The Latvians in Sydney

People of various ethnic backgrounds who left the regions that comprise modern-day Latvia have long been in Sydney. The two major inflows of ethnic Latvians into Sydney occurred in the aftermath of the 1905 revolution in Tsarist Russia and then in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The organisation and activities of Latvians in Sydney reflect the changing nature of the local community as well as Latvia’s changing political situation.


Creating a community
The effects of the failed 1905 revolution in Russia rippled through to Sydney.Revolutionary activity had been strong in the Latvian provinces.Brutal government reprisals forced activists into exile.Some landed in Sydney via Siberia and Asia, while others arrived from Britain.Latvian émigrés and seamen began to congregate at the home of Jānis Ieviņš at 30A Argyle Place in Millers Point.The Lettish Association of Sydney was established there in 1913.Meeting monthly, its membership was open to all Latvians in Sydney and surrounding areas.It also established a library of Latvian books and periodicals.By 1915 it had 36 fully paid members. 2 Meetings continued throughout World War I but procuring any information or publications from war-torn Latvia was difficult.As most members were politically oriented to the left, only a few, such as Carl Alksne, enlisted.After the war, Alksne became Sydney's first consular representative for the newly independent Latvian republic. 3Political differences became more pronounced in the 1920s.Leftist members supported the Soviet Union and were suspicious of the Latvian state while nationalists held opposing views.Politics and personal differences ultimately undermined the Association's formal activities.In the mid-1920s the library remained the community's sole institution.In 1928, the Latvian Club of Sydney was formed, and its founders hoped its apolitical stance would help it flourish.Political differences, however, remained and Latvian Club members were largely nationalists and recent Latvian immigrants.Leftists established the Sydney Latvian Workers' Association in 1930 to encourage self-education, promote the working-class cause, and maintain the old library. 4Of the community's divided state, Alksne later recalled: 'When we met in pubs … we is friends.But when we go to official things, then we start to fight'. 5Although both organisations' formal activities petered out during the 1930s, events such as Jāņi (midsummer) and Latvia's Independence Day on 18 November briefly united Sydney's Latvians. 6

Sydney Latvian Society
Rotating between state capitals, Kultūras Dienas has since become a key event for all Australian Latvians with a programme that also includes folk dancing, art exhibitions, and sporting competitions.
In 1952 the Welfare Society was dissolved and replaced by the Sydney Latvian Society.Its initial aim was to secure a location where Latvians could maintain their language and culture. 8By 1953 there were an estimated 5,000 Latvians in Sydney. 9In addition to the various cultural groups, Latvians were also forming professional and sporting organisations.Children attended makeshift Latvian schools across the city on weekends.In November 1953 two terrace buildings at 31 Parnell Street, Strathfield were acquired to create Latvian House.Converting the buildings into their current form took almost a decade.
By the mid-1950s, Latvian House was already the focus of the community's social life.It housed the Latvian primary and secondary schools and Latvian scouts and guides, whilst offering a permanent rehearsal space to the different folk dancing groups, choirs, and the Sydney Latvian Theatre.Community events, such as the celebration of Latvia's Independence Day and the commemoration of the Soviet deportations on 14 June, were held in the main hall, as were the assorted organisations' annual balls or performances.Side rooms accommodated smaller events and private functions.Other groups such as the Latvian Relief Society and the different church congregations also acquired their own properties. 10dney Journal is part of the Dictionary of Sydney project 81 www.dictionaryofsydney.org

1(1) March 2008
Sydney's People: The Latvians Robert Crawford pp 80-83 Politics remained important, particularly where Latvia was concerned.Alongside Sydney's Estonian and Lithuanian communities, the Latvian community sought to draw public attention to their country's occupation.However, it was the Federal government's 1974 recognition of the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States that cast the community into the public eye.Petitions and letters were sent to Parliament and the press, whilst demonstrators repeatedly heckled Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.Elga Rodze-Ķīsele, an active community member, even stood against the Prime Minister in his seat of Werriwa in the 1975 election.Tellingly, the newly elected Liberal government reversed the recognition.

A new age
In the late 1980s the community again focused on events in Latvia.Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union enabled Sydney Latvians to reconnect with family in Latvia.Many now travelled to Latvia to revisit their roots and a growing number of artists and dancers from Latvia were permitted to perform for audiences in Sydney and elsewhere in Australia.
Ties with Latvia strengthened when Latvia reclaimed its independence in 1991.Sydney hosted a steady stream of visiting performers, but the Sydney community was also leaving its mark on Latvia.In 1990 and in 1993 the Saules Josta folk dancing group toured Latvia.Australia's first consular representative in Latvia was former Sydneysider Valdis Bērziņš.