Mečys Laurinavičius (1922-1984) Becomes Max Laurin, by Rasa Ščevinskienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

Mecys' first assignment

You may never have heard of Togganoggera in New South Wales. Neither has Google Maps, although the Australian-based Bonzle Maps can locate it. So can Phillip Simpson’s massive 2020 publication, Historical Guide to New South Wales.

We want to know where it is because the Commonwealth Employment Service at the Bonegilla Camp sent 2 of the First Transporters to work for WL Moore, Sawmillers, at Togganoggera, NSW. They were Mečys Laurinavičius and his fellow Lithuanian, Bolius Kunčiunas.

Mečys Laurinavičius photograph from his Bonegilla card

Source:  National Archives of Australia

Simpson writes that Togganoggera is 29 Km southwest of Braidwood, on the Shoalhaven River. Its main industry is grazing. It has an airfield and a quarry, but there is no mention of a sawmill. The telephone arrived in 1918. The population of the locality in 1933 was 49 people (and 1933 probably was the last time anyone found it for a census).

Mecys finds trouble

Mečys appeared in the local newspaper, The Braidwood Review and District Advocate, a little after the first anniversary of the First Transport arriving at Fremantle, on 30 November 1948. He had been found drunk on the main street of Braidwood at “4.5 o'clock on the morning following the Ambulance Ball”, arrested by a constable and taken to the police station.

Presumably he had been released later that day because on the following day, when called at the Court of Petty Sessions, he failed to appear and his 10 shillings bail was forfeited.

The Ambulance Ball would have to be held in Braidwood’s Show Pavillion on 27 November, so Mečys was found to have overindulged on the morning of 28 November, exactly one year after he disembarked for a new life in Australia. Had he been trying to forget the next year? Had he been celebrating how wonderful it was compared with the previous 7 years of his life?

Mecys in NSW and citizenship

Mečys stayed in New South Wales after finishing his contract, presumably on 30 September 1949 along with nearly all the other First Transporters. We know that because on 29 June 1954, in the Sydney Morning Herald and one other newspaper, he was advertising that he intended to apply for naturalization under the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948-1953.

He was naturalized, granted Australian citizenship, on 30 November 1955, from an address in Eastwood, a suburb in the north of Sydney.

Mecys married, their address and occupations

In 1958, the first time Mečys appeared on a publicly available electoral roll, he had already married his Australian wife, Joan, and his occupation was given as rubber worker. Joan was a typist. They lived in Eastwood. In 1963, their occupations and street address were the same, but their suburb had become Rydalmere. All the details were the same on the 1968 and 1977 rolls.

Given that any marriage occurred more than 50 years ago, its record should be available, but a search of the New South Wales Government’s Marriage records said initially that it was unavailable. That was because someone has managed to massacre the spelling of both Mečys’ first name (“Mercys”) and his last name. A wildcard (*) is essential in such situations.

The marriage took place in 1951.

Mecys becomes Max

Before the production of the 1980 electoral roll, Mečys had decided to make things easier for his fellow Australians and, perhaps, especially his wife. He had changed his name to Max Laurin.

On the 1980 roll, Joan Laurin is still a typist but Max also may have made life easier for himself in another way, by ceasing to work with rubber and becoming instead a driver.

Mečys is a very Slavic name, short for Mečislovas, which in turn is the Lithuanian form of the Slavic forename whose Polish version is Mieczysław. This name combines miecz or meč meaning “sword” and slava or slav meaning “glory” or “fame”, so its meaning approximates “one who gains glory with the sword.” There being no immediate English or Germanic equivalent, Max was a well-chosen alternative.

Mecys and Mūsų Pastogė

The Lithuanian-Australian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė, had thanked Mečys in its 8 October 1973 edition for donating 8 books and 3 Lithuanian records to the Sydney Lithuanian Club Library’s Reading Room. No, it was more than mere thanks: it was sincere gratitude

Mūsų Pastogė next had occasion to discuss Mečys in its 14 January 1985 edition, when it reported that he had died of cancer on 14 October in the Westmead Hospital. He was buried in Castlebrook Rosehill Cemetery. He left behind a grieving wife, an Australian woman. They did not have a family. He was a relatively youthful 62. Although he did not participate in Lithuanian life, he was a long-time reader of Mūsų Pastogė.

Mecys' death, funeral, burial

The Sydney Herald Sun newspaper of 15 October 1984 had carried the English-language death and funeral notice. Not only was Max Laurin the beloved husband of Joan but he also was the loved brother-in-law of Eric, Ken, Ron and Gwen and loved uncle of their families. He still was living on Bennetts Road, which original had been in Eastwood but which now, 30 years later, was in West Dundas.

His relatives and friends were invited to attend his funeral to leave the all Saints Anglican Church, Victoria Road, Parramatta after a service commencing at 9.30 for the interment in the Castlebrook Lawn Cemetery, Windsor Road, Rouse Hill. If Mečys was originally Roman Catholic like the majority of Lithuanians, he had become a Protestant for Joan’s sake.

Mecys and assimilation

He had assimilated even more by becoming a Freemason. The newspaper notice invited officers and brethren of Corinthian No 100 UGL of NSW attend the funeral of their late esteemed member Max Laurin. Regalia was to be worn. UGL was the United Grand Lodge.

At least Max and Mečys had never stopped the subscription to Mūsų Pastogė.

Mecys' past

We do not have access to a digitised version of Mecys’ selection papers at this time. The Arolsen Archives has yet to digitise any papers relating to his time in Germany. All we know about Mecys’ past is that his parents were Bronius and Marija; we know this from his death certificate. We will update this page with particular reference to Mecys’ time before Australia as more information becomes available.

SOURCES

Ancestry.com, ‘All results for Max Laurin’, https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=max_laurin&event=_australia_5027&searchMode=advanced, accessed 23 March 2026.

Ancestry.com, ‘All results for Mecys Laurinavicius’, https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=mecys_laurinavicius&event=_australia_5027&searchMode=advanced, accessed 23 March 2026.

Bonegilla Migrant Experience, Bonegilla Identity Card Lookup, ‘Mecys Laurinavicius’ https://idcards.bonegilla.org.au/record/203619596, accessed 23 March 2026.

Braidwood Review and District Advocate (1948) ‘Ambulance Ball’, Braidwood, NSW, 30 November, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/119376162, accessed 23 March 2026

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (1956) Canberra, ACT, 24 May, p 1513 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/25099858, accessed 23 March 2026.

Death Search Results, NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, ‘Laurin Max, 23254/1984’ https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/deaths?1, accessed 23 March 2026.

Herald Sun (1984) ‘Deaths, Laurin, Max’ Sydney, NSW, 15 October, p 27 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=lL5f5cZgq8MC&dat=19841015&printsec=frontpage&hl=en, accessed 23 March 2026.

Herald Sun (1984) ‘Funerals, Laurin, Max’ Sydney, NSW, 15 October, p 27 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=lL5f5cZgq8MC&dat=19841015&printsec=frontpage&hl=en, accessed 23 March 2026.

Klubo Valdyba (Club Board) (1973) ‘Padėka‘ (‘Acknowledgements‘ in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) Sydney, NSW, 8 October, p 8 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1973/1973-10-08-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 23 March 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) 1985 [No heading] Sydney, NSW, 14 January, p 12 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1985/1985-01-14-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 23 March 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A446, Correspondence files, annual single number series with block allocations [Main correspondence files series of the agency] 1926-2001; 1955/32795, Application for Naturalisation - LAURINAVICIUS Mecys born 19 August 1922, 1954-1955.

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; 175, LAURINAVICIUS Mecys DOB 19 August 1922, 1947-1947

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; LAURINAVICIUS MECYS, LAURINAVICIUS, Mecys : Year of Birth - 1922 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GENERAL HEINTZELMAN : Number – 572, 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203619596, accessed 23 March 2026.

Sydney Morning Herald (1954) ‘Public Notices’ Sydney, NSW, 9 June, p 15 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18427320,  accessed 23 March 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.

Picking pears for Australia, by Daina Pocius and Ann Tündern-Smith

Updated 15 August 2025.

One quarter of male Baltic refugees from the First Transport were employed as fruit pickers in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley between January and March 1948.  The Commonwealth Employment Service’s District Office had arranged for them to assist in the fruit harvesting subject to certain conditions, including that they be employed in batches of at least five and that satisfactory board and accommodation had to be provided by the growers.  

 

The Goulburn Valley had only a small quantity of available labour which would have been totally inadequate to harvest the crop.  This would lead to the loss of thousands of pounds worth of fruit.  Most of the refugees, whose average age was 24 years, were employed in the Ardmona area for the harvesting of fresh fruit, canning fruit, and dried fruits.

 

Apricot picking had started early in January, before the Baltic refugees were made available.  The pear picking season was expected to start on 20 January.

 

On Wednesday and Thursday, 28-29 January 1948, 193 Baltic migrants arrived in Shepparton by special buses from the Bonegilla Migrant Camp.  The 193 number is that given by the Shepparton Advertiser newspaper on 30 January: it’s more optimistic than the 187 we found by examining all the “Bonegilla cards” for the Heintzelman group. 

The red dot in the west (right) of this Google map marks Ardmona; the Bonegilla Migrant Experience in the east (left) of this map has been developed from the former Bonegilla migrant camp: the modern trip from Bonegilla to Shepparton takes a little more than two hours so the remaining two and a quarter hours is the trip from Shepparton to Ardmona;
Click on the map for a larger version on another page

Source: Map data © Google

 

The Advertiser journalist wrote that the Goulburn Valley fruit growers were almost unanimous in agreeing that the new workers from the Displaced Persons camps were an “excellent type” and they were “well satisfied with the selection”. The refugees were to be distributed among 30 orchards in the Shepparton and Ardmona district.  Maybe plans had changed since destinations for the fruit pickers were recorded at Bonegilla, since they show only 16 employers.

 

The journalist advised that, at the end of the season, the new workers would be free to accept employment as permanent orchard hands if they so desired.  Wishful thinking!

 

The 16 orchards involved were those of :

 

Anton Lenne of Ardmona,  

 

AW & JF Fairley of Shepparton,

 

Bruce Simson of Ardmona,

 

Dundas Simson Pty Ltd, Ardmona,

 

E Fairley of Shepparton,

 

HE Pickworth of Ardmona,

 

H Hick of Grahamvale,

 

I Pyke of Ardmona,

 

J Nethersole & Sons of Ardmona,

 

JT Goe of Orrvale, 

 

RT Clements of Toolamba,

 

SF Cornish of Ardmona, 

 

TE Young of Ardmona,

 

Turnbull Bros of Ardmona,

 

VR McNab of Ardmona, and

 

W Young of Kelvin Orchards, Ardmona.

 

As for the minimum group size, the Advertiser mentions 3 and that was the number that the Bonegilla cards show going to JT Goe.  They were one Latvian and two Lithuanians, who we have to hope were already great friends.  At least they had German as a common language.

Picking pears,  possibly on the Grahamvale property of Mr H Hick

Source: Arvids Lejins collection

It seems that not all orchard owners were fair to the new workers.  According to the Communist Party’s Tribune newspaper, some were kept in isolated groups and were working a 48-hour week for the same pay as Australians receive for a 40-hour week.  Some of the Balts had thrown in their jobs and returned to Bonegilla early.  

 

Povilas Laurinavičius, who we met in the last blog entry, returned to Bonegilla after 2 weeks only with Anton Lenne of Ardmona.  We don’t know why he returned.  It could have been the hours expected to be worked 6 days a week.  Maybe the outdoor conditions in February heat did not suit him, give that he was 40 years old already.  If that was the reason, it wasn’t taken into account when he was sent a few days later to the Iron Knob mine in South Australia.  Antanas Jurevicius returned from Anton Lenne on the same day.  According to Antanas' Bonegilla card, he had been married in the camp on 22 December, so he probably was keen to get back to his new bride.

Anton Lenne: photograph provided by Marg Spowart to the
Lost Mooroopna Facebook page

Source: Facebook   

Eleven had returned already before these two, the first 6 on 11 February, so after 12 days only at the most working in their new industry.  Five had been working for J Nethersole and Sons, Ardmona, and one for Mrs I Pyke.

Fruit pickers' lunch break, possibly on the Grahamvale property of Mr H Hick
Source: Arvids Lejins collection

A small number of the fruit pickers could not cope with their new-found freedom.  Jonas Razvidauskas appeared before the Shepparton Court on 16 February charged with assault, after he had attacked 3 policemen in the Shepparton Police Station and broken the glasses of one.  He was yet another First Transport man who had had too much to drink, having bought a bottle of wine and consumed it all, after which he could not remember anything.

 

He was said to have torn his own clothes to shreds and to be appearing in clothes borrowed from another prisoner.  He was fined £2 on each of the assault charges and ordered to pay £2 to replace the broken glasses.  This was a total of £8, likely to be more than he was earning each week.  He was one of the employees of Turnbull Brothers of Ardmona, and was one of those sent on to Goliath Portland Cement in Railton, Tasmania afterwards.

 

The Melbourne Sun News-Pictorial newspaper reported an outline only of Razvidauskas’ behaviour in the Police Station but the local newspaper, the Shepparton Advertiser, went into considerable front page detail about the aggression and damage.  

 

It reported also that 2 more of the men appeared before the Court.  Another Lithuanian, Jonas Rauba, was convicted and discharged on a charge of being drunk and disorderly.  An Estonian, Kaljo Murre, faced the same charge and received the same sentence.  Murre claimed that this was the first time he had drunk beer and it would be the last time.  These may well have been “famous last words”.

 

The Bonegilla camp was meant to be dry, although Ann has heard of smuggling and alcohol being allowed for special occasions, like Christmas celebrations and weddings.  If the fruit growers were paying their men a fortnight in arrears, which has been the custom in Australia for a long time, then they would have had their first pay just before the 14-15 February weekend.  It’s now wonder then that 3 were found in public places to have overindulged.  No doubt more drinking went on that weekend in private.

 

Easter 1948 ran from Good Friday on March 26 to Easter Sunday on March 28.  The day before Easter started, the Shepparton paper ran a paragraph headed, Balts on Move (see below).

Source: Shepparton Advertiser, 28 March 1948

 

As for the “itchy feet”, another 23 had returned to Bonegilla before Easter, making 36 in all, but more than 80 per cent were still on the job.  

 

The bulk of the Baltic fruit pickers returned to the Bonegilla camp between 31 March and 7 April, 114 of them.  Another 38 returned on 10 April, leaving one stalwart behind.

 

Borisas Dainutis did not get back to the Bonegilla camp until 5 May, so he seems to have spent nearly another 4 weeks with Messrs Turnbull Brothers of Ardmona.  As he was sent then to the Dookie Agricultural College in Victoria, perhaps he was displaying a great interest in agriculture despite having been selected in Germany has a potential builder’s labourer.  Let’s see what we find when we explore his life story soon.

A Turnbull Brothers fruit box saved by Cartonographer (Sean Rafferty)

Source:  https://ehive.com/collections/5682/objects/939087/turnbull-brothers-orchards

 

On the day that Borisas returned, another rural newspaper, the Riverine Herald, ran an article headed “Balts Appreciated”.  Based on interviews with fruit growers, the Herald estimated that the fruit pickers had saved the Goulburn Valley the loss of thousands of pounds worth of fruit.  “Proof of success of the scheme … (was that) the fruitgrowers (sic) were already voicing their wishes to participate in allocations of migrants next season”.

The fruit growers had not been happy with the front page publicity achieved by Razvidauskas, Kauba and Murre.  The Herald said that, “Expressing disappointment that adverse publicity had been afforded the very small minority of the men who had clashed with the law during their sojourn in Tatura and Ardmona district, … the men were excellent types on the whole and proved themselves highly adaptable to a variety of work.”

There was a sting near the tail of the report:  “It was further claimed that while some instances of difficulties in handling the Balts had been reported, on the average, where reasonable conditions were provided for them, good service had been given.”

What did these fruit growers expect from young men who had just endured 5 or more years of war, sometimes right in the middle of it, digging trenches between the opposing German and Russian sides?  All had been living on restricted rations until they boarded the Heintzelman and therefore were not at their healthiest.  There should be no need to mention also that some of them were more highly educated than most of those making a career of fruit growing and so might have regarded fruit picking as yet another obstacle on the path to a more satisfying future.

SOURCES 

National Archive of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla] (1947-56); https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/SeriesDetail.aspx?series_no=A2571 accessed 17 May 2025 ("Bonegilla cards").

 

National Archive of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla] (1947-56); LAURINAVICIUS POVILAS, LAURINAVICIUS, Povilas : Year of Birth - 1908 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GENERAL HEINTZELMAN : Number – 571 (1947-48) https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203619595 accessed 17 May 2025.

 

Riverine Herald (1948) 'Balts Appreciated', Echuca, Moama, 5 May, p 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116540389 accessed 13 June 2025.

 

Shepparton Advertiser (1947) 'Baltic Migrants For The Fruit Harvest, Most Will Work at Ardmona', 12 December, p 1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article173900200 accessed 13 June 2025.

 

Shepparton Advertiser (1948) 'Labor Problem for Fruit Harvest' 6 January, p 1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169556903 accessed 2 June 2025 accessed 2 June 2025.

 

Shepparton Advertiser (1948) 'Baltic Migrants Arrive' 30 January, p 1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article169557378 accessed 2 June 2025.

 

Shepparton Advertiser (1948) ‘Balt Fights Three Police’ 17 February p 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169557746 accessed 17 June 2025.

 

Shepparton Advertiser (1948) ‘Balts on Move’ 25 March, p1, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169558516 accessed 17 June 2025.

 

Sun News-Pictorial (1948) 'Wild After Wine, Balt Fined', Melbourne, 17 February, p 10 , http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article279326226 accessed 2 June 2025.

 

Tribune (1948) 'Balts Work 48 Hrs. For 40 Hrs. Pay', Sydney, 14 April, p 3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208109382 accessed 13 June 2025.