Arrivals from England

England was the intermediate point for possibly the largest number of early Lithuanian-born migrants arriving in Australia. Many sailed from British ports having spent a shorter or longer period in England during the late 1800s or the early 1900s.

Most stopped in London, often spending several years or even decades before moving on to the New World. Some came with their families, others sailed alone or with small groups of friends or acquaintances.

The Lithuanian Catholic Church in London;
St Casimir's, Bethnal Green, built 1912.
Image courtesy of London Churches in Photographs:
https://londonchurchbuildings.wordpress.com/?s=lithuanian&submit=

One of the earliest settlers was Jonas MICKEVIČIUS (John McCOWAGE). The Australian Lithuanian Yearbook Metraštis (1961) notes that he arrived in 1887 with his wife and children together with two other unnamed Lithuanian men.  The two other men returned to London within a few years but Jonas and his family decided to settle in Sydney.  Family trees on Ancestry.com provide some more information: Jonas was born around 1855 in Suwalki (now in northern Poland, close to the Polish-Lithuanian border); and he married Morta Tuinyla in Fulham (London) around 1883. After migrating to Australia, Jonas worked as a greengrocer, eventually acquiring a stall at the Municipal Markets. Morta died in 1899 and Jonas in 1918; Metraštis records John Wedrien's account of meeting Jonas Mickevičius at the Sydney markets in 1914; Wedrien was apparently the first Lithuanian that Jonas had met in 23 years.

Michael Henry FRUMAR was born in Vilnius in 1885. A Lithuanian Jew, he had arrived in London shortly after 1900 and, in 1908, migrated to Australia aboard the Nairnshire. He settled in Sydney where he became a self-employed 'mantle and costume manufacturer' with premises in Pitt Street. Michael was naturalised in 1940 and died in 1949.

Others who arrived in Australia after spending some time in England included:

• Jonas BALAIKA from Marijampolė, arrived in 1912 after 5 years in England;
• George BARON from Marijampolė, arrived in 1908 - 20+ years;
• Isadore COHEN from Šakiai, arrived in 1915 - 6 years;
• William Frank JAKS from Kaunas, arrived in 1914 - 10+ years;
• Militan SCHATKOWSKI from Plateliai, arrived in 1914 - 6 years;
• Ksaveras (Alexander) SKIERYS from Marijampolė, arrived in 1911 - around 10 years;
• Jonas VIEDRINAITIS (John WEDRIEN) from Kudirkos Naumiestis, arrived in 1913 after 12 years in England and Scotland.

Arrivals from America

Pre-WW2 Lithuanian arrivals in Australia came from a range of intermediate destinations, including continental Europe, England and Scotland, the Far East and South Africa. Some had merely transited through those places, others had lived there for years before embarking for Australia. This post will look at some examples of those who came here via North America. The linked Wikipedia article provides some historical background on American migrations to Australia.

Previous posts have noted a number of arrivals with North American connections: the three Anzacs Adolfas MISKINIS (Adolph MISHKINIS), William KALINAUSKAS/KALINOVSKY/KALIN and David MINOR; as well as Kazys BRAZAUSKAS (Key BRAZ); Edward Charles PHILLULE (PILIULIS); and Vincentas and Kazimiera ZVIKEVITCH.

Possibly one of the earliest stories with an American chapter is that of John Henry SMITH, who according to a record on Ancestry.com was born in Klaipeda in 1825, married in San Francisco in 1850 and arrived in Australia shortly thereafter, possibly during the Victorian goldrush.  He died at Eaglehawk, Victoria, in 1885 leaving a wife and three children.

Carl (Charles) OSTERODE, born in 1878 in Tilsit, arrived in Australia in 1903 from San Francisco.  He lived in Queensland for a while but at some point decided to return to the USA; he died in Fresno, California, in 1949.

George BARON was born in Marijampole in 1874 but moved with his parents while still an  infant to the UK. He lived in London for 22 years, followed by 2 years in France, 2 years in Canada and 8 years in the USA before arriving in Australia in 1908. George lived at Manly (Sydney) and became a naturalised subject in 1923, giving his occupation as self-employed gem merchant. He was a single man and died in Sydney in 1929.

Frank BOBRE was born in 1881 in Vilnius and arrived in New York in 1907; he sailed for Australia from San Francisco in 1914. Settling in Rockhampton (Queensland) Frank and his wife raised 4 children. He died there in 1939.

Donnat (Henry) CAPLAN was born in Vilnius in 1893; he lived in the USA for 8 years before arriving in Australia in 1918. He settled in Melbourne, working as a carpenter, and died in St Kilda in 1953.