Virtual exhibition “Australian Lithuanians. Part 1”
This year, the Australian Lithuanian community is celebrating an honorable anniversary - the 75th year of its existence. Formed in difficult conditions, but strong, the Australian Lithuanian community actively nurtures Lithuanian values, keeps traditions, and passes them on from generation to generation. The community operates in various fields and, what is especially important, makes great efforts to preserve the collective memory of Lithuanians who emigrated. The preservation of Lithuanian heritage is relevant not only for the diaspora, but also for the state of Lithuania.
At the initiative of Rasa Mauragis, the chairperson of the Australian Lithuanian community, effective inter-institutional cooperation began as early as 2022, after the signing of the tripartite Cooperation Agreement between the Lithuanian Central State Archives, the Australian Lithuanian Community and the Australian Lithuanian Archives. November 2023 cooperation gained momentum - employees of the Lithuanian Central State Archive visited the Australian Lithuanian Archive (ALA) in Adelaide. During the business trip, they communicated with ALA volunteer archivist Daina Pocius and her assistant volunteers Jurate Grigonis, Birute Beal and Edita Meskauskaite, who work in the archive. Meetings and conversations were held with the president of the Lithuanian community of South Australia, Aleksas Talanskas. During a visit to the Australian Lithuanian Archive, located in Adelaide Lithuanian Catholic Centre, potential exhibits were selected for the upcoming virtual exhibition.
The first Lithuanians reached the shores of Australia in 1925–1927. The newcomers sought a better life, worked in industry, engaged in crafts, and established themselves in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.
The biggest wave of emigration to Australia occurred after the Second World War in Western Europe, when many Lithuanians fled the Soviet, Nazi occupation, exiles and atrocities, seeking a safe shelter far from their home. Most emigrants stayed in the camps of displaced persons (DP) in West Germany, where all displaced persons, popularly called dipukai, were accommodated. From there, Lithuanians went to another countries, including Australia.
After World War II, there were only 7.5 million people in Australia. There was a lack of manpower, so the Australian government in 1947 invited emigrants from Europe to come to Australia and settle there permanently. Single men and women between the ages of 18 and 45 were invited to come and live. Not expecting to attract many English-speaking emigrants from the British Isles, the Australian government made it possible for war refugees from various countries to emigrate to Australia. The first emigrants of non-British origin, who arrived in Australia in November 1947, were: 439 Lithuanians, 262 Latvians and 142 Estonians. They arrived at the Australian port of Fremantle on the United States military ship The General Stuart Heintzelman. Over the next seven years, more than 9,000 Lithuanians came to Australia from Europe. They all created and until today have maintained one of the largest active national communities in the country.
After arriving in Australia, Lithuanians faced the challenges of a new environment. Many of them started doing manual jobs in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Despite the economic and cultural difficulties, Lithuanians re-graduated their studies and started to create their own communities to preserve their national identity, language and traditions. The Lithuanian Catholic Church was also an important center of attraction that helped maintain cultural ties.
The Lithuanian community of Australia was established in 1950. It became an important organization that coordinated the activities of Lithuanians throughout the country. Various sports clubs, folk dance groups and schools were established, Lithuanian newspapers were published, Lithuanian cultural festivals, exhibitions, literary evenings were organized.
In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Australian Lithuanian community, the Lithuanian Central State Archives, together with Australian Lithuanian Archives, invite you to reflect on the history of the settlement and establishment of Australian Lithuanians on the old continent by presenting this ten-part virtual exhibition, which will be open throughout 2025.
The virtual exhibition “Australian Lithuanians. Part I” consists of three sections: “Lithuanians in Displaced Persons (DP) camps. Preparation for the trip to Australia”, “Voyages by ships”, “Migrant camps in Australia. Two-year contract”. The majority of the exhibition's exhibits consist of written and photographic documents kept by the ALA. For opening them to the public, we are grateful to Daina Pocius, who also shared photos from her family archive. We are very grateful to the chairman of the Australian Lithuanian community Rasa Mauragis and her brother Linas Kubilius, who donated their family album to the archive, which contains photos of interwar Lithuanian state and public figure Stasys Silingas and his family, as well as photo negatives that record part of the history of the Silingai family. You will see some of the photos from this album at the exhibition.
We feel a great professional interest in the sources stored in the Australian Lithuanian Archive - they are little researched, unique and show the development of Lithuanian emigration. For the first time, we are opening them to the Lithuanian public and history lovers.