Riga Exodus #7

For my final post in this series, I will turn my attention back to the lady who inspired them - Miss Evelyn Knight - born in England in 1882 and fellow blogger Derrick J. Knight's great-aunt. She was one of the contingent of British-citizen Baltic States evacuees who arrived in Queensland in December 1940, as …

Riga Exodus #6

With our British-citizen Baltic States evacuees now safely in Australia, at least until the Pacific War breaks out, I can turn my attention to what life offered them in this safe haven. It is not possible for me to map the life story of everyone for whom I have a name, but here is a …

Riga Exodus #5

Queensland’s Rockhampton Evening News of 28 November 1940 screamed an indignant headline: STATE CLIMATE GIVEN BAD NAME Evacuees do not want to live here! Further north up the coast, Queensland’s Townsville Daily Bulletin of 29 November 1940 was equally offended: BALTIC EVACUEES – Queensland's Maligned Climate The story behind the headlines was that some of …