[This tribute, in Lithuanian, was published on page 7 of the Australian-Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) on 9 November 1987.]
On 30 October 1947, the American ship General Stuart Heinzelman sailed from the port of Bremerhaven in Germany, carrying the very first post-War refugees to Australia. They were only from Baltics and the majority were Lithuanians – 439 persons.
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| This photograph accompanied the original article, captioned “A group of Lithuanians on the ship General Heintzelman in 1947, en route to Australia; first on the left in the front row is Valentinas Gulbinas” |
This ship arrived at Fremantle Harbor on 28 November. The passengers travelled to Melbourne on an Australian warship. There they were met by the then Labor Government Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell and other government officials.
Lithuanians had their own cultural performances, holiday celebrations and more both during the trip and upon arrival in Melbourne, and later at the Bonegilla camp. Even the first basketball team was formed, with most players being Lithuanians.
These players included Vincas Mažiliauskas (later known as a Melbourne Varpas player), Jonas Motiejūnas, (former chairman of Varpas now living in America), Algis Liubinskas (died in Sydney, supporter of Kovas, whose son Mikas follows in his father’s sporting footsteps, famous as a Kovas basketball player and former prominent rugby player), Romas Genys (“Bodžis” from Sydney, a former famous Kovas basketball player in the days when Kovas won competitions between Australians and Lithuanians) and Zigmas Paškevičius. [Kovas is Sydney’s Lithuanian Sports Club while Varpas is the Melbourne equivalent.]
When they arrived in Australia, the first Lithuanians found a few compatriots who had been living here for a long time already. They discovered the former Lithuanian Association of Australia, which was headed by the venerable Antanas and Ona Baužė and family. They were the Lithuanian guardians and guideposts to the aliens in a land new to us.
The first Lithuanians who arrived were brave and determined, choosing this distant and so little-known land for their future life. And how other compatriots who stayed in Germany waited for the first letters from Australia and resumés in the press! Most of them needed to make a decision to go to Australia or choose another, more famous land. Not all of the first letters and descriptions in the press were good, as everything was so new, the climate was hot and the jobs were the worst ones that Australians didn’t want to do. Even worse, the wages were not very high compared to the working conditions.
When I came to Australia two years later and went to the desert, where the heat reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit [52 degrees Centigrade] in the summer, there were blizzards of red sand and poisonous spiders, scorpions and even snakes were hiding in the tents, apparently away from the heat. Even I cursed this country with curses that I only knew and wanted to run away from the desert, but I could not escape.
However, there were also happier people who spoke positively about Australia. After that, more and more of our compatriots were willing to go for a swim, without fear that kangaroos would swipe them with their tails. They did not fear that scorpions and spiders would crawl into their beds. They no longer thought that the Aboriginals would impale a white-skinned Lithuanian, and even better, the fair Lithuanian women, to roast them on their spears in a eucalyptus fire.*
The number of Lithuanians grew more and more. A considerable number, especially singles, went to distant regions of Australia and stayed there, creating non-Lithuanian families who were completely separated from Lithuanian life and Lithuanians. Quite a few, including some of our first arrivals, have found their eternal rest in Australian graves, but the traces and fruits of their work are very clearly visible.
This is the first of the arrival generation and the beginning to our communal and organisational life, which today their children and even the third generation of Lithuanian youth continue very beautifully. It is to be hoped that the Lithuanian spark of Lithuanian life, culture and our beautiful traditions ignited by those first arrivals, which is currently lit in a big and beautiful Lithuanian bonfire, will burn for a long time in our youth and future Lithuanian generations, showing that Lithuanians are truly resistant to all kinds of foreign storms.
It is good that in Sydney we have a dozen representatives from the very First Transport. Among them, Anskis Reisgys, the current head of the Talka Credit union in Sydney, did not get lost after going through the hardships of Australia, but acquired a teacher's license and taught for many years, participating in all activities related to our country. Mindaugas Šumskas, another employee of Talka, is an active member of the community. Valentinas Gulbinas, former chairman of the District, honorary member of Kovas, has worked a lot with young people and was one of the leaders when Australian Lithuanian athletes went to America and Canada.
Mykolas Petronis, a well-known former businessman in Sydney and honorary member of Kovas, is the representative of various organisations and an active member of the community. Romualdas Genys, a player in the first Australian Lithuanian basketball team, later rose to fame. Juozas Šuopys, who had a successful home rental business, is a great friend of Lithuanian players. Vincas Šuopys, a printer, started painting Mūsų Pastogė in Lithuanian. As for the female representatives, we have Balanda [Dulaityte] Liubinskas, the mother of our outstanding athlete Mick, Konstančija [Brundžaitė] Jurskis and others who arrived later.
The first Lithuanian immigrants contributed a lot to the establishment and construction of the Sydney Lithuanian Club. The sponsors and honorary members of the Kovas Sports Club include First Transport arrivals. At Sydney Lithuanian Club on Saturday evening, 21 November, Kovas will honour these distinguished and first post-war Lithuanian immigrants to Australia during its annual ball.
They will be introduced with ceremony to our younger citizens and current athletes, who, under the guidance of the tireless coach and manager, Snaige Gustafson, will carry out the evening's program.
The athletes and managers of Sydney's Kovas Club invite everyone, not only Lithuanians of the very first, but also of later transports, their families and their guests, to participate in this ball in large numbers. There they can remember their own youth and those first steps taken in this great and hospitable land of kangaroos.
* Modern-day apologies to any indigenous or other readers who are offended or shocked by this expression of the ignorance of the writer and others.
SOURCE
Laukaitis, Antanas (1987)'40 Metu Nuo I-J Transporto Atvykimo' ['40 Years Since the Arrival of First Transport'] Mūsų Pastogė [Our Haven] Sydney, 9 November, p 7 https://spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1987/1987-11-09-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf accessed 7 April 2025.
