Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

Adelaide and South Australia

Adelaide City arguably hosts Australia's richest Lithuanian heritage. All of it was created by a large Lithuanian community that arrived in South Australia ~1950, fleeing the brutal Soviet occupation of their home country.

In addition to the Lithuanian House, Adelaide has Australia's only Lithuanian church. It boasts more Lithuanian monuments than any other city in Australia, including a memorial to those who died for Lithuanian freedom, a memorial for Lithuanian soil, and plaques commemorating the Soviet exiles at the Adelaide Migration Museum.

Cooperating with Latvians and Estonians, Adelaide Lithuanians also established a home for the elderly. Some Lithuanians who spent much of their Australian lives in Adelaide were commemorated elsewhere in South Australia: Lobethal, Port Lincoln.

Despite the large number of Lithuanian sites, Adelaide's Lithuanian community is thought to be only the 3rd in size in Australia (after those of Melbourne and Sydney), numbering some 1500. However, arguably, the fact that Adelaide is a smaller city makes the Lithuanian hubs easily accessible to Lithuanians from every district, allowing these sites to thrive.

Australia's sole Lithuanian Museum and archive are also located in Adelaide.

Adelaide Lithuanian Catholic Centre that houses the Lithuanian church/chapel. ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

Adelaide Lithuanian Catholic Centre and St. Casimir Chapel (Church)

Adelaide St. Casimir's is considered to be the only Lithuanian Church in Australia. Globally, Lithuanian churches were considered a necessity for deeply religious Lithuanian diaspora communities, who also used them for ethnic activities. However, elsewhere in Australia, Lithuanians were precluded from opening them as the official policy was to promote assimilation through immigrants joining majority-English-speaking parishes. That said, Adelaide Lithuanians attracted more sympathy from the local bishop Matthew Beovich, himself of an Eastern European background, allowing them to open this church in 1960 (note: the peculiarities of the usage of words "church" or "chapel" for this place of worship are explained at the end of this section).

Adelaide St. Casimir Lithuanian Church is among the most ethnically Lithuanian churches in design. Here, every detail is a symbol of the lost Lithuania or the Russian/Soviet persecutions there. The altar is in the form of Lithuanian columns of Gediminas symbol, while the stained-glass window behind the altar is filled with images of Lithuania: it includes not only St. Casimir (patron saint of Lithuania) but also key Lithuanian sites, either religious (Kaunas Cathedral, Vilnius Cathedral, Šiluva Virgin Mary shrine, Three Crosses monument of Vilnius), secular/patriotic (Kaunas Freedom Monument, Gediminas Castle of Vilnius) or both (Gate of Dawn). The colours at the top of the stained-glass window are those of the flag of Lithuania.

On the side of the church, the stained-glass windows are equally symbolic, many of them representing various regions of Lithuania whose people ended up in Adelaide. They depict famous bishops and churches of these regions, as well as secular heraldry and historical events related to each region. They were installed ~1969-1974.

Entire St. Casimir church, with stained-glass windows on the right

The stained-glass window closest to the altar depicts the venerated image of Our Lady of Vilnius (Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn), together with the Gate of Dawn where it is located. Vilnius is located in the ethnographic region of Dzūkija. The window is dedicated to priest Juozas Kungys, who was instrumental in establishing the Adelaide Lithuanian Church.

Close-up of the stained-glass window behind the altar

The second stained-glass window is dedicated to the memory of the first bishop of Panevėžys, Kazimieras Paltarokas. It shows the image of Panevėžys Cathedral. The window was installed relatively soon after Paltarokas's death in 1958. As Panevėžys is considered the capital of Aukštaitija ethnographic region of Lithuania, this can be seen as the Aukštaitijan window. The designer of this window was J. Pocienė.

The third window is Samogitian. It was donated by people who fled the Samogitia region of Lithuania. It includes an image of the famous bishop of Samogitia, Motiejus Valančius, a bear which is the heraldic symbol of Samogitia, a slogan "Dieve, žemaičių viltys tavyje" ("God, the hopes of Samogitians are in you"), as well as a depiction of the Kražiai Massacre, when the Russian Imperial regime closed a church in Kražiai, Samogitia, and murdered the Lithuanian believers who protested. While this happened during the previous Russian Imperial regime rather than the Soviet one, with the Soviet anti-Catholic drive, these events still resonated.

Columns of Gediminas altar

The fourth is the window representing Suvalkija region, depicting Suvalkijan-born Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis as well as the image of "School of Sorrows" (Vargo mokykla), one of illegal underground Lithuanian language schools from the times when Lithuanian language printed materials and teaching were banned by the Russian Empire (1864-1904).

The fifth stained-glass window is dedicated to the Christianisation of Lithuania (1251), with the baptism of Lithuania's first Christian king, Mindaugas, depicted. It also includes a medal dedicated to Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great (created by Petras Rimša and issued for the 500th anniversary of his 1430 death in 1930, a date so important in interwar Lithuania that the entire year 1930 was styled "Vytautas the Great year" in official Lithuanian documents). Next to the medal, there is an image of a church established by Vytautas in Kaunas, as well as a depiction of Vytautas symbol. While the baptism of King Mindaugas (1251) is sometimes seen as the date of the Christening of Lithuania, actually, later rulers of Lithuania reverted to the pagan Baltic faith. It was only during the lifetime of Vytautas (who lived in 1350-1430) that Christianity finally took hold, and every ruler since Vytautas was a Christian - that's why both periods are represented on this stained-glass window.

Stained-glass windows representing the Christianisation of Lithuania (left) and Samogitia (right)

The sixth stained-glass window depicts the church of Kretinga as it looked before World War 2 destruction (and different from the way it has been rebuilt).

The seventh stained-glass window depicting St. George (who is a co-patron saint of Lithuania together with St. Casimir) was created by Žilinskienė in 1974, completing the entire series of stained-glass windows.

Suvalkijan (left) and Panevėžys (right) stained-glass windows

Additionally, there is a smaller stained-glass window with the Virgin Mary, baby Christ, and the words "Šventoji Marija, Globo Lietuva!" ("Holy Mary, take care of Lithuania!")

Under some of the windows, there are metal plaques with long lists of Lithuanians who donated to the particular window, often because of its relation to their region.

On the opposite side of the church, a shrine centred at a copy of the Three Crosses monument that is one of the symbols of Vilnius (author of the replica: J. Langevičius). At the time this monument was unveiled here, the original had been destroyed by the Soviets. Originally, the replica of the monument was placed behind the altar, but it was moved here after the stained glass window was installed in the front of the church. In the shrine, there are smaller Lithuanian materials, such as a miniature replica of a traditional koplytstulpis.

Three Crosses shrine at the side of the church

There are smaller Lithuanian symbols in the other places of the church as well, including Rūpintojėlis, a Lithuanian cross at the entrance, and a statue of Our Lady of Šiluva by G. Firinauskienė.

Columns of Gediminas at the front of the pews

Even some seemingly non-Lithuanian artworks in the church have double meanings. For example, a painting by Pranauskienė on the left of the altar depicts the Holy Family (St. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus). However, the author chose to depict the holy family during their exile, thus drawing parallels with the Lithuanian DP community, who also saw themselves as exiled, as staying in Lithuania was not an option for most of them: had they stayed in Lithuania in 1944, many of them would have been either killed by the Soviets or exiled to far more inhospitable areas, especially Siberia.

The front of the St. Casimir church. On the left is the painting by Pranauskienė. Our Lady of Vilnius stained-glass window is on the right

Adelaide Lithuanian church is part of a larger Lithuanian Catholic Centre. The two-floored brick building was constructed in ~1890 for Hardwicke College for girls. After Australia accepted Lithuanian refugees ~1947-1953 and they completed the initial mandatory years of labour, many have moved into cities like Adelaide and sought to acquire buildings for community affairs. By then, Hardwicke College was in dire straits, thus sold its own building to Lithuanians in 1959. In 1960, the St. Casimir church was established. The renovations and expansions were led by Karolis Reisonas - arguably the most important Lithuanian architect of the first half of the 20th century who had ended up as a DP in Adelaide (see the section on "Lithuanian graves" to learn more about him). A 1979 plaque unveiled by the descendants of the school's principals on the building's façade acknowledges the restoration and care of the building by Lithuanians.

St. Casimir bas-relief on the façade of the Lithuanian Catholic Centre

In addition to the church, the Lithuanian Catholic Centre includes:
*The main hall on the first floor, used for Lithuanian events that also includes a bar and a kitchen, with weekend Lithuanian meals possible. This hall was built by Lithuanians in what had been an open courtyard.
*Lithuanian school classrooms on the second floor, offering weekend Lithuanian lessons for Lithuanian children.
*Meeting rooms for Lithuanian organizations.
*Australia's only Lithuanian archive that collects Australian-published Lithuania-related books, materials brought to Australia by the Lithuanian DPs, as well as documents from various Lithuanian-Australian organisations. It also has some Lithuanian-Australian artworks.
*Rooms where priests used to live or stay - however, now they may be rented to Lithuanians, as there are no more resident priests, while visiting priests typically do not stay in the building.

Main hall of the Lithuanian Catholic Centre during a weekend meal

The façade of the Lithuanian Catholic Centre includes a cross to commemorate victims of the 1991 January 13th massacre (when Russian soldiers murdered Lithuanian civilians in Vilnius as Lithuanian had declared independence) and a bas-relief to Saint Casimir (created in 1984 for his 600 year jubilee, author Ieva Pocius). The history of the building (including its "Lithuanian period") is described on a freestanding plaque in a street in front of it (such historical plaques are common in Adelaide).

Dedication of the cross on the side of the façade to the victims of January 13th 1991 massacre

The courtyard is adorned by a monument to Lithuanian soil. Erected in 1962 and designed by Algimantas Navakas, it looks like a Catholic shrine that would hold relics of a saint; however, instead of such relics, it holds soil brought in from Lithuania. On top of that shrine, there is Rūpintojėlis sculpture (traditional "worried Jesus" common in Lithuanian iconography), while the decor of the monument includes the coat of arms of Lithuania and its largest cities, as well as words "Lietuva brangi mūsų tėvyne" ("Lithuania, our beloved homeland") that originates in a popular patriotic poem. The monument, like the church itself, is a good example of how Lithuania was revered by the DPs who had been forced to leave it by the Soviet occupation, unable to safely return.

Monument to Lithuanian soil

Also in the yard is the Mission cross created by St. Kerulis according to P. Pusdešris design. It had originally been constructed in 1959 at a summer camp the Lithuanian Catholics owned in Christies Beach. The missions it is dedicated to were visits by a Lithuanian-American bishop, Vincentas Brizgys, who had also left Lithuania due to Soviet occupation; he would tour Lithuanian DP communities all over the world in his popular missions, thus uniting the Lithuanian diaspora world. The Christies Beach summer camp had been acquired even before the Catholic Centre in 1956; it was expanded in 1958 by adding sports premises. However, it was sold soon after to fund the renovation and expansion of the newly-acquired Lithuanian Catholic Centre. As it was sold to other Lithuanians, they eventually donated part of the lands back to the Lithuanian Catholics. The lots, where new buildings have been constructed, then served as a Lithuanian camp "Baltija", however, it has since closed.

Lithuanian Catholic Centre with the January 13th cross on its tower and the freestanding Missions cross in front. This is the church side of the building with the stained-glass windows visible from the outside (on the first floor)

Note: Lithuanians traditionally use names such as "St. Casimir Lithuanian Church" and "St. Casimir Lithuanian Parish" (or at least their Lithuanian translations "bažnyčia", "parapija"). However, formally, St. Casimir's is a chapel rather than a church and not a separate parish, while its resident priest used to be styled chaplain rather than rector. Due to the Australian policies against ethnic parishes, bishop Beovich advised Lithuanians (who had collected 500 signatures in favour of a separate Lithuanian parish) that establishing such a parish through the Vatican's support could take several years and would not be guaranteed. However, he suggested a possibility to achieve similar results more easily. Lithuanians thus acquired their own building (Lithuanian Catholic Centre), in which they established a hall to celebrate holy mass. This hall officially became designated a chapel, thus avoiding the limitations on ethnic churches. However, its size and opulence make it equal to a church, and, led by Lithuanian priests who lived in the Centre itself, it essentially became a Lithuanian parish in all but official name. In hindsight, the non-church status proved beneficial to Lithuanians, as, in the late 20th and 21st century, it became common for bishops to close Lithuanian diaspora parishes and churches, selling their buildings. Bishops have that power over the Lithuanian parishes of the USA or Canada, as the church buildings are owned by the dioceses, despite having been constructed or acquired entirely through Lithuanian donations or voluntary labour. Being a chapel, though, St. Casimir's of Adelaide (and the whole Lithuanian Catholic Centre) is fully owned by a Lithuanian ethnic organisation. Establishing the Lithuanian Catholic Centre in 1959 and building its chapel in 1960 culminated the Lithuanian efforts to have their own church in Adelaide that were led by priest Kungys. Previously, in 1958, Lithuanians had suggested renovating St. Joseph Church in return for its exclusive use for 60 years; however, the diocese refused to agree to what was essentially a rent of the church for ethnic activities.

Adelaide Lithuanian House and Museum

Adelaide is the only Australian city to have more than a single Lithuanian hub. Adelaide Lithuanian House was created in 1957.

Lithuanian House of Adelaide

The Lithuanian House consists of several single-floored buildings. The main building includes a massive main hall for events as well as a bar. They are decorated in Lithuanian ethnic motifs, coats of arms of Lithuanian cities, as well as Lithuanian-Australian artworks.

Stage of the main hall of the Adelaide Lithuanian House

Main Hall of the Adelaide Lithuanian House (looking back from the stage)

Also, the House includes a Lithuanian museum (established in 1967 by Jonas Vanagas, see also this article's section on Lobethal Historical Archives and Museum), open by appointment.

Lithuanian Museum sign

The museum exhibits include:
*Things that Lithuanian refugees took with them when fleeing Lithuania. These include Lithuanian mementos such as interwar military uniforms and folk costumes.
*Historical documents of Lithuanian-Australians, such as the refugee cards.
*Art (paintings, sculptures) created by Lithuanian Australians. As intellectuals were among the prime targets of Soviet discrimination, many artists left for Australia, continuing their work there; many of the Lithuanian children who grew up in Australia became artists as well. Much of the art present in the Lithuanian House is related to historical moments of Lithuania and incorporates Lithuanian symbols.
*General information about Lithuania and Lithuanians.
*Photos from Lithuania and the life of Adelaide Lithuanians.

Inside the Adelaide Lithuanian museum. ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

Lithuanian House was acquired in 1957. Previously, the building served as a church. Architect Karolis Reisonas was in charge of the renovation and expansion, which took place after an additional lot was acquired in 1959-1960. Additional rooms were attached to the main hall. In 1966, the museum premises were attached, and the main hall was expanded. In total, the edifice was expanded threefold. Since 1962, J. Bachunas library operated (it has since closed). In 1973, the bar was licenced as a club (it operated with regular hours until 2020 but became event-only after COVID).

Entrance of the Adelaide Lithuanian House

The yard of the Lithuanian House includes two monuments.

A stone memorial to those who died for Lithuania has been a focal point for commemorative events, especially while Lithuania was still occupied by the Soviet Union, when Lithuanians would gather here to pray and to sing their national anthem. At the centre of the monument is a bas-relief of a mother holding a dead Lithuanian soldier, created in a style of Pieta images. On the sides, there are two major Lithuanian symbols: columns of Gediminas and the cross of Vytis. This monument was erected in 1968 11 23 by the Lithuanian Veteran Union "Ramovė" that comprised Lithuanian war veterans. Lithuanian mementos were buried under the memorial, including a Ramovė pin, a map of Lithuania, Lithuanian soil, a piece of amber, and a Lithuanian litas coin. Flagpoles behind the monument would host flags during the events.

Lithuanian monuments. The monument for those who died for Lithuania is in the centre

Nearby is a traditional Lithuanian chapel-post (koplytstulpis) that also includes the Rūpintojėlis motif in its top and a Lithuanian sun-cross above it. The Koplytstulpis is dedicated to the deceased members of the Adelaide Lithuanian Union, as well as sponsors of the Lithuanian House. It was created by Vosylius Jaršovas and sponsored by Ignas Taunys in 1988 12 18.

Lithuanian memorabilia in the bar of the Lithuanian House of Adelaide

Lithuanian memorials and exhibits at the Adelaide Migration Museum

South Australia is the sole Australian state to have been settled only by free migrants rather than convicts. In the 19th century, people of many nationalities were attracted to the Adelaide area by a promise of religious freedom (which Europe lacked at the time). The number of nationalities continued to increase in the 20th century. Due to such multicultural history, the Migration Museum was established in Adelaide in 1986. The museum includes exhibits related to Lithuanians of Australia.

Adelaide Migration Museum with the wall of ethnic plaques on the left

At the museum's entrance, there are numerous memorial plaques commemorating the largely sad catalysts for large communities of various nations migrating to Australia. Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians have a common plaque on this wall commemorating the hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians exiled and killed through starvation and cold during the Soviet genocide (a common experience and common reason for migration to Australia for Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians alike). The Lithuanian-Latvian-Estonian plaque was among the first to be unveiled on this wall, this having happened in 1992. It includes the coats of arms of all three countries, which had recently become independent (1990-1991) by the time the plaque was unveiled.

Commemorative plaque for exiled Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians in the yard of the Adelaide Migration Museum

There is another Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian plaque near the side wall of the museum yard. It reads "In remembrance of the sufferings of fellow countrymen deported from their homelands to Siberia by the Soviet communist regime on 14th June, 1941". It was originally built in 1959 as a part of a memorial in Glenunga Reserve organised by Juozas Lapšys, the president of the Baltic Council that united the three communities. Next to the plaque, the communities planted trees. Fearing that the memorial may disappear, it was moved to a safer location inside the Migration Museum after it opened in 1985. Thus, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians are the only nations that have multiple plaques in the yard of the Migration Museum.

Original Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian plaque

While the second plaque, unveiled after the independence of the Baltic countries, mentions the June 13rd-14th 1941 deportations as just the first ones, the original 1959 plaque is dedicated solely to the Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians deported in 1941. While, in fact, far more Lithuanians were deported and murdered later (1945-1952), 1941 expulsions (when up to 2% of the population were deported in a single week) were the only ones that Adelaide Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians would remember themselves, as they had fled their homelands in 1944 before the next waves of expulsions took place. In fact, the horror of the 1941 expulsions and the expectation that they would be "next in line" once the Soviet Union returned was among the key reasons why hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians chose to flee westwards in 1944 as the Soviet armies were approaching, thousands of them eventually ending up in Adelaide.

In the permanent exhibits of the Museum, there are some life stories of Lithuanians.

Exhibits in the museum compare the story of post-WW2 Lithuanian DP Mockūnas family and that of the German religious refugees 100 year earlier

The Migration Museum also hosts temporary exhibitions, typically each of which is created by a particular ethnicity (and dedicated to its culture). A 2015 book lists all the former exhibitions, four of them organized by Lithuanians (topics: Lithuanian bookplates (1989-1990), Lithuanians alive (1990), Lithuanian festivals in Adelaide 1950-2002 (2002-2003), Lithuanian folk art). Latvians and Estonians also held a similar number of events. In general, the stories of people who migrated for political rather than economic reasons tend to be better represented in the museum (likely because "forced migrants" are more keen on celebrating the culture they lost).

Excerpt from the book of temporary exhibitions details the 2002 exhibition on Adelaide Lithuanian festivals. Picture ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

The Migration Museum was funded by donations, with the names of donors (among them Lithuanians) now written on the bricks on the ground of the yard.

Under this tree is the older plaque for Baltic exiles. The donor bricks are in the foreground

Amber Aged Care

Amber Aged Care was established in 1989-1992 as Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians pooled together to create a space where their elderly could live among their brothers in fate who also had to flee the Baltic States.

The nursing home has 40 beds in private en-suite rooms. It was initially named "Baltic Communities Home" but was renamed as, with changing generations, it began accepting people of other ethnic heritage as well. Nevertheless, with amber being associated with the Baltic Sea, the symbolic connection remains.

Amber Aged Care

In 2000, independent living multi-bedroom homes, "Amberlie", were added to the complex.

On June 20th of 2008, a monument with Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian flags, as well as a dancing couple, was built.

Lithuanian graves in the Centennial Park Cemetery

Lithuanian DPs, unable to be buried in Lithuania, often sought to at least be buried together. While, unlike in Sydney or Brisbane, no formal Lithuanian cemetery zone was established in Adelaide, Lithuanian burial clusters developed informally in the Centennial Park, as Lithuanians sought to acquire lots for their own graves as close as possible to other Lithuanians already buried there. Many of these gravestones are adorned by Lithuanian symbols (columns of Gediminas, cross of Vytis, Lithuanian flags, Lithuanian sun-crosses, Lithuanian coat of arms), words ("Lithuanians", "Born in Lithuania" "Ilsėkis ramybėje"), or phrases relating to losing the homeland and family which ended up behind the iron curtain ("Lithuanians - Suradę Tėvynę Dieve" - "Lithuanians - Discovered their Homeland in God"; "Sudiev, brangi Lietuva Tėvyne, amžinai" - "Goodbye forever, beloved homeland Lithuania").

Lithuanian graves at Centennial Park

The most famous Lithuanian to be buried here arguably is architect Karolis Reisonas (1894-1981). In Adelaide, he was instrumental in redeveloping and expanding both Lithuanian hubs. However, he performed his greatest works in Lithuania of the 1920s-1930s, designing most of the grand buildings of interwar Kaunas at the time, including its Resurrection Church and War Museum. Reisonas's buildings now form the basis of the Kaunas "art deco area" that became a UNESCO World Heritage site. Interestingly, Karolis Reisonas was actually an ethnic Latvian born near Riga as Kārlis Reisons; however, he migrated to Lithuania in 1922 and had his career there, integrating into the Lithuanians, naturalising in 1932, and staying with the Lithuanian community even after emigration to Australia; only the Lithuanian version of his name is chiselled on his gravestone.

Karolis Reisonas grave

Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum

Lobethal is a town of 2000 people in Adelaide hills. Established in 1842 by German immigrants, it had nothing to do with Lithuanians. However, after World War 2, a Lithuanian DP Jonas Vanagas was dispatched to work here. As a voluntary side-hobby, he not only collected the area's history into a book, but also established Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum, the first such regional museum in South Australia. It is said that he was inclined to do so because he felt a great sadness for losing his own homeland, and happiness for the people of Lobethal who still had access to their history and relics. Nevertheless, before he came to live here, few people of Lobethal were interested in collecting or writing down this history, something Jonas Vanagas changed.

Inside the Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum

Vanagas's work is commemorated by a plaque at the museum entrance, as well as exhibits with images and stories describing how he created the museum and amassed the collection. He completed his book on the town's history in 1955 and planned the museum for what was known as the Vanagas collection. The construction began in 1960 and was completed in 1961. The exhibits are mostly related to the German settlers, while the small hut at the centre of the museum is actually the authentic Lutheran seminary, the first in the southern hemisphere, which became the museum's centrepiece. There are a few exhibits related to Lithuanians as well, e.g., a doll dressed in Lithuanian folk costume.

Plaque for Jonas Vanagas at the entrance of the the Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum

Jonas Vanagas moved from Lobethal to Adelaide soon after the Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum was opened. In Adelaide, he was instrumental in establishing the Lithuanian Museum in the Lithuanian House.

Vanagas-related exhibit in the museum

Lobethal Archives and Historical Museum are open by appointment.

Lithuanian-named places in South Australia outside Adelaide

Port Lincoln has Aidas Court named after Aidas Kazimieras Galindas Kubilius. He helped the local homeless people and was especially loved; therefore, when he died at the age of just 41, a street was named after him. He died in Lithuania, where he visited a ceremony of reburial of the remains of his Soviet-exiled grandmother from Siberia back to Lithuania.

Aidas Court in Port Lincoln

A school in Port Pirie has Paulauskas Playground, likely named after Danielius Paulauskas.