Beginning Life in Australia, by Viltis Salytė-Kružienė, translated by Daina Pocius

These are excerpts from a speech by Viltis Salytė-Kružienė on 6 July 1997 at Melbourne Lithuanian House for Lithuanian National Day. This article appeared in the 4 August 1997 issue of the Australian-Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė, from which we are using it and its illustrations with kind permission.

Two portraits of Viltis Kružienė
1997 (left) and 1947 (right)

Source:  Mūsų Pastogė, 4 August 1997

One cold day in Germany in October 1947, my sister came to me and asked if I would like to travel to Australia for work. If I agreed, the train would leave for Frankfurt at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, and in Butzbach, near Frankfurt, the Australian commission would be waiting for us, and then maybe in a week or so we could sail to new shores.

There wasn't much time to make up our minds. Although we didn't know much about Australia, we still needed somewhere to settle down for a permanent life. We wouldn't be able to stay in Germany. And who would want to return to the Bolshevik occupation? There was no question of returning to Lithuania in 1947. And so began my odyssey of travel together with other Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians.

In 1947, we sailed to sunny Australia on the American military transport ship General Stuart Heintzelman.

The ship's passengers were mostly young men and women. There were 630 Lithuanian men and 18 women on board.¹ Most of them had recently graduated from school, and their memories were still alive with the bright memories of their teachers who, while educating them, told them that they should live not only for themselves, but also for others, and most importantly, be a useful person for their homeland.

While sailing on a ship, a group of enthusiasts decided to publish a one-off newspaper in Lithuanian. The Latvians and Estonians did the same. The newspaper was called The Baltic Viking. Its introduction read:

"Forced by changeable fate, we had to leave our native hearths, Europe, and go abroad in search of work and bread. Many of our nation's emigrants have long since settled down nicely in the USA, South America, and other countries. We hope to find shelter in that continent of the world that is the most distant from our country and where we will find only a few hundred Lithuanians. We must urgently join their ranks, each time receiving new reinforcements of our own strength. To create an Australian immigrant community, taking unity, nationality, solidarity as the basis, and to strive to maintain close ties with Lithuanians all over the world. Never forget and believe in a happy future. We do not know where our paths of destiny will lead and let neither time nor immense distance break the unity of Lithuanians. On the threshold of a new life, let us remember the words of our Anthem: In the name of that Lithuania, may unity shine ..."

A general meeting was convened in the ship's dining room, and a temporary board was elected, which would represent us if necessary.²

First, in early November, a gathering was organised on the ship to commemorate All Souls' Day.³ Although we did not have a priest, we prayed from the Lithuanian prayer book for all the dead and sang a few hymns together. Every Sunday, mass was held, and hymns were sung.

Scouts for men and women were organised. During the trip, meetings were held and a festive bonfire with an interesting program was held on the deck of the ship. A folk-dance group and a men's choir were also organised. The ship's captain invited the Lithuanian choir to sing for the American crew. One Lithuanian woman dressed in national costume presented him with a modest Lithuanian gift.

The Lithuanian scouts on the Heintzelman hold a bonfire ceremony
(perhaps without lighting the fire)

Source: Mūsų Pastogė, 4 August 1997

Once a week we would receive 10 packs of American cigarettes or some sweets. The women received Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, everyone else received toothpaste and toothbrushes. Today, such gifts mean nothing to us, but back then it was different.

Four weeks passed in a flash. Early in the morning of November 28, the ship approached the Australian coast. Everyone who had just gotten up ran to the deck to see what Australia looked like.

When entering the port of Fremantle, nothing could be seen. The shore was far away, no land, no towers, only rocks, rocks and more rocks. Standing on the deck, I looked at the waves of the sea, and began to doubt whether it was worth going to that shore. Maybe, as someone said, there were only deserts and black bears and kangaroos running around.

However, when the ship stopped in the port and we saw people waiting for us on the quay, the picture changed. Those waiting were the same as us. The mood improved, and when the customs officers hurriedly checked our luggage, we began to go ashore.

The ship brought 849 emigrants to Australia. Out of all, only two people were not allowed to alight: a Latvian woman who was suspected of being politically unacceptable, and a man who developed a mental illness during the trip. The man was Lithuanian.⁴

The buses took us to the intended camp, which was called Graylands, while the rest of the Lithuanians were accommodated in the Swanbourne camp, which was about a kilometer away from the first one.

Before getting on the bus, a strange woman gave me a large paper bag full of still warm cakes with jam. That touched me very much, and I thought, how good those Australian people are! I kept thinking about that woman for a long time. Why did she want to please the emigrants who had only just arrived?

In the camp, semi-circular tin barracks, painted white with lime, could be seen from a distance. The weather was beautiful. Neither hot nor cold. After getting ready, we were called to lunch. Before going to the dining room, everyone was given leaflets in which the Minister of Immigration, Mr Calwell, greeted the arrivals.

The second thing that surprised me was that when I entered the dining room, the tables were covered with white tablecloths, and at the ends of the tables stood vases high with oranges. And we had not seen them for many years! After eating a good lunch, we went to our rooms to rest.

The refugees brought from Europe on the ship General Stuart Heintzelman, DPs, Displaced Persons, were replaced by German prisoners of war from the state of Victoria returning to their homeland.⁵

Four days later, in Perth, we boarded the Australian warship Kanimbla, which looked much worse than the American one. However, the Australians seemed much friendlier to us than the Americans. We travelled all week to Melbourne.⁶

True, before sailing to Melbourne, we were questioned at the Greylands camp, and the answers were written down by Australian scribes. They listened how well everyone could "speak English." My knowledge of English was marked "satisfactory."

While sailing on the Kanimbla, the Australians published a daily newspaper. The ship's management invited me to read the text of the newspaper in English translated into Lithuanian, so that even those who did not speak English at all could read what was written in that newspaper. The Latvians and Estonians did the same.

A week later we reached Melbourne. The journey continued on the same day. We went by train to a camp called Bonegilla. The train stopped somewhere in the fields, the Australian soldiers picked us up with our luggage and brought us to the barracks in trucks.⁷

The train for the women is about to leave Port Melbourne for Bonegilla
Contrast this photo with the more frequently use one
taken by a Melbourne Sun photographer (below)

Source:  Mūsų Pastogė, 4 August 1997

The common person in both photos is Helmi Jalak,
sixth from the front in this photo but fourth from the front in the Mūsų Pastogė photo;
the presence of a second class sign in this photo but not the one above suggests a delay in starting
while heads were poked out of different windows

Source:  Melbourne Sun, 9 December 1947

Oh God, the barracks had not been inhabited for about a week. The floors were dirty, there were cobwebs everywhere. There were three beds with mattresses in the room. We put our suitcases outside and went to ask for cleaning supplies. After bringing water, we washed ourselves in our new home, made the beds with clean sheets and warm blankets. We felt like we were in a hotel.

While we were getting ready, many journalists and photographers arrived at the camp. They photographed our every move. The next morning, journalists and photographers followed us from early morning. Soon we received newspapers and magazines with our photos.

The next day, it was announced over the loudspeaker that everyone would have to go to school and learn some Aussie expressions, which would be very useful in everyday life at first, as well as the so-called "Australian way of life".

It was 8 December.⁸ As I was walking through the campgrounds, I met an acquaintance from Estonia who invited me to go with her to an agency that recruits clerks for various office jobs. Since I could not only speak English but also type, I got a job as a typist and translator at the Employment Office in the camp.

I completed my compulsory labour contract in Bonegilla. My other female companions were assigned to work as waitresses or housekeepers. The men were assigned to manual labour and were sent all over Australia as ordinary labourers.

That was the beginning of my life in Australia...

CITE THIS AS Salytė-Kružienė, Viltis (trans. Pocius, Daina) (2025) 'Beginning life in Australia', https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2025/08/beginning-life-in-Australia-by-Viltis-Salyte-Kruziene.html.

Footnotes (by Ann Tündern-Smith)

* Oral history is not about factual details. Viltis Kružienė did a fine job of remembering significant moments in her journey to Australia and the start of her life here, but some of the details, such as numbers, are known to be different from her recall.

1 The passenger list shows only 415 Lithuanian men but 21 Lithuanian women.

2 Elsewhere, Kazys Mieldazys has recorded a representative committee being elected in the Diepholz camp where all gathered before the train to Bremerhaven and the ship to Australia.

3 Kazys Mieldazys also noted the All Souls Day (2 November) service.

4 There were 843 passengers, of whom 4 were not allowed to land: one on security grounds and 3 on health grounds.

5 Additionally, there were former internees, that is, people not deemed to be safe to leave in the community during the war because of their real or alleged Nazi sympathies. Some came from New South Wales but all had been brought to Fremantle from Melbourne by the Australian Navy ship, the Kanimbla.

6 The Kanimbla, like the Stuart Heintzelman, was a troop carrier rather than a warship.

7 The women were privileged to ride in the back of Army trucks. The men had to walk about 3 kilometres between the railway station and the barracks, carrying their luggage.

8 The train trip to Bonegilla station and the Army truck ride for the women occurred on December 8. The date of the first lessons was 9 December.

Source

Kružienė, Viltis (1997) 'Atvykimo Australijon 50 - mėtį minint' ('Celebrating the 50th anniversary of arrival in Australia', in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė, Sydney, 4 August, p 4 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1997/1997-08-04-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 22 August 2025. 

Jonas Motiejūnas (1921–2004): The Lithuanian Leader Who Left, by Rasa Ščevinskienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

The Photographs

Two photographs of two Lithuanians with Australia’s first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, are used frequently to illustrate early post–World War II migration to Australia. Arthur Calwell is clearly identifiable on the right, we are told that the woman is Konstancia Brundzaitė, but who is the man with her?

This presentation captured by a photographer clearly is an important moment, but what is that moment? A memoir written by a fellow Lithuanian migrant, Kazys Mieldazys, tells us (in Lithuanian), that the Kanimbla ship carrying the First Transport refugees from Fremantle in Western Australia to Port Melbourne in Victoria “reached Melbourne on 7 December. 

"There we were greeted by the Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, together with other government representatives. The leaders of the Lithuanian group, Jonas Motiejunas and Konstancija Brundzaite, handed the Minister a gift – a picture book of Lithuanian views and a sash. Later this gift was deposited by Mr Calwell in the Australian Cultural Museum (sic) in Canberra …”.

From left to right, Jonas Motiejūnas, Konstancija Brundzaitė, Arthur Calwell, unknown Australian onlookers, when Calwell received the gift of a sash and book from the Lithuanians
Source:  Australian Maritime Museum digitising of print donated by Konstancija Brundzaitė Jurskis 

This presentation occurred later, apparently, when the 
two Lithuanian leaders met Calwell again, as Jonas is in national costume this time:
judging from the background, it may have been at the 1951
travelling exhibition of New Australians' Arts and Crafts

Source:  SLIC

How did Jonas become a leader of the Lithuanian group, along with Konstancija? Kazys has written further, “We first organised ourselves at the Diepholz camp in Germany. A week before the ship’s departure a Lithuanian representative committee was established. It comprised Jonas Motiejunas, president, Povilas Baltutis, vice president, Napoleonas Butkunas, interpreter …”

Kazys added, “On All Souls Day, we honoured the dead and all those who had perished for Lithuanian freedom. J. Motiejunas was the keynote speaker. After that a prayer was recited for our homeland and a few hymns were sung …”

Young Jonas

Who was this leader among 417 Lithuanian men? He was born on 5 July 1921, in Janenai village, Sventezeris district, Seinai county, so he was 26 years old when selected. He had graduated from Lazdijai high school and completed his military service with graduation from the officer training school, in the last program before the school closed, ironically because of the War.

In 1941–1944, he studied electrical engineering in the Faculty of Technology at Vytautas the Great University, in Kaunas. He completed his studies after leaving Lithuania, in Germany’s Technical University of Braunschweig, receiving an electrical engineering degree.

He was an active athlete and exhibiting artist during his student days. He participated in the June 1941 uprising against the Soviet occupiers of his country, shortly before the Germans turn as occupiers. He was active in community organisations during this time.

Work and Marriage

After nearly two months in the Bonegilla camp, Jonas was among 28 men sent to pick fruit on the Dundas Simson Pty Ltd property at Ardmona, Victoria, on 28 January 1948. He returned to Bonegilla on 10 April. On 22 April, he was sent to work in the Australian Carbide Company’s factory at Electrona, 40 km south from Hobart, capital of Tasmania.

During his 10 days back in the Bonegilla camp in April, Jonas had met Ona Prižgintaitė by Lake Hume. She was one of the Lithuanian women on the Second Transport, the General MB Stewart, which had reached Fremantle on 12 February 1948.

Their casual acquaintance quickly grew into love and respect for each other. They married on 11 July 1948 in the Catholic Church in the town of Snug, near Electrona.  Jonas later told Ramunas Tarvydas, author of the 1997 book, From Amber Coast to Apple Isle, that the couple were surprised and delighted by the number of locals who attended to wish them well. 

Ona and Jonas Motiejūnas on their wedding day
Source:  Mikuliciene, Irena (2023) 
Lietuviai perkeltųjų asmenų (DP) stovyklose 1945–1951 m.

Meanwhile, Jonas was engaged in hard work, unloading large limestone rocks, smashing them with sledgehammers and loading them onto wagons.  He and his fellow workers shovelled coal onto the limestone, added both to furnaces, poured the resultant molten material into shallow basins to cool, then smashed the cold product and loaded it into barrels for export.  

The main product of the Electrona factory in 1948 was calcium carbide, a solid which reacts with water to produce acetylene gas. Using acetylene for lighting was common still in mid–20th century Australia. Another major use of acetylene is in welding.

As you can imagine from this summary, the work was dangerous also, as Jonas described to Ramunas Tarvydas, quoted in the next entry on the carbide factory.

Jonas was able to get a transfer to Hobart after talking with a CES official.  There he was employed more suitably as an electrical draftsman with EZ Risdon.  In his spare time, he drew house plans for other Lithuanians in Hobart. 

Accommodation

Jonas also told Ramunas that, "Electrona is a very lovely area.  We lived in houses especially built by the company.  One of the three bedrooms in the house was for us, the married couple, the other two were for four single men.  There was also a dining room, a kitchen and a bathroom.

"Our meals were excellent, first cooked by Mrs Stasytis, then by my wife, who also looked after the Lithuanians' house."

(Mr and Mrs Stasytis were Adomas and Veronika, who had arrived in February 1948 on the Second Transport, the General MB Stewart.  They had been sent together to Electrona on 28 April 1948, that is, 6 days after the 8 from the First Transport.  Apart from the cooking, doubtless expected by the men, Veronika Stasytienė was destined for "factory w", whatever that meant in this dangerous environment.)

Jonas’ New Family

Ona Prižgintaitė had graduated from midwifery school and studied history at Vytautas the Great University for two years. After reaching Germany, she studied history and art at the University of Heidelberg before leaving for Australia in January 1948.

Jonas and Ona had four daughters:

• Ramunė (born 1949) – studied art in Paris, and worked as a formal wear specialist at Bloomingdale's, Beverly Hills, California.
• Eglė (born 1950) – worked as an administrator at Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.
• Ruta (born 1952) – lived in Portland, Oregon, raising two sons.
• Birutė (born 1958) – lived in Prescott, Arizona, working as a landscape designer until she had a son and daughter; sadly, she died in 2020 from breast cancer, aged only 61.

Ona and Jonas with their three oldest daughters:
(left to right) Ramunė, Eglė and Ruta
Source:  Source:  Mikuliciene, Irena (2023) ,
Lietuviai perkeltųjų asmenų (DP) stovyklose 1945–1951 m.

The Family Moves

In 1954, the family moved from Tasmania to Melbourne, where Jonas got a job as an engineer on the railway. Later, he worked at the Ford Motor Company, which used to assemble cars in the Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows, and southwest of Melbourne in Geelong.

On 21 April 1959, the family left Australia for Los Angeles in the United States. There Jonas worked as an engineer for various companies. His last job was at Hughes Aircraft company, where he worked 29 years until he retired in 1988. Meanwhile, Ona took care of the family.

Retirement in America

After Jonas retired, he and Ona moved to Prescott, Arizona, in order to be closer to Birute and her family. Ramune also was living in Prescott in 2020.

Jonas and Ona Motiejunas established two charitable funds in USA. Jonas said that he could only pursue his education with the help of scholarships, so he wanted to compensate for a small part of assistance he had received. The Jonas and Ona Motiejunas Scholarship Fund was started in 1990 with the Lithuanian Foundation with $10,000. The Lithuanian Foundation is a not–for–profit organisation in Lemont, Illinois, started in 1962, which still offers scholarships.

Jonas and Ona started their second fund in 1995 in order to help Lithuanian orphans with the interest earned. Their first $10,000, in the name of the Ona and Jonas Motiejūnas, was donated to Lithuanian Orphanage Committee in July 1995. The second cheque for $10,000 was written in October 1997, the third in February 1999 and a fourth in 2000. In October 1998, a cheque for $100 was acknowledged in the Draugas (Friend) newspaper. The $40,100 and possibly more of capital was admired as a beautiful sacrifice.

Jonas and Ona Motiejūnas were active Lithuanians, always participating in Lithuanian community activities. The family was seen as an exemplary, future–oriented family, harmoniously operating for the maintenance of Lithuania abroad and aid to Lithuania, and supporting that activity financially.

The family on the occasion of Ona and Jonas' 50th wedding anniversary
(left to right) Eglė, Ramunė, Ona, Jonas, Ruta and Birutė at front left

Source:  Draugas, 31 October 1998

Jonas Motiejunas died on 28 February 2004, at the age of 83, in Prescott, Arizona, having been married to Ona for 55 years. At his request, his ashes were buried in his home village of Janenai. Ona Motiejuniene died more than 7 years later, at home on 22 September 2011 at the age of 90.

Of the two Lithuanians in the 1947 photos with the Minister for Immigration, Konstancija has been the easier to identify because she remained in Australia. She donated her prints of the photos to the Australian National Maritime Museum, where the donations are recorded in her maiden name as well as her married name of Jurskis.

We don’t know why the Motiejunas family left Australia in 1959. The common reason among other cases of departure … was other family members settled successfully in the United States. Vytautas Stasiukynas, the vet who left for Colombia, is the only case so far of someone leaving Australia because of better employment opportunities elsewhere.

Perhaps either or both of Jonas and Ona had relatives in Los Angeles. Their departure was Australia’s loss.

CITE THIS AS: Ščevinskiene, Rasa and Tündern–Smith (2025) ‘Jonas Motiejūnas, the Lithuanian Leader Who Left’

Sources

‘A†A Jonas Motiejūnas’ (RIP Jonas Motiejunas, in Lithuanian) Draugas (Friend), Chicago,  Illinois, 17 March 2004, p 5, https://draugas.org/archive/2004_reg/2004-03-17-DRAUGAS-i7-8.pdf, accessed 10 August 2025.

Ancient Faces, ‘Jonas Motiejunas’ https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/jonas-motiejunas-birth-1921-death-2004/86579155, accessed 10 August 2025.

Australian Lithuanian History ‘Two Year Contracts Part IV (Final)’ https://salithohistory.blogspot.com/2021/03/two-year-contracts-part-iv-final.html, accessed 9 August 2025.

Draugas, the Lithuanian World-Wide Daily, ‘A † A Ona Prižgintaitė Motiejūnienė’ (RIP Ona Prizgintaite Motiejuniene, in Lithuanian) http://www.draugas.org/legacy/mirties2011.html, accessed 9 August 2025.

Jasaitienė, Birutė (1995) ‘Jono ir Onos (Prižgintaitės) Motiejūnų Fondas Lietuvos Našlaičiams’ ‘Jonas and Ona (Prižgintaitė) Motiejūnas Foundation for Lithuanian Orphans’ (in Lithuanian) Draugas (Friend) Chicago, Illinois, 12 August, p 8 https://www.draugas.org/archive/1995_reg/1995-08-12-DRAUGASw.pdf, accessed 10 August 2025.

Jasaitienė, Birutė (1998) ‘Darnaus Gyvenimo 50 Metu Sukaktis’ (‘50th Anniversary of Sustainable Living’, in Lithuanian) Draugas (Friend) Chicago, Illinois, 12 August, p 4 https://draugas.org/archive/1998_reg/1998-10-31-DRAUGASm.pdf, accessed 10 August 2025.

Jasaitienė, Birutė (2000) ‘Jono ir Onos Motiejūnų Fondas’ (‘Jonas and Ona Motiejūnas Fund, in Lithuanian) Draugas (Friend) Chicago, Illinois, 19 February, p 4 https://draugas.org/archive/2000_reg/2000-02-19-DRAUGAS.pdf, accessed 10 August 2025.

Juodvalkis, A (1990) ‘Inž. Jonas ir Ona Motiejūnai Įsteigė Stipendijų Fondą’ ‘Engineer Jonas and Ona Motiejunas Established a Scholarship Fund’ (in Lithuanian) Draugas (Friend) Chicago, Illinois, 22 February, p 4, https://draugas.org/archive/1990_reg/1990-02-22-DRAUGAS-i7-8.pdf, accessed 9 August 2025.

Lithuanian Foundation, Inc. ‘Scholarships Reports’, https://lithuanianfoundation.org/lf-reports/scholarships/ accessed 10 August 2025.

Mieldažys, Kazys (1961) ‘Pirmieji Žingsniai Australijoje‘ [‘First Steps in Australia’ translated into English by Jonas Mockunas from an article in Metraštis (Yearbook)] https://www.australianlithuanians.org/history/ww2-kazys-mieldazys/ accessed 9 August 2025.

Mikulicienė, Irena (2023) Lietuviai perkeltųjų asmenų (DP) stovyklose 1945–1951 m. (Lithuanians in displaced persons (DP) camps in 1945-1951, in Lithuanian) Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus, Vilnius, 440 p.

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla]; Motiejunas Jonas, MOTIEJUNAS, Jonas : Year of Birth - 1921 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number - 601 https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203902827 accessed 9 August 2025.

Rimon, Wendy (2006) ‘Carbide Works’ in The Companion to Tasmanian History https://www.utas.edu.au/library/companion_to_tasmanian_history/C/Carbide%20Works.htm accessed 9 August 2025.

Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Homes and Crematory ‘Birute Motiejunas Upchurch, August 13, 1958 — February 8, 2020’ https://www.ruffnerwakelin.com/obituaries/birute-motiejunas-upchurch

Sydney Lithuanian Information Centre ‘In Memoriam, 24th April, 2005, Kastutė Brundzaitė - Jurskis (1921 - 2005), Among the Very First Lithuanian Post World War II Migrants in Australia’ https://www.slic.org.au/News/news_240405.htm accessed 9 August 2025.

Tarvydas, Ramunas (1997) From Amber Coast to Apple Isle : Fifty Years of Baltic Immigrants in Tasmania 1948-1998, Baltic Semicentennial Commemoration Activities Organising Committee, Hobart, Tasmania, pages 35-36.

Bonegilla 1947-1948: Boxing Day to New Year's Eve (December 26-31) by Endrius "Andrew" Jankus

This is the fourth part of the recollections of Endrius Jankus, a Lithuanian refugee who arrived in Australia on the First Transport, the General Stuart Heintzelman.  Endrius became known as Andrew in Australia.  He was born in Draverna in the south of Lithuania on 7 July 1929.  He died in Hobart, Tasmania, on 23 July 2014.  He sent the full memoir to me in 2012.

26 December 1947 

The second day of Christmas was stinking hot and the sun was burning down on us. Nevertheless, an Australian basketball team arrived to challenge the Lithuanian team. Naturally, the Lithuanian team won. In the late afternoon, the girls from Albury-Wodonga arrived. Someone introduced to us the game of Lotto. Any one who won got 10 shillings, a fortune to us. After that we danced the night away till midnight when the girls left for home. But saying goodbyes took longer, in fact maybe a whole hour. 

27 December 1947

In the morning, I attended English classes until lunch. At lunchtime, Mr Bauza, his wife and a secretary arrived for a visit. Mr Bauza was the President of the Lithuanian Community in Sydney and had migrated to Australia in 1930.* 

We Lithuanians gathered in the Great Hall to hear him welcome us to Australia and describe life in Australia. We had a thousand questions to which we wanted answers. He obliged with clear answers in our own language that everyone understood. 

That night, at 8 pm, the dance started. For some unknown reason, we had a great influx of girls. There were three buses, one truck and a heap of cars full of girls. Well, it was Saturday night when just about everyone in Australia goes out. Or it could have been that the word had spread about our fantastic dancing ability? With the new army boot issue, when you trod on the girl's toes, it made her jump off the floor. At least dancing gave us time to practise our English. 

28 December 1947

It was very hot. Everyone was walking around like a zombie. We spent the day in the Lake (Lake Hume) to get some relief from the heat. At night, at 8 pm, we had a concert. Many luminaries from the area arrived including all the girls whom we had come to know. 

29 December 1947 

I got up early as I had orderly duties in the mess hall at breakfast, lunch and dinner. At lunchtime, I and many others went swimming in the Lake. In the afternoon, it was payday. Each of us collected our five shillings pocket money. I even managed to attend the English classes as well. 

30 December 1947 

On this day our whole English class had been rostered for duty at various places in the camp. I was assigned to the kitchen to wash up the big roasting pans. That was one hell of a job, trying to clean the burnt parts of the pans with no proper implements. All I was handed was a knife and a wash-up rag. 

The kitchen was dominated by pushy Latvians who claimed to be cooks. We thought of them as a bunch of crawlers with very little cooking experience. 

Some of the Latvian kitchen staff with friends, 
probably photographed after Endrius left Bonegilla —
do you recognise any of them? **

At the beginning of my duties, I was allowed to have a meal of whatever I wanted. I chose a pudding, apples and oranges. 

Friendly relations soon deteriorated as one of the cooks kept telling me that the pans were not clean enough. I asked him to show me how it was done. He declined. 

There was a stack of pans, probably more than twenty. In the end, after one more criticism, I threw the pan at him. I told him to clean the pans himself and walked out. 

Naturally, I was reported to the Camp Commandant for shirking my duties. I was told to report to him through the loudspeaker. I ignored the request for most of the day, going for a swim in the Lake and spending some time there. 

Towards evening, the announcer changed his tactics and asked me to come to the office as there was an urgent matter to discuss. Well, I thought, maybe there is some bad news for me. 

I fronted up to the Office and Major Kershaw jumped at me. After raving on for some time, he tweaked my ear and told me that if I had been in his unit, he would have fixed me, whatever that meant. 

That night a furious storm descended on Bonegilla. The barracks rocked and creaked and most of us thought that they might overturn. I think that it was just to frighten us. 

Talking about the kitchen crew comprising mainly of Latvians, I had previous experience with the Commandant. I was asked to be part of a delegation to him with a complaint when three-quarters of the camp was suffering from diarrhoea. 

The Commandant met us outside his office and went into great detail about "a little fly in Australia" that was the cause of it. One fellow elbowed me in the side and asked me to ask the Commandant if you could get VD from this fly. 

The Major went ballistic. He harangued us for some time about how ungrateful we were for their effort to accommodate us. You would think that they had rescued us from certain death. 

We knew what the problem was. The cooking staff drank plenty of milk that was supposed to be for our breakfast and made up the shortfall by adding water to the remainder. We came away from the confrontation shaking our heads.

31 December 1947 

There were English lessons as usual during the day. At 9 pm there was another dance with the usual crew. Our girls and those from Albury-Wodonga arrived and a great time was had by all. It ended at 2 am. Since I was one of the orderlies I had to help to restore and clean the hall. I got to bed at 4 am.

To be continued.

Footnotes

* For more on Antanas Bauže and his wife, Ona, see various Early Lithuanians in Australia blog entries by Jonas Mockunas at https://earlylithuaniansinaustralia.blogspot.com/search/label/Bauze.  In particular, this blog reproduces some text from another Heintzelman passenger, Kazys Mieldazys, who recorded his memories as First Steps in Australia.  Mieldazys wrote that, 

"A large surprise came from the President of the Australian Lithuanian Society, Antanas Bauze.  He had already greeted us by letter at Fremantle.  [At Bonegilla, late December 1947]  he visited us with Mrs Bauze and Mr Kuodis.  A meeting of all the Lithuanians was called, at which Mr Bauze greeted the newcomers, provided some details about life in Australia, and invited all to become members of the Australian Lithuanian Society.  The invitation was warmly embraced and Mr Bauze left with a list of about 400 new members."  [There were 437 Lithuanians among the 839 First Transport passengers who initiated the Bonegilla migrant camp.]

** Kitchen staff photo:  Standing, 5th from left, standing, is Galina Vasins, later Karciauskas; 8th from left, is Irina Vasins, later Kakis, both cleaners.  Double-click on this photograph to see a larger version.