To mark the 75th anniversary of the Lithuanian community in Australia, the Lithuanian Central State Archives, together with the Australian Lithuanian Archives, invites you to revisit the story of how Lithuanians settled and built their lives on this distant continent. Continuing a year-long series of ten-part virtual exhibition throughout 2025, this part is dedicated to the education of Australian Lithuanians and to the Lithuanian theatre of Adelaide.

As Lithuanian families began immigrating to Australia in greater numbers, the need to provide opportunities for their children to learn their native language became evident. Responding to this community need, priest Dr. Povilas Jatulis took the initiative and, bringing together local Lithuanians and teachers, established the first Lithuanian weekend school in Adelaide in 1949. This institution became an important centre of Australian Lithuanian culture and education, contributing to the education of the younger generation and the preservation of Lithuanian traditions in the diaspora.

Since 1960, the St. Casimir Lithuanian weekend school had also been operating in Adelaide. Lithuanian schools in other Australian cities did not differ significantly from those mentioned; all fostered the Lithuanian language and sought to preserve national identity. An important achievement of the Lithuanian community was the initiative to appeal to the Australian Ministry of Education to have the Lithuanian language included in the secondary school examination system. The goal was for the Lithuanian language exam to be recognized as an equivalent subject alongside other academic disciplines. In 1977, official Lithuanian language examinations were held for the first time in South Australia.

The exhibition also highlights the Lithuanian theatre “Vaidila” of Adelaide, whose predecessor was founded as early as 1949. The Adelaide Lithuanian theatre – regardless of the name it carried – between 1962 and 1982 produced 24 premieres, performed 18 repeat shows, and undertook 13 tours in Melbourne and Sydney.

The virtual exhibition “Lithuanians in Australia. Part 8” consists of two sections: “Lithuanian Education in Australia” and “The Lithuanian Theatre of Adelaide.” The exhibition features photographs of the Adelaide and Sydney Lithuanian weekend school communities, teachers, and students, as well as captured moments from festive concerts and events. It also includes group photographs of actors and directors from the Adelaide Lithuanian theatre, along with scenes from their performances.

Traditionally, the exhibition presents documents preserved in the Lithuanian Central State Archives and the Australian Lithuanian Archives. We are grateful to Daina Pocius for making the documents kept in Australia accessible to the wider public.