Andris Branka / Ford

Story

My mother Valda Malvina, and my sister Velta escaped the impending Russian advance. They were evacuated by the Germans who provided 2 ships which left Riga bound for Germany. The Russians bombed the ship, but did not sink it. The ship put into port for repairs and then continued the journey. We stayed in the Displaced Persons camp in Lubeck. As my mother’s first husband was listed as missing in action, my mother remarried Arnold Branka, I ( Andris )was born in the Lubeck camp in 1946.

We were given the choice of where to go, Canada, USA, Australia.

We chose Australia, and so our journey began. We travelled by train and arrived in Naples Italy. I was very young but I am still amazed at what I can remember, for instance, when we got of the train in Naples we saw bombed out buildings and people begging in the streets. My mother who was a very kind person, gave our last 2 loaves of bread to a begging child on the station platform – mum said “its allright, we will be given food at the Naples camp”. Our lodgings in Naples was a large multi-story brick building; we were given a room upstairs between 4 families; we divided the room with hanging blankets. (Rule 1 was you must never touch the blanket; rule 2 you must whisper)

I remember the washing in Naples hung out between the buildings and the trip to see Pompeii, (We travelled to Italy in 1993 and they still hung out the washing in Naples between the multi story buildings, and many bombed-out buildings still remained).

We finaly got the call to board the ship for Australia on 29 Nov 1949 on SS Castel Bianco. On the Ship I remember it being very hot and the food was bare minimum. We had very few vegetables and virtually no fruit, only pasta, until a complaint was lodged with the Captain, after which we saw some oranges. We passed through the Suez Cannal and stopped at Port Said where the locals paddled out to the ship to sell their hand made goods. We threw coins into the sea and the locals dived for them. When the ship crossed the Equator, we noted the occasion with a celebration – someone dressed up as King Neptune with a trident and sea weed all over him. And Arnold did a hand stand on the ships railing, to the amazement of all.

Arrival impressions.

We arrived at Port Melbourne 29 Dec 1949. News cameras were everywhere, photographing the lovely blond girls from the Baltics- even newsreels were made of the arrival, and pictures in all the papers.

We were taken to Bonegilla, an ex army camp near Albury – I still remember all of us queuing up for milk, the English lessons, and the Inspector calling around to see if we were keeping the huts clean and tidy and the floors scrubbed. They tried to house us according to ethnic compatability, but still some fighting broke out amongst the immigrants, as some would not forget the war.

The food was strange, we had never seen white bread before – we thought it was cake? We did not expect things to be as they were in Latvia, so we were willing to try new things and to adapt to our new suroundings, our happiness was we could live without fear of war.

After our 2 year contract to work for the Government expired, we built a little house at 10 Federal Ave Queenbean ACT. Dad Arnold worked as a mechanic. We kept close contact with the Latvian comunity. Many Latvians could play a musical instrument; we often got together for parties, celebrations, made beer in the bath tub; we heartily sang old Latvian songs ( forbiden under Russian Occupation); we cried, we laughed; yes we did miss our homeland, we worried about our relatives and those left behind, and always shared news when we heard something from abroad.

Arnold died in Adelaide, in the 70’s, Mum is atill alive at 89.

I am a retired Sports Aviation Instructor, married (42years) with grown up married children and grandchildren.

Australia is certainly a land of opportunity.

We are so grateful for a 2nd chance to come out of war-torn Europe and to make a new life for ourselves and families, and make a contribution here in beautiful Australia.

< Back to the Stories