30 Return to Western Australia, by Ann Tündern-Smith

We've noted already that the Western Australian public and, probably, Western Australian public officials, thought that all of the passengers were going to stay in their state. It therefore was politic to oblige at least one Western Australia employer with a group of new employees. 

In fact, three employers were supported, all in the timber industry one way or another. They were Bunning Brothers (now known nationally and in New Zealand), Millers Timber & Trading Co Ltd and the State Saw Mills. Between them, they were supplied with 30 workers. All left the Bonegilla Reception and Training Centre on 15 January 1948. That was after a 5-week stay in the Bonegilla camp and about 6 weeks since they had left Western Australia on the Kanimbla.

The first notice of their impending arrival was given 10 days before they left for Western Australia. Given the size of the report and its placement at the bottom of page 8 of the local daily newspaper, maybe the disappointment wasn't so great after all.

The second paragraph contains the first news of the return of 30 men to WA

Source: West Australian, 5 January 1948, page 8

Regardless of their previous experience (at least one placed elsewhere had been a senior manager), they would all start on the bottom rung of the timber industry as labourers, a sawmillers’ spokesman told the West Australian newspaper. They would receive union rates of pay (as mandated by the Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, and the best way of ensuring their integration into the workforce anyhow).

Source:  West Australian, 6 January 1948, page 7

On the same day, 6 January, the West Australian ran an editorial in support of the new Baltic arrivals and European migration generally.  This was important, given how focussed migration plans had been on sourcing Britons until Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, had visited Europe in the middle of the previous year.  It meant that an influential voice in Western Australia was supportin Calwell's new direction

The West Australian's editorial in support of migration from Europe

Source:  West Australian, 6 January 1948, page 7

The West Australian reported 2 days after they left Bonegilla that they were expected in Perth two days later, on January 19. Their destinations would be the towns of Pemberton, Jarrahdale, Treesville and Manjimup. (Two of those names do sound like settlements started specifically for the timber industry.)

Like the previous two notices, this one was tucked away, again on page 7.

Source:  West Australian, 17 January 1948

The Perth evening newspaper, the Daily News, gave them much more prominence on their day of their arrival, with a photograph and report on page 2. Indeed, there was page 1 prominence given to one of the men, former Estonian Albert Kaddatz. I hope we can look at him in more detail soon.

Page 2 news with a photograph this time!
Source:  Perth Daily News, 19 January 1948
(Click on the image for a more legible version in a new webpage)

All of the men with their potential employers are listed below.

Bunning Brothers
Gerhard Gruscin	Lithuanian
Anskis Reizgys	Lithuanian
Edvardas Rimkevicius	Lithuanian
Zenonas Sakalinskas	Lithuanian
Juozas Sadauskas	Lithuanian
Kostas Sanda	Lithuanian
Anton Kokins	Latvian
Janis Reinholds	Latvian
Olgerts Rutkis	Latvian
Millers Timber & Trading Co Ltd
Hugo Poldemaa	Estonian
Izidors Puzulis	Latvian
Janis-Benedikts Plaudis	Latvian
Vladis Norberts	Latvian
Juozas Mozuras	Lithuanian
Jonas Plestys	Lithuanian
Zigmas Plukis	Lithuanian
Algirdas Pranckunas	Lithuanian
Antanas Preimonas	Lithuanian
Stasys Rastutis	Lithuanian
State Saw Mills
Albert Kaddatz	Estonian
Algirdas Undzenas	Lithuanian
Juozas Savikas	Lithuanian
Augustinas Semiotas	Lithuanian
Kazys Sinkevicius	Lithuanian
Alfonsas Slionskis	Lithuanian
Bronius Smaliorius	Lithuanian
Alfredas Sutkevicius	Lithuanian
Jurgis Tucinskas	Lithuanian
Pranas Vysniauskas	Lithuanian

Once again, the number of names do not match the claimed numbers involved. There are no 30 people above, but 29.

The explanation in this case is the missing Bonegilla card for Alfonsas Sadauskas. We already know his story, thanks to a son, Vidas, who says that Alfonsas was sent to the Mundaring Weir area about 40km east of Perth. What we don’t know is which of the three employers sent him there.

He was not necessarily employed with Juozas Sadauskas, who appears not to have been a relative. In fact, the name Sadauskas is so common that 3 people called Juozas Sadauskas, but with different dates of birth, migrated to Australia under the IRO Mass Scheme.

Just as we now have linked Alfonsas Sadauskas’ story to the mention of his name above, we’ll link other stories to their names above as they come to hand.

SOURCE

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Western Australian Branch; PP482/1, Correspondence files [nominal rolls], single number series; 82, General Heintzelman - arrived Fremantle 28 November 1947 - nominal rolls of passengers https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=439196 accessed 27 June 2025.

 

Alfonsas Sadauskas (1916-1990), my father, by Vidas Sadauskas

Updated 22-23 April 2025.

Alfonsas was born on 26 September 1916 in Vabalninkas village in Biržai district, Lithuania.  As a young man he worked at various mills his father had rented, cutting lumber and milling grain. 

He volunteered for the Army at 22 and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer.  Towards the end of World War II, after the Lithuanian Army was disbanded, he fought against the Soviet invasion alongside partisans in Belarus. 

He was selected to come to Australia on the USAT General Stuart Heinzelman, arriving in Fremantle on 28 November 1947.

Alfonsas Sadauskas' photo from his 1948 Application to Register as an Alien

Source:  NAA: MT1078/1, V1959/44899

After initially being sent from Fremantle via Port Melbourne to Bonegilla in Victoria’s North, he was sent back to Western Australia.  His destination was the Mundaring Weir area about 40km east of Perth, cutting timber for his two years’ contracted service.  

He would travel to Fremantle to meet the ships coming from Germany to see if any relatives or friends had made the journey to Australia.  None had but, within a couple of years, he found his brother Bronius via the Red Cross.  He was able to sponsor Bronius' travel from the UK to Australia in 1950.  

On one trip to the docks he met Aldona Gražulytė whom he later married in Melbourne.

They raised three children and the family was active in the Melbourne Lithuanian Community:  Aldona taught at the Lithuanian Sunday school for many years; Alfonsas had stewardship of the Melbourne Scouts’ equipment.

Jonas, the eldest child, was a Scout leader and taught folk dancing for a number of years.  He completed a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked mainly with major computer networks and data centres.

Dona, the second child, also taught at the Sunday school as well as being a Scout leader and long-time folk dancer and choir singer.  She completed a degree in Social Work and remained in that field for her entire career.

Vidas, the youngest, danced and was a Scout leader prior to joining the Australian Army.  He worked as a linguist for the majority of his career. 

Alfonsas had six grandchildren (with a total of 10 children between them), some with tertiary degrees, and all with good jobs.

Alfonsas worked with timber his entire adult life, looking after the various machines at a timber yard until he retired at 65. He died on 24 September 1990, just 2 days short of his 74th birthday, and is buried at the Fawkner Cemetery alongside Aldona.

Alfonsas and Aldona's gravestone in the Fawkner Cemetery

Source:  Patricia C on FindAGrave

ADDITIONAL SOURCE

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Victorian Branch; MT1078/1, European migrants general personal files 1959; V1959/44899, SADAUSKAS, Alfonsas,  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4115588 accessed 5 April 2025.