s Lithuanian-language press.  Mūsų Pastogė, in a September 1968 edition, published a letter from Petras.  He noted the approach of the 48th anniversary of Poland seizing the Lithuanian capital city, Vilnius, in October 1920, and thanked 2 Adelaide residents who he said had participated in the return of Vilnius to Lithuania in October 1939.

He signed himself as a dragoon of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union, a soldier of the Lithuanian Self-Defense Units of the Homeland Protection Team, and a member of the ex-servicemen’s organisation, Ramovė.

In November 1973, he offered to finance the restoration of the missing metal Vilnius city coat of arms in the Lithuanian Land Monument in the churchyard of St Casimir's Church. St Casimir’s is the Lithuanian Catholic community’s church in Adelaide.

Death

Finally, Tėviškės aidai in its issue of 4 March 1978, carried a sentence about recent deaths in Adelaide.  This included Petra Jotka (sic), who had died on 17 February 1978. He was said to be 60 years old but, given several records of his birthdate on different forms, he would have been 58, 2 weeks short of his 59th birthday.  He had returned to Adelaide, to his previous suburb of Semaphore.

It looks like the earlier hard living had caught up with Petras.

CITE THIS AS:  Ščevinksienė, Rasa and Tündern-Smith, Ann (2026) 'Petras Juodka (1919-1978):  A Troubled Start in Australia' 

SOURCES

Note: Petras' surname has 3 variants in the sources, even in the Lithuanian language: Juodka, Juotka and Jotka.

Advertiser (1950) ‘Charge Admitted’ Adelaide, SA, 11 July, p 11 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44919776, accessed 26 January 2026.

Advertiser (1953) ‘Unlawfully On Premises’ Adelaide, SA, 16 January, p 5 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/47526251, accessed 26 January 2026.

Advertiser (1953) ‘Offensive Behaviour’ Adelaide, SA, 15 September, p 7 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48928540, accessed 26 January 2026.

Billion Graves ‘Petras Juodka’ https://billiongraves.com/grave/Petras-Juodka/44357799, accessed 27 January 2026.

Bonegilla Migrant Experience, ‘Petras Juodka’ Bonegilla Identity Card Lookup, https://idcards.bonegilla.org.au/record/203731915, accessed 26 January 2026.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (1958) ‘Certificates of Naturalization (sic)’ Canberra, ACT, 18 September, p 3099 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240882136/25977671, accessed 27 January 2026.

Find a Grave ‘Petras “Peter” Juodka’ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151279180/petras-juodka, accessed 27 January 2026.

‘Folder DP1689, names from JUNOS, BARBARA to JUOZUVAITIS, Otonas (1)’ 3.1.1 Registration and Care of DPs inside and outside of Camps, DocID: 67523592, ITS/Arolsen archives https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/67523592, accessed 26 January 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (1968) ‘Padėka‘ (‘Gratitude’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 2 September, p 6 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1968/1968-09-02-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 27 January 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-1947; 556, JUODKA Petras DOB 2 March 1919, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005792, accessed 27 January 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D400, Correspondence files, annual single number series with 'SA' and 'S' prefix, 1949-1965; SA1956/8813, JUODKA PETRAS, 1949-1957 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=31672421, accessed 27 January 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D401, Correspondence files, multiple number series with 'SA' prefix, 1946-49; SA1948/3/512, VALANCUS Domas - application for admission of relative or friend to Australia - KLINGBEIL Loni, 1948-53 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=12455258, accessed 27 January 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D4878, Alien registration documents, alphabetical series, 1937-1965; JUODKA P, JUODKA Petras - Nationality: Lithuanian - Arrived Fremantle per General Stuart Heintzelman 28 November 1947, 1947-1957 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4078212, accessed 27 January 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D4881, Alien registration cards, alphabetical series, 1946-1976; JUODKA PETRAS, JUODKA Petras - Nationality: Lithuanian - Arrived Melbourne per General Stuart Heintzelman 28 November 1947, 1947-1957 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=9181028, accessed 27 January 2026

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; JUODKA PETRAS, JUODKA, Petras : Year of Birth - 1919 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 930, 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203731915, accessed 27 January 2026.

News (1953) ‘Laborer (sic) fined £3’ Adelaide, SA, 15 January, p 3 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130926042, accessed 26 January 2026.

Port Lincoln Times (1955) (Advertising) Port Lincoln, SA, 7 July, p 8 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/266921092?searchTerm=p.%20juodka, accessed 26 January 2026.

Port Lincoln Times (1956) ‘Shunter Injured’ Port Lincoln, SA, 6 September, p 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/267051164, accessed 26 January 2026.

Port Lincoln Times (1956) 'Expression of Thanks' Port Lincoln, SA, 6 September, p 2, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/267051150, accessed 28 January 2026.

Port Lincoln Times (1957) ‘They Want to be Australians’ Port Lincoln, SA, 21 November, p 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/267059474, accessed 26 January 2026.

Tėviškės aidai (Echoes of Homeland) (1973) ‘Adelaidės kronika‘ (‘Adelaide Chronicle’, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 6 November, p 6 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1973/1973-nr43-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 27 January 2026.

Tėviškės aidai (Echoes of Homeland) (1978) ‘Iš mūsų parapijų, Adelaide’ (‘From Our Parishes, Adelaide’, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 4 March, p 8 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1978/1978-nr08-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 27 January 2026.

Wikipedia, Bad Aibling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Aibling, accessed 27 January 2026.

Ziburai (Lights in Darkness) (1946) ‘Paieškojimai‘ (‘Searches’, in Lithuanian) Augsburg, Germany, 19 January, p 9 https://spauda2.org/dp/dpspaudinys_ziburiai/archive/1946-01-19-ZIBURIAI.pdf, accessed 26 January 2026.

Albinas Kutka (1908-1992), Master Builder and Benefactor, by Rasa Ščevinskienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

Updated 4 October 2025.

Most of the Displaced Persons from the First Transport sent to South Australia to work stayed there, even after their obligation to work where directed finished on 30 September 1949. Albinas Kutka was different: he moved to Sydney. From the suburb of Canterbury he moved to Bankstown, a suburb with its own airport for light aviation. Undeterred by the noise, he moved even closer to Bankstown Airport, in Condell Park.

Albinas was able to get recognition from the authorities as a master builder. Together with fellow Lithuanian, Vytautas Mickevičius, he was responsible for the construction of a Lithuanian retirement village in the far south of Sydney, Engadine. Rather than being adjacent to an airport, this location is adjacent to Royal National Park, Australia’s first, and only the second in the world after Yellowstone in the USA.

In old age, Albinas sold the Condell Park home and moved into one of his own buildings in the Lithuanian retirement home in Engadine.

Albinas' youth

He had been born on 9 April 1908 in the village of Lukniai, near Vyzuonos in the Utena district. He was one of 6 children, 4 boys and 2 girls, born to farmers Kazimieras Kutka and Agota Kutkienė, whose maiden name was Macionytė.

Albinas lived all of his youth on the family farm until called away for military service at the age of 21. He earned the rank of junior sergeant. Eight years later, in 1937, he again was drafted into the army to refresh his training. He continued to work on the farm until the beginning of World War II. When the Soviet entered Lithuania for the second time, in 1944, he retreated to Germany.

Albinas Kutka's ID photo on his Bonegilla card

Source:  National Archives of Australia

Albinas in Germany

The Arolsen Archives hold 4 documents naming Albinas, 3 of which understate his age by exactly 10 years. What can be gleaned from them is that he was in Munich between 13 August 1945 and 6 February 1946, during which his occupation was Waldarbeiter, forest worker or woodcutter or, in American, lumberjack. He also lived for a while in a town called Vilsbiburg, which is just under 90 Km northeast of Munich, and Stade, a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany, at the opposite end of his country of refuge.

His American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Displaced Person’s registration record was filled out on 23 August 1945, but the place where it was completed is blank (unless P.A.P.Cl. 124 still can be decoded*). Another date on this form is of interest though, because its month and year suggest that 10 August 1944 was the date that he reached Germany, that is, almost one year before he was recorded in Munich. Given that its Arolsen Archives’ DeepLink number is just one more than the form which states that he is in Stade, this city may well be where he was registered as a Displaced Person.

The AEF recorded his preferred occupation not as farmer, like his father, but Tischler, German for carpenter.  Possibly he had done a lot of building on his parents' farm.

It is possible that he moved from Stade to the Munich district to get as far away as possible from the Soviet occupiers of eastern Germany and his homeland. He reported for interview by the first Australian migration selection team at the Buchholtz DP camp, though, in the centre of western Germany. 

He impressed the team enough to be included in the First Transport, departing Bremerhaven on 30 October 1947.  At 39 years, he was one of the older passengers.

Albinas and the Sawmill

Albinas’ first job in Australia was in Backhouse, Roebuck Pty. Ltd., The Bonegilla card records this company as being located in a placed called Megan, which sounds more like a girl’s name than a place name to a modern Australian. It really does exist, though, as a community hall and the remains of a railway station, inland of Coff’s Harbour in New South Wales.

The nearest town to Megan is Dorrigo, the headquarters of Backhouse, Roebuck according to a search of digitised newspapers on the National Library of Australia’s Trove Website. The company owned sawmills. 

Albinas left the Bonegilla camp for one of them in 21 January 1948, in a group of 7 men. He was back at the Bonegilla migrant centre on 11March 1948 together with another Lithuanian member of the group, Juozas Bazys, and a Latvian member of the group who was 16-20 years younger than the Lithuanians, Nikolaus Kucina.

Assuming that it took at least a couple of days to travel from Bonegilla by bus or car to Albury, then by train to Sydney, then to Megan if the station was operative in 1948, Albinas, Juozas and Nikolaus had put up with the conditions offered by Backhouse, Roebuck for less than 7 weeks. It was not the type of working with wood that Albinas preferred.

Albinas to Iron Knob

All 3 were sent off to Iron Knob, in South Australia, on 16 March, together with a fourth man who also had given up a career as a sawmill hand. The fourth man was a Latvian, Peteris Mesters, who had been sent to Northern Timbers, Pty Ltd, of Johnson’s Creek, New South Wales. Not surprisingly, Google Maps now can find 10 localities of this name in NSW, only 2 of which are in Sydney. Two certainly are northern, being on the border with Queensland.

Just before WWII, Iron Knob had been described as the largest known deposit of high-grade iron ore in the world. Broken Hill Pty Ltd – but now simply BHP – had commenced mining in the area in 1900.

The group of Lithuanians working at Iron Knob understood the importance of having a newspaper in their own language. They organised a collection to support the creation of Australijos lietuvis (Australian Lithuanian). The newspaper thanked them as its first sponsors on 12 September 1948. Albinas had donated ₤1 of the total of £8/5/- given by 10 Lithuanians.

Working together surely brought the Lithuanians there closer together. Even after they left Iron Knob, they kept in touch. For instance, 3 of them advertised on 23 May 1949 in the newspaper Australijos lietuvis that their friend Jonas Puslys, together with Olga Vainoryte, had created a Lithuanian family, so they congratulated them and wish them a sunny life. The three were Rasa’s grandfather, Adomas, and Albinas Kutka as well as Petras Juodka. By May 1949 they were not no longer working together, because Adomas for one was living already in Adelaide.

Jonas Puslys had not gone with the others to Iron Knob though. He started his working like in Australia as a fruit-picker, then had been sent to Australian Newsprint Mills’ Boyer plant in Tasmania. It looks like the connection between these four is earlier than work in Australia. None of them were in the Scouts, so perhaps it goes back to the same camp in Germany or the same locality in Lithuania.

It also looks like these men, along with Povilas Laurinavičius, had discovered the Australian postal system, and it was working for them. Actually, buying stamps and posting letters was sure to have been one of the “Australian way of life” topics covered in the Bonegilla camp English language classes.

Albinas to Adelaide

An Alien Registration record card for Albinas shows that he was released from his contract to work as directed in Australia on 30 September 1949, along with most of the others who came on the First Transport. His next place of employment was the Pier Hotel in Glenelg, suburban Adelaide, alongside Povilas Laurinavičius. Then it was off to 3 Robert Street, Canterbury, New South Wales, an address reported to the Department of Immigration on 27 June 1951.

Albinas to Sydney

Why did Albinas not stay in Adelaide like most of the others sent to South Australia to work out their contract? Another Kutka, Antanas, came to Australia from Germany on the Protea, arriving on 30 September 1948. He was sent to Sydney’s Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board to work. From the information available to us, we cannot tell if they were related but, since both were born in the Utena district, we cannot dismiss this possibility either.

If they were related and communicating with each other, then perhaps from Antanas' description of life in Sydney, Albinas thought he would do better there than in Adelaide.

We know already that he moved from the initial Canterbury address to Bankstown, a suburb with its own airport for light aviation. Undeterred by the noise, he moved to a home even closer to Bankstown Airport, in Condell Park.

On 3 December 1953, the Mūsų pastogė (Our Haven) newspaper reported that Albinas was in his second year of successful house construction in Bankstown. The reporter added (in Lithuanian, of course) “His example shows what can be achieved with determination and initiative.”

Ten months later, in October 1954, he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. Mūsų pastogė wrote (in Lithuanian) “His face was injured, his head was cut open, and his bicycle was smashed. After spending several days in the hospital, Alb. Kutka returned home.”

Albinas acquired Australian citizenship on 22 June 1967. His address at the time, 47 Cragg Street, Condell Park, shows that he now owned his own home, probably built or updated with his own hands.

Sydney's Lithuanian Retirement Village

Ona Baužienė started campaigning for land on which to build a Lithuanian retirement village when she became the chairwoman of the Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Services Association in 1967. We have just met through her recollections 30 years later of meeting the First Transport Lithuanians in the Bonegilla camp.

Her committee started an intensive program of fundraising through catering for community events, raffles and the like. In 1970, the Association was granted land at Engadine on a permanent basis on condition that it be solely used for housing the elderly.

Work on the first two buildings started in 1975 after signing a contract with the builders Albinas Kutka and Vytautas Mickevičius.  A community centre finished in 1978 was financed entirely by the Association’s fundraising plus donations. It included a kitchen, dining room and library.  The remaining 17 residential buildings, for up to two residents each, were completed in 1981, thanks this time to funding from the NSW Government as well as the Association’s efforts.

Albinas (extreme left) and Vytautas Mickevičius help to celebrate the 
completion of the buildings

The topping-out wreath and 2 village buildings, 1981

Source:  Mūsų Pastogė

The official opening was on 19 August 1984. The builders, Albinas and Vytautas, brought their topping-out wreath to the opening.

Albinas the Benefactor

Mūsų pastogė advised in April 1982 that Albinas Kutka, a well-known Lithuanian builder recognized by the Australians as a "master builder", had become seriously ill recently and has been hospitalized for a major operation. The patient was recovering rapidly and hoped to return to his home in Bankstown soon. Albinas Kutka was known to local Lithuanians as a generous supporter of the Lithuanian cause.

The words “Albinas Kutka was known to local Lithuanians as a generous supporter” were very accurate, because he had been donating unreservedly to many Lithuanian activities. Messages and thanks from the newspapers can confirm this. Here are some examples.

• Mūsų Pastogė, 12 May 1980: student A. Binkevičius received $200, of which $100 was donated by builder Albinas Kutka.
• Tėviškės aidai, 21 November 1981: “The always quiet and sincere Lithuanian, Albinas Kutka", sent a donation of $100 to the Daina Choir.
• Tėviškės aidai, 20 March 1986: On the occasion of February 16 (Lithuania’s Independence Day) compatriots in Sydney and the surrounding area supported Lithuania’s freedom struggle with their sincere donations. Albinas Kutka’s donation $50 was the largest individual amount received.
• Mūsų Pastogė, 25 October 1988: A. Kutka donated $100 for the trip of Lithuanian dissident, Professor Vytautas Skuodis. Again, this was the largest individual donation.

  

  The photo which accompanied Albinas' obituary
  

  Source:  Mūsų Pastogė

Albinas' Last Years

Albinas was already in his mid-70s when the village was opened.  He sold his own house and settled into a unit he had built himself. Since Albinas was single, it was more stimulating for him to live there among Lithuanian acquaintances. In his last four years of his life, his health deteriorated. Doctors recognised his condition as difficult to treat. In the end, he received care in a nearby Calvary (Catholic) nursing home.

Albinas Kutka died on 13 September 1992, and was buried in Catholic Section of the Rookwood cemetery. During his final illness, Albinas was cared for by his neighbour and friend Vincas Kondrackas and his wife. They also took care of the funeral arrangements.

FOOTNOTE:  Perhaps P.A.P.Cl. 124 can be decoded.  Recently I happened upon a list of DP Camps by Team No on the <dpcamps.org> Website.  While it doesn't explain P.A.P.Cl., it does say that Team 124 was located in München, that is, Munich, where other evidence places Albinas also.

SOURCES

‘A.E.F. D.P. Registration Record, Albinas Kutka’, 3.1.1 Registration and Care of DPs inside and outside of Camps, DocID: 67941909, ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives, https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/search/person/67941909?s=Kutka&t=2739669&p=0, accessed 21 September 2025.

Australijos Lietuvis, (Australian Lithuanian) (1948) ‘Pirmieji Mūsų Rėmėjai’ (‘Our First Sponsors’, in Lithuanian) https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280321942, accessed 21 September 2025.

Australian Cemetery Index, ‘Kutka’, https://austcemindex.com/?family_name=kutka, accessed 21 September 2025.

'Australian Lithuanian History, Australian Lithuanian newspaper’ https://salithohistory.blogspot.com/2008/12/, accessed 21 September 2025.

Bonegilla Identity Card Lookup, ‘Albinas Kutka’, https://idcards.bonegilla.org.au/record/203624970, accessed 21 September 2025.

‘CM/1 264719, Family name, Kutka, Citizenship, Lith’, 3.1.1 Registration and Care of DPs inside and outside of Camps, DocID: 67941908, ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives, https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/67941908, accessed 21 September 2025.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (1967) ‘Certificates of Naturalization’ Canberra, 2 June, p 5863 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241018768, accessed 21 September 2025.

Dainos Choro Valdyba (Daina Choir Board) (1981) ‘Sydnėjuje, Dainos Chore‘ (‘In Sydney, Daina Choir’ in Lithuanian) Tėviškės Aidai, (The Echoes of Homeland) Melbourne, 21 November, p 8 https://spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1981/1981-11-21-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

Elektroninio archyvo informacinė Sistema (Electronic Archive Information System, in Lithuanian with some English) ‘Utenos dekanato bažnyčių gimimo metrikų knyga’ (‘Birth register book of churches in the Utena deanery’, in Lithuanian ) (1908, Vyzuonos church, page 113, baptism record number 51, Albinas Kutka) https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/share/?manifest=https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/view/267507212/276386482/lt/iiif/manifest&lang=lt&page=113, accessed 21 September 2025.

Elektroninio archyvo informacinė Sistema (Electronic Archive Information System, in Lithuanian with some English) ‘Utenos dekanato bažnyčių gimimo metrikų knyga’ (‘Birth register book of churches in the Utena deanery’, in Lithuanian) (1899, Gaižiūnai church, page 71, baptism record number 158, Antanas Kutka) phttps://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/share/?manifest=https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/view/267506507/276386475/lt/iiif/manifest&lang=lt&page=71

Find A Grave, ‘Albinas Kutka’ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149476069/albinas-kutka, accessed 21 September 2025.

Juodka, Petras, Ivanauskas, Adomas and Albinas Kutka (1949) ‘Drauga Jona Pūsli …’ (‘Friend Jonas Puslis … ’, in Lithuanian) Australijos Lietuvis (The Australian Lithuanian) Adelaide, 23 May, p 22, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280321235, accessed 21 September 2025.

‘Land/Stadt/Kreis Vilsbiburg, Form 10, ITS 247’, 2.1.1 American Zone of Occupation in Germany, DocID: 70255471, https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/70255471, accessed 21 September 2025.

‘München Kreis, Kategorie III, Form 7’, 2.1.1 American Zone of Occupation in Germany, DocID: 70073263, ITS Digital Archive, Arolsen Archives, https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/70073263, accessed 21 September 2025. [Also at https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/search/person/70073530.]

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven)(1954) ‘Sydnėjus’ (‘Sydney’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, 27 October, p 4 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/259359692, accessed 21 September 2025.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1980) ‘Redakcijos pastaba’ (‘Editor’s Note’) Sydney, 12 May, p 3 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1980/1980-05-12-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1988) ‘Aukos’ (‘Victims’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, 25 October, p 7, https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1988/1988-10-25-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Western Australian Branch; PP482/1, Correspondence files [nominal rolls], single number series, 1926-1952; 82, GENERAL HEINTZELMAN - arrived Fremantle 28 November 1947 - nominal rolls of passengers, 1947-1952 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=439196, accessed 21 September 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Labour and National Service, Central Office; MT29/1, Employment Service Schedules, 1947-1950; 21, Schedule of displaced persons who left the Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla Victoria for employment in the State of South Australia - [Schedule no SA1 to SA31], 1948-1950, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=23150376, accessed 21 September 2025.

Rep (1953) ‘Bankstownas’ (‘Bankstown’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) Sydney, 3 December, p 4 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1953/1953-12-03-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

Reisgienė, Martina (trans. Petras Viržintas) (2024) ‘Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Services Assoc. Inc‘, SLIC (Sydney Lithuanian Information Centre) https://www.slic.org.au/Community/sydlithwomen.htm, accessed 21 September 2025.

Tėviškės Žiburiai (The Lights of Homeland) (1984) ‘Australija, Oficialus Lietuvių sodybos atidarymas‘ (‘Australia, Official Opening of the Lithuanian Home’) Mississauga, Ontario, 2 October, p 4 https://spauda.org/teviskes_ziburiai/archive/1984/1984-10-02-TEVISKES-ZIBURIAI.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

Valdyba (The Board) (1981) ‘Vainikuota Lietiivių Sodyba’ (‘The Topped-Out Lithuanian Home’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) Sydney, 5 July, p 5 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1981/1981-07-05-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025.

Vinevičius, A. (1992) ‘Mūsų mirusieji, Su Ramovėnu A. Kutka Atsisveikinant’ (Our Dead, Farewell to Ramovė Member A. Kutka’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven), Sydney, 28 September, p 7 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1992/1992-09-28-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 September 2025

Wikipedia, ‘Stade’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade, accessed 25 September 2025.

Wikipedia, ‘Topping Out’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topping_out, accessed 25 September 2025.

Wikipedia, ‘Vilsbiburg’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilsbiburg, accessed 25 September 2025.

Domas Valancius (1922-1980): A wanderer who died young by Rasa Ščevinskienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

Domas Valancius was born in Pauosniai village, Plunge district, Lithuania, on 21 June 1922, to peasant parents Jonas and Ona Valancius. Ona’s maiden name was Grismanauskaite.

Domas’ name was Dominykas on the birth record, but he probably chose the shorter version of Domas to make it easier to say and spell. English language equivalents would be Dominic for Dominykas and Dom for Domas.

Domas Valancius' birth record on 21 June 1922, in Plunge church, Lithuania

Source: Lithuanian State Historical Archives

From an Arolsen Archives record, we know that Domas Valancius was in the British zone after World War II ended. During the War, from 6 December 1943 to 31 March 1945 he had worked for the Gerwerkschaft Dorn in Herne, Germany. The Gerwerkschaft Dorn produced screws, nuts and rivets for the mining industry, the railways and the bridge, ship, wagon, vehicle and agricultural machinery construction industries. It is highly likely that Domas had not volunteered for this work but had been sent to it under some form of military escort.

The entrance to the Gerwerkschaft Dorn on Dornstraße in 1921

Source:  Herne von damals bis heute

Domas appears to have been interviewed twice about his interest in resettling in Australia, on 6 and 10 October. The form used for his 6 October interview did not ask him about his education, but it did ask for his occupation and the length of time for which he had been engaged in this. The interviewers recorded that he was a factory worker who had been doing this type of work for 4 years.

At the time of the interview, he was living in a Displaced Persons’ camp in Solingen, about one hour’s drive south of Herne. If he was working still in a factory, it was quite likely to be one in Solingen, famous since mediaeval times for the manufacture of blades, starting with sword blades.

The form did ask for Domas’ previous occupation, to which the typed answer was ‘nil’. This suggests that he was student whose studies, like those of so many others, were interrupted abruptly by the German military seizing him to work for them. At least it was a factory in his case, not digging ditches under fire.

The 10 October form did ask about his education, which elicited a ‘4 years of primary school’ answer, basic for a Lithuanian of Domas’ age. If you knew that Australia was looking for labourers, you would not want to boast about your higher education. Perhaps that is why Domas did not give more information.

Domas' identity photo from his selection papers
Source:  NAA: A11772, VALANCUS DOMAS

He left Bremerhaven for Australia with 842 other Baltic refugees on the USAT General Stuart Heintzelman on 30 October 1947 and on 28 November 1947 he arrived to Australia.

From the General Heintzelman nominal rolls of passengers it is known that Domas’ last place of residence in Germany was in the city of Lintorf. His Bonegilla card noted that he had a fiancee, Loni Klingbeil, who was living in Wuppertal-Hammerstein, Germany.

Domas’ first job in Australia was in Western Sawmilling Pty Ltd, in Rylstone, NSW. He left Bonegilla camp on 20 January 1948 for Rylstone. This is still a small town on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, behind Newcastle. Only 3 men were sent to this employer, the other 2 being Rasa’s grandfather, Adomas Ivanauskas and an Estonian, Leonard Jaago.

Leonard must have felt put out if the two Lithuanians started to talk to each other in their native tongue, but at least he could ask them in German to tell him what they were discussing.

Domas was being paid a wage of £6/2/6 per week, more than some others were getting in their new jobs. He and Adomas might have found the work or the management disagreeable, though, because they returned to the Bonegilla camp on 12 April 1948. Maybe the volume of work had run down. Regardless of Domas’ and Adomas’ reasons, Leonard stayed behind at Rylstone.

The Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) staff in the camp knew immediately what to do with the two returning men. They were added to the group being sent 3 days later to Iron Knob in South Australia to work with a company then known as Broken Hill Proprietory Limited – but now simply BHP.

The group of 12 included Romualdas Zeronas, about whom we have written already for this blog. Rasa thinks that Domas and her grandfather would have become friends by now, especially as they left Rylstone together, and they would have included Romualdas in their friendship.

A new paper, Australijos lietuvis, carried a notice about supporting it with donations of money on 12 September 1948. The group of Lithuanians working in the Iron Knob mines immediately understood that they needed to help. After receiving their wages, they put together a pile of money and sent it to the newspaper. One of them was Domas Valancius, who donated 5 shillings.

Domas had first written to the Minister for Immigration about sponsoring his fiancé to move to Australia on 10 February 1948, that is, just over 2 months after arriving at the Bonegilla camp and 3 weeks after leaving it for Rylstone. A file was raised for the first letter and any ensuing correspondence, as was normal Australian Public Service practice. The existence of this file means that we have a report from the Port Augusta District Employment Officer to his superior in Adelaide, dated 21 September 1948, about Domas and another Lithuanian from the First Transport, Petras Juodka.

The Employment Officer, EJ Puddy, wrote that he had travelled to Iron Knob following a phone discussion with the Registrar of the Broken Hill Proprietory Limited company. There he had first talked with Broken Hill’s Iron Knob foreman. Both Domas and Petras were said to have ‘given quite a lot of trouble on and off the job’.

Both had been before the Iron Knob court where they had been fined for disorderly behaviour in a public place. This had been the result of a brawl in Broken Hill’s mess rooms. It is interesting that a privately owned place was considered a public place for the purpose of the court appearance, unless the brawl continued on a public road outside.

Puddy reported that the foreman had told him that Domas was ‘of an argumentative and repulsive nature’. Domas was considered the leader with Petras a follower, despite Petras having been before the local court one more time than Domas. The foreman thought that Petras would settle down if separated from Domas.

The local policeman told Puddy that he thought it would be necessary to transfer both of the men ‘as there appeared to be a feeling amongst others that there was trouble ahead.’

Puddy and the foreman then interviewed the two men together. Puddy wrote that Petras ‘was very repentant, but (Domas) did not appear to care what happened to him’.

The company agreed to give the men one week’s notice and told them that they would have to pay their own fares to Adelaide in order to visit the CES there. Their ‘services were terminated’ on 23 September.

A handwritten note from an official using initials only reports that Domas, saying that he wished to return to Germany, had caught the express train eastwards on the night of 25 September. He had stated that he was returning to the Bonegilla camp. The purpose of the note was to instruct others to take no further action on Domas’ wish to sponsor his fiancé to Australia until they knew more about his plans.

And that what appears to have happened. There was no further action, although Domas had found a guarantor for Loni among his Australian colleagues at Iron Knob. He did not, however, meet the basic requirement of having been resident for at least 12 months before sponsoring. By persisting in finding a guarantor, he showed no sign of understanding the residence requirement, which had been explained by letter. He was advised also that someone else would have to find the money to pay for Loni’s passage, since apparently she was not a Displaced Person. In all of this frustration, Loni might have found another special friend anyhow.

Domas arrived at the Bonegilla camp for a third time on 27 September. On 8 October, the Bonegilla camp’s Assistant Director signed a note to the head Immigration official for South Australia, reporting the arrival and stating that a report on Domas also had been sent to the head office of the Immigration Department. The files on Domas which have been digitised so far do not contain that report. It might still be waiting to tell us more about how Australian officials saw Domas on a Central Office file about Bonegilla activities.

This time it took the CES staff nearly one month to find another job for him. On 26 October, he was sent to Standart Portland Cement Company Limited, at Brogans Creek, NSW. That’s probably a typing mistake for ‘Standard Portland Cement’.

On Domas’ Bonegilla card, Brogans Creek is described as ‘near Charbon’. Charbon is a tiny village 17 kilometres north of Brogans Creek by road. It is interesting to note that Domas’ original destination, Rylstone, is only 25 kilometres north by road. Geographically, Domas was back almost where he had started in Australia.

In June 1949, a newspaper called the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative carried, in its ‘Rylstone and Kandos News’ columns, a report from the Kandos Court of Petty Sessions. Two Lithuanians, Domas Valancius and Bronius Latrys were fined on 25 May for ‘behaving in an offensive manner’. Domas was fined 10 shillings with 10 shillings costs while Bronius lost £2 with 10 shillings costs.

Clearly the two were not drunk, or they would have been charged with a difference offence, like ‘drunk and disorderly’. One legal firm gives as examples of offensive behaviour, ‘yelling, swearing, urinating, pushing and shoving or being part of an aggressive or rowdy group’. This must be in or near a public place or school.

Having received the larger fine, Bronius, whose family name actually was Latvys, probably was the noisier of the two. As he was 10 years older than Domas, perhaps he thought that he had the right to yell at Domas and the latter yelled back.

Kandos is a small town only 6 kilometres south of Rylstone and 3 kilometres north of Charbon. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1263. While Domas had stayed at Iron Knob for only 5 months, it looks like he was still with the Portland Cement company after 7 months.

Less than 3 months later, Domas was before the Kandos Court of Petty Sessions again. This time he had been drinking and, according the arresting and prosecuting Sergeant of Police, using such bad language that the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative refused to print it. 

The Lithgow Mercury of 1 September 1949 also found the story interesting enough to reprint it. It could see a humourous side to Domas’ behaviour on the night of 12 August, when Domas was caught easily because he had fled into a fowl yard.

The Lithgow Mercury reports on Domas, 1 September 1949, page 6

Source:  Trove

(Click image to view in another tab and enlarge to read)

The absence of further court reporting does suggest that Domas adhered to his promise not to drink alcohol. He had also been with Standard Portland Cement for 10 months, and perhaps was about to be released from his obligation to work in Australia shortly, at the end of September 1949.

He was in the news again in March 1953, having moved from inland of Newcastle, an industrial city north of Sydney, to the vicinity of Wollongong, another industrial city but south of Sydney. The bicycle he was riding near his Port Kembla home was hit by a car. He suffered head injuries and abrasions to the face. He was taken to the Wollongong Hospital.

Or was he on a motorcycle? That was how another newspaper reported the incident.

He acquired Australian citizenship on 24 January 1961. He was still living at Port Kembla, but at a different address. His addresses now could be followed on electoral rolls. In 1963, he was still at his 1961 address. By 1968, he had moved again but still was very close to his 1961-63 address. After that, electoral rolls have not been digitised.

Searching the Ryerson Index for any Valancius death notices reveals only one. It is that of Domas, who had died on 12 May 1980 in the Bundanoon district of NSW. He had moved inland again, southwest of Port Kembla.

Domas was only 57 years old at the time of his death.

Whoever was the executor of any estate that Domas left did not realise that he had taken out a life insurance policy. That is why his name was included in a list of unclaimed money published in a Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 7 years later, on 29 June 1987.

Anyone who has a life insurance policy is unlikely to have died without leaving a will, so there must have been an executor. We have to hope that any money due to Domas or his heirs found its way to its rightful place.

Sources

Lithuanian State Historical Archives, Rietavo dekanato bažnyčių gimimo metrikų knyga, 1922-01-01 – 1922-12-31 [Birth register of churches in the Rietavas deanery, 1922-01-01 – 1922-12-31] https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/share/?manifest=https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/view/267502635/297161654/lt/iiif/manifest&lang=lt&page=195 [Domas Valancius’ birth record in Plunge church is on page 174, record number 107].

Arolsen Archives, City region of Herne: Report on Employed Foreigners, Category A, Lithuanians, Documents from Australijos lietuvis (1948) ‘Pirmieji Mūsų Rėmėjai’in Lithuanian [‘Our First Sponsors’], 12 September, page 10, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280321942 accessed 30 January 2025.

Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Bonegilla Identity Card Lookup, Domas Valancius https://idcards.bonegilla.org.au/record/203712436 accessed 30 January 2025.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (1961) ‘Certificates of Naturalization’, Canberra, 6 July, p 2556, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/240889446/26005562 accessed 30 January 2025.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (1987) 'Life Insurance Act 1945 — Unclaimed Money', Canberra, 29 June, p 318 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239979262 accessed 28 January 2025.

Goulburn Post (1980) ‘Death Notices’, Goulburn, NSW, 13 May

Herne von damals bis heute, Schraubenwerk Dorn, Ein Schwimmbad als Zeichen des Erfolges [Herne from then to now, Dorn Union, A Swimming Pool as a Sign of Success] https://herne-damals-heute.de/bergbauindustrie/zuliefererbetriebe/schraubenwerk-dorn/ accessed 25 February 2025.

Illawarra Daily Mercury (1953) 'Cyclist Hurt in Collision' Wollongong, NSW, 17 March, p 7 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134041121 accessed 25 February 2025.

Lithgow Mercury (1949) ‘Portland Section, Balt Migrant “Turns it on” at Kandos’, Lithgow, NSW, 1 September, p 6 (City Edition), http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220833346 accessed 25 February 2025

Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (1949) 'Rylstone And Kandos News' Mudgee, NSW, 2 June, p 9 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156448258 accessed 25 February 2025

Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (1949) 'Kandos Court of Petty Sessions: Lithuanian Sentenced to Hard Labor', Mudgee, NSW, 25 August, p 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article156449257 accessed 25 February 2025

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; VALANCIUS DOMAS, VALANCIUS, Domas : Year of Birth - 1922 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 875, 1947-48; https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203712436 accessed 26 February 1925.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Western Australia; PP482/1, Correspondence files [nominal rolls], single number series, 1926-52; General Heintzelman — arrived Fremantle 28 November 1947 — nominal rolls of passengers, 1947–52, page 16 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=439196 accessed 28 January 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Labour and National Service, Central Office: MT29/ 1, Employment Service Schedules; Schedule of displaced persons who left the Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla Victoria for employment in the State of South Australia - [Schedule no SA1 to SA31], page 49 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=23150376 accessed 30 January 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-47; 500, VALANCUS (sic) Domas DOB 21 June 1922, 1947-47 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1834240 accessed 26 February 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D4881, Alien registration cards, alphabetical series, 1947-76; VALANCUS (sic) DOMAS, VALANCUS (sic) nDomas - Nationality: Lithuanian Arrived Fremantle per General Stuart Heintzelman 28 November 1947, 1947-48 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7174218 accessed 26 February 2025.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, South Australia Branch; D401, Correspondence files, multiple number series with 'SA' prefix, 1946-49; SA1948/3/512, VALANCUS Domas - application for admission of relative or friend to Australia - KLINGBEIL Loni, 1948-53 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=12455258 accessed 26 February 2025.

Ryerson Index, Search for Notices https://ryersonindex.org/search.php accessed 25 February 2025.

South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (1953) 'Works' Accidents', Wollongong, NSW, 19 March, p 15 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142719599 accessed 25 February 2025.

W&Co. Lawyers, ‘Behave in an Offensive Manner’ https://wcolawyers.com.au/behave-in-an-offensive-manner-nsw/ accessed 25 February 2025.

Wikipedia ‘Solingen’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solingen accessed 25 February 2025.