For almost thirty years I had no reason to go to the Estonian House in Campbell Street, Sydney. But that was to change with the arrival of the Estonian Consul in Sydney. Like hundreds of other applicants for an Estonian passport, I went through the experience of trying to prove my Estonian ancestry.
My family left Estonia in the days before Estonia’s final subjugation by the Soviet Union in October 1944. We managed to escape to Sweden in a leaky lifeboat with scant interest in the documents which one needs to prove one’s identity. Like most refugees, one is issued with documents, which are based on hearsay and personal testimonies.
So if you think it is hard to prove who you are, it is probably “Mission Impossible” to prove who your children are, - especially if they are born in a non-English speaking country, where even their script is difficult to be read by Australians.
But there is a treasure trove of knowledge about Estonians in Australia and even of Estonia too. It is called the Estonian Archive in Eesti Maja at 141 Campbell Street in Sydney. You do not have to be an Estonian to access it, you even do not have to speak Estonian to ask where something is, all you need to have is willingness to go there on a Wednesday between the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and speak to the archivists, who are really nice, friendly, helpful people and speak perfect Australian.
So what’s there, you may ask? The archives are the best organised ethnic archives in Australia - because one of the archivists is a professional from the University of New South Wales. The archives consist of 4 main sections and the “collection”.
The sections are the Reference Books [where else can you check out if one of your parents or grandparents went to a school in Estonia in the 1920s, 1930s or 1940s?]; Personal Archives in alphabetic order [if you have documents or pictures from you grandparents and you are cleaning house, just call the archive to make arrangements to deposit the documents which your children may want to access in the future]; the Books section which contains books periodicals from the 1920s, popular magazines at the time, newspapers of organisations of Estonians in exile [which include publications from England, Sweden and Germany]; and Archives of personal effects listed by subject file.
The archivist told me that the Archives loosely follow the Dewey system. The sections are shown at the end of each stack just like a normal libray.
The “collection” also includes records of most Eesti Päevad in Australia, the largest collection of academic papers authored by Estonians in the world, the documents relating to the Estonian organisations, the Scouts and Guides, the records of the pre-war Estonian Consulate in Australia and their card index system.
I can imagine how by now after reading about all this knowledge you are saying “What can I do with this stuff? “. The short answer is “you can prove that you are Estonian by descent! And yes, wait for it, “You can get an EU passport”. Although the value to you changes, a Work Permit Visa to the UK at last report was in the order of AUD 2800 for a 12 month working visa and for the extension which allows you to stay for an additional 12 months but only work for 6 was AUD 900. But check my figures with the UK consulate to be sure.
Having children myself, I know that every child wants to know who their biological parents are! Here is a way you can confirm your identity and even start a search for you relatives. My brother who was in Estonia for 6 weeks with our relatives, had a great time and thinks of going back frequently. You can confirm that you are Estonian by descent either through you father or through your mother!
The archivist asked me to ask on behalf of the Johan Laidoner Museum [The Estonian military Museum] if you have any photos or artefacts from the 1920s -1940s, which you are willing to donate to the Museum. Even photographs of classes of people in military uniform which you can’t identify by which the Museum can use to construct our history.
I went there because I heard a rumour that my father had written some pieces for the Australian Estonian newspaper – Meie Kodu – which proved to be only a rumour. Writing a book on my father’s life story [the first 40 years] has meant that I have had to look at the ghosts in my family’s past. Finding information about Estonia in the past is difficult.
But a review of my father’s story was best said by a Year 11 student in Estonia “If all history books were as good as this one I would want to go to school every day”
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Author’s note: The XXI Eesti Päevad are being held in Sydney, Australia between 27/12/2005 and 3/1/2006 details of which can be accessed online at www.eesti.org.au
Some of your readers may want to avail themselves of the opportunity to visit the Estonian archives in Sydney. Contact the archivist prior to such a visit if you are coming from farther away than Sydney or Australia at
archives@eesti.org.au
(This article first appeared in the July 27, 2005 issue of Meie Kodu. We gratefully acknowledge the author’s permission to reprint.)