The first Lithuanians to arrive and settle in Australia are known to have done so in the early 1800's. Their numbers were small, and though they increased to a few hundred by the late 1930's, the first large migration of Lithuanians to Australia occurred only after W.W.II.
Lithuanians arrived from the DP camps of Germany shortly after The Hon. Arthur Calwell MP, then the Minister for Migration, visited the DP camps of Europe in 1947 and reported to the government of the day about the miserable conditions he had witnessed. The large Lithuanian Communities in Australia today had their origins right at the very beginning of Australia's post-war migration intake. They arrived in the first and following ships bringing to Australia its post-war migrant intake. In the first shipload, some 85% of the passengers were Lithuanians, the balance being mainly Latvians and Estonians.
The Lithuanian people migrating en-mass to Australia in the period 1947 to 1953 were refugees and displaced-persons fleeing from the Soviet occupation of the Republic of Lithuania. Of some 80,000 Lithuanians bunkered within the DP camps it is estimated that approximately 10,000 migrated to Australia. Around 50,000 migrated to the USA with the remainder to the UK, Canada, South America, or remained in Germany. Few migrated to other countries. Post 1953 the numbers of Lithuanians migrating to Australia dwindled, and over the past decade yearly migration numbers are around 50 per year. There has not been a large migration of Lithuanian people to Australia following the collapse of the USSR and the restoration of Lithuanian Independence. There is no expectation within the Community that there would be any significant increase in migration numbers in the foreseeable future. Conversely, there has also been a negligible number of Australian Lithuanians returning to live permanently in the Republic of Lithuania.
Upon arrival to Australia in the initial post-war years Lithuanian migrants were dislocated around Australia to various migrant centres, such as those set up in Bonegilla, Bathurst, and Greta. Signing up two year work contracts, they were employed in sugar-cane farming, land and forest clearing, tree felling for lumber, railway construction projects, the Snowy Mountains Scheme, in Hospitals, factories and similar. On completion of their contracts, most Lithuanians moved to major urban centres where other Lithuanians had congregated. This resulted in major Lithuanian Communities being established in Adelaide (2500), Melbourne (3000), and Sydney (3000), with minor Communities being established in Albury, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Hobart, Newcastle, Perth, and Wollongong. The three major centres accounted for around 85% of Lithuanian settlements, the minor centres for another 10%, with the remainder scattered across the rest of Australia.
The Lithuanian migrants were generally young, mostly unmarried, generally educated to secondary, vocational, trade and university level. Most marriages at that time were between Lithuanian migrants. Most, apart from those with trade qualifications, found that their qualifications were not recognised and were forced to accept work outside their areas of expertise. The vast majority had no English language skills, and with the lack of English language courses, (ESL as we know them today), learnt their English the hard way. Regardless of the difficulties that lay in their way, the Lithuanians accepted their lot, worked and saved hard, and became success stories in their newly adopted land. They did not become a burden on the Social Security system of the nation, and with few exceptions did not receive government handouts for the building of their cultural and social centres, or in support of their community activities. With minor exceptions all have accepted Australian Citizenship.
The Lithuanian people brought with them strong Social, Cultural, and Sporting traditions. The predominant Religions within the Community are Roman Catholic (85%), and Lutheran (8%). Early settlement forces dictating the choice of living location were not only those of the general congregation of Lithuanians in large urban centres, but also the location of Lithuanian Chaplains, and the progressive reformation of Choirs, Sports Clubs, Scouts, Folk-dancing groups etc. The lack of English language skills, unfamiliarity with the Anglo-Celtic culture and norms of
Australian life, the desire to propagate and maintain a sense of national identity, and the knowledge that they were first and foremost political refugees displaced from their homeland acted as additional magnets attracting the Lithuanian population to specific settlement locations.