Lithuanian Leader in Australia
Vytautas Simniškis very quickly became a leader of the Lithuanian community in Australia. Less than 5 years after arriving here on the First Transport, he became the second National President of ALB, Australijos Lietuvių Bendruomenė, the Australian Lithuanian Community, during 1953-54.
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| The earliest photo we have of Vytautas Simniškis is from his 1947 selection papers for migration to Australia Source: National Archives of Australia |
He stayed on the ALB board, initiating important developments for his community. As well, from 1960 to 1983, he chaired the board of Sydney’s Lithuanian House. During this time, he oversaw the club’s move from inner city Redfern to much larger, modern premises in Strathfield. They have been described as “one of the most beautiful Lithuanian houses in the entire diaspora”.
Daina already has detailed this on her blog, Australian Lithuanian History. In summary, during his ALB presidency, he was
- Responsible for developing close relationships with other exile organisations and Australian political parties;
- Raising the case for Lithuania’s independence through these organisations, nationally and internationally;
- Initiating a united Baltic committee to campaign for independence for all 3 countries.
Also while on the ALB board he
- Called together Sydney women to establish their Women's Social Care Association, in 1956: his wife was a member and served as President;
- Strengthened finances for the Australian-Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven).
Daina published the Simniškis story only 6 months ago, but documents held by the National Archives of Australia for him and his wife have become available since then. Let’s see what they add to the story.
Vytautas' early life
Vytautas Simniškis was born in 2 October 1918, in Marijampolė, into a large family of a wealthy farmers.
Like many Lithuanians, Vytautas ended up in the Seedorf Camp after the end of the war in Germany. This Camp was in Seedorf bei Zeven in what is now Lower Saxony, north-western Germany, in the British occupation zone. It lay roughly midway between Hamburg and Bremen. The British gave it the DP Accommodation Centre number DPAC 249. There he used his previous clerical experience to be a warehouse manager.
According to the report of the selection panel for migration to Australia, he had reached Germany in October 1944. His reason for coming was the usual, “Fled from Russian regime”.
He had completed 4 years of secondary education in addition to the minimum 4 years of primary school.
In Lithuania he had been a clerk for 7 years, his qualifications for this being “trade school”. Presumably that was his 4 years of secondary education. He also had served in the Lithuanian armed forces for 18 months, during 1938-40.
Vytautas Starts Out in Australia
He served the Australian Government’s minimum of two years’ employment here at the brown coal mines of Yallourn, Victoria.
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| There had been a haircut and a shave before this photograph was taken later in 1947 for Vytautas' Bonegilla card Source: National Archives of Australia |
At the beginning of 1950, Vytautas moved to Sydney, where he put down his roots and devoted himself wholeheartedly to Lithuanian activities. He bought a grocery store, which he modernised and expanded. It was his livelihood until he retired.
The two years (likely to have been reduced by some months to a period ending 30 September 1948 by a decision of the Minister for Immigration) at the brown coal mines means that Vytautas should have a place in Josef Sestokas’ book, Welcome to Little Europe. Indeed, he is there, as someone “Only remembered for what he did after his time at the North Camp: Went to Sydney, opened a bottle shop (sic) and became a leader within the Sydney Lithuanian community.”
Vytautas the Administrator
From the beginning of 1952 until 1958, Vytautas was a member of the board of the Lithuanian Community of Australia, serving for three terms. Soon after he joined, he was chosen to be President when the previous office-holder left Australia.
In 1955, Vytautas married fellow Lithuanian Tatjana Chodeckaitė. Tatjana, born in Siauliai, had been a dental assistant in Lithuania and Germany. She had earned her income for 10 years from needlework, including embroidery. She was 39 years old when she arrived in Australia on the Svalbard on the 16 August 1948. Vytautas was something like 9 years younger.
When Vytautas turned 60 in 1978, Mūsų Pastogė published a front page tribute. Its position was not a surprise, given that he had taken on the role of publisher of this newspaper from January 1954 to September 1959. This appears to be the period of time in which he was strengthening the finances, so he was not a publisher in name only.
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| The photograph used to illustrate Vytautas' 60th birthday tribute Source: Mūsų Pastogė |
The anonymous author the tribute finished by writing, in Lithuanian of course, “Calm and careful, never hot-tempered, always with 'gaspadorian' wisdom [that of the head of the household or the farm owner] and light humour, Vytautas persistently ploughed furrow after furrow in the entire soil of our social activity and grew a rich harvest. We congratulate Vytautas Simniškis on this anniversary and wish him not to let go of the plough and reins from his strong hands for a long time.”
Vytautas' Death
Sad to say, Vytautas lasted less than 9 more years, dying on 3 July 1987. His funeral was attended by around 200 mourners 5 days later at St. Joseph's Church, Lidcombe.
The Chairman of the Sydney Lithuanian Club, Vytautas Bukevičius, spoke on behalf of his Board. He urged those present to continue Vytautas’ work by committing to maintain the Lithuanian Club and leave it for future generations as an eternal monument.
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| A final photograph, to accompany Vytautas' obituary Source: Mūsų Pastogė |
The larger mourner numbers meant a long motorcade to the Rookwood Crematorium.
This time, the man who wrote the obituary in Mūsų Pastogė is known. He was Anskis Reisgys, who had arrived on the First Transport with Vytautas and served on committees with him. Translated from Lithuanian, some of Anskis’ words follow.
“The path from the old Redfern walls to the current licensed [Lithuanian] club with new buildings was winding and full of obstacles. It was necessary to compete in the courts with bar lawyers, municipal bureaucrats, builders; to study the basic laws of this land, binding the clubs, and to listen to disputes among themselves. Vytautas overcame all this.
“He had neither magical power nor supernatural abilities, but he had a 'gaspadorian' hand, was straight-thinking and, after patiently listening to mutual disputes, would say with a light sense of humor: '...let's get back to work, men, because we need to do it now.' And thus, ploughing furrow by furrow, he grew a great harvest. He was not proud of his achieved result, but quietly, quietly rejoiced in the beautiful harvest.”
Some of those words and phrases ('gaspadorian', '… ploughing furrow by furrow, he grew a great harvest') suggest that Anskis was the author of the earlier tribute also.
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| The misspelling on Vytautas' Rookwood Cemetery plaque is not how he should be remembered Source: Billion Graves |
Tatjana died just over a year later, on 11 August 1988, and her ashes are interred with those of Vytautas at Rookwood.
CITE THIS AS: Pocius, Daina and Tündern-Smith, Ann (2026) 'Vytautas Simniškis (1918- 1987), Leading Australian Lithuanian', https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2026/05/vytautas-simniskis-1918-1987-leading-Australian-Lithuanian.html.
SOURCES
Billion Graves 'Search Results of Vytautas Simniskis' https://billiongraves.com/search/results?CollectionID=&CatalogID=&PageNumber=1&PageSize=20&GivenNames=vytautas&GivenNamesExact=false&MaidenName=&MaidenNameExact=false&FamilyName=Simniskis&FamilyNameExact=false&EventBirthYear=&EventBirthYearRange=5&EventDeathYear=&EventDeathYearRange=5&MilitaryConflict=&MilitaryBranch=&MilitaryRank=&YearRange=&ID=2f5e5799-00b2-4377-b876-449bd9096ed3, accessed 9 May 2026.
Find A Grave ‘Vytwatas (sic) Simniskis’ www.findagrave.com/memorial/150628633/vytwatas-simniskis, accessed 9 May 2026.
Find A Grave ‘Tatjana Simniskis’ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150628632/tatjana-simniskis, accessed 9 May 2026.
Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1978) ‘V. Simniškiui 60 metų’ (‘V. Siminiskis, 60 years’, in Lithuanian), Sydney, NSW, 10 September, p 1 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1978/1978-10-09-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 9 May 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; 276, SIMNISKIS Vytautas DOB 2 October 1917, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005991, accessed 9 May 2026.
National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11841, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Svalbard departing Bremerhaven 21 May 1948, 1948 - 1948; 312, CHODECKAITE Tatjana DOB 27 December 1909, 1948 - 1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5124221, accessed 9 May 2026.
National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; CHODECKAITE TATJANA, CHODECKAITE, Tatjana : Year of Birth - 1909 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - SVALBARD : Number - [UNKNOWN], 1948 - 1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203670444, accessed 9 May 2026.
National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; SIMNISKIS VYTAUTAS, SIMNISKIS, Vytautas : Year of Birth - 1917 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 672, 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203711663, accessed 9 May 2026.
Reisgys, Anskis (1987) ‘A A. VYTAUTAS SIMNIŠKIS’ (‘In Memoriam, Vytautas Simnisksi’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven), Sydney, NSW, 20 July, p. 3 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1987/1987-07-20-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 9 May 2026.
Šeštokas, Josef (2010) Welcome to Little Europe: Displaced Persons and the North Camp, Sale, Little Chicken Publishing, p 94.
