Historical Bus Tours – Tracing the Adelaide Croatian Story
Identifying Trees
Members of the first Tour Group examine the historical photo taken at Heywood Park on Anzac Day in 1950, comparing tree lines to help identify the original site of the Croatian Club Adelaide Founders' photo.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Founders’ Photo Revisited – 1
This could be—or is very close to—the original site of the 1950 Croatian Club Adelaide Founders' photo. Either way, the picturesque location provided a lovely sunlit backdrop for a commemorative photo of the first tour group. Dragica Matković is seen holding a copy of the original Founders' photo
Credits: Photo by Mike, JC Mini Buses
Founders’ Photo Revisited – 2
In sunny weather, the second tour group gathered near the site believed to be where the original 1950 Croatian Club Founders’ photo was taken. Mate Božanić, who met the group, is seen holding a copy of the historic image. Offering a meaningful link to the past, Zvonko and Vesna Šiklić also joined the group—Zvonko’s late father, Slavko Šiklić, both appeared in and took the original photograph. Their presence added to the occasion with a sense of continuity across generations.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
St Raphael's Church, Parkside
Both tours stopped briefly at St Raphael’s Catholic Church, which played a significant role in the spiritual life of Adelaide’s early Croatian community. It hosted large Croatian-language gatherings on feast days and at Christmas. Though not used weekly, the church offered a spacious and reverent setting for special Catholic services before more regular arrangements became available in the city. Father Ivan Mihalić, one of South Australia’s earliest Croatian Catholic priests, lived in the adjacent presbytery and supported the growing community.
Credits: Photo courtesy of churchesaustralia.org
Shared Spaces – Italian Club
Both bus tours drove past several early migrant venues once used by the Croatian community. The Italian Club at 262 Carrington Street, Adelaide, was among the venues used for community celebrations during the 1950s and early 1960s, prior to the establishment of the first Croatian Club premises in Chief Street, Hindmarsh in June 1961. The building was purchased in 1952 by the Catholic Italian Welfare Association with support from Archbishop Matthew Beovich, whose father was a Croatian immigrant.
Credits: Photo by Mimi Glavaš
Shared Spaces – German Club
The German Club on Flinders Street, a cornerstone of Adelaide’s German community since 1913, also served as a cultural venue for Croatian social events in the 1950s. The club relocated to Brooklyn Park in 2019 after more than a century in the city.
Credits: Photo by Mimi Glavaš
Shared Spaces – Olympic House
Located near the corner of Franklin Street and West Terrace, Olympic House has long been an important cultural venue operated by the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia. Since the late 1950s, it has hosted numerous cultural and community gatherings. In the years leading up to 1961, the Croatian community occasionally hired Olympic House for dances, concerts, and major celebrations. Other venues sometimes hired by the Croatian community during the 1950s included the Estonian Hall, operated by the Estonian Cultural Centre at 200 Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide, and, from the early 1950s, the hall at the rear of Sacred Heart Church on Port Road, Hindmarsh.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Church of St Patrick – First Tour Group
The first tour group paused on the front steps of the Church of St Patrick to mark their visit to this enduring Catholic landmark. According to the historical notice in front of the church, the current building was completed in 1914, replacing Adelaide’s first Catholic church—a modest stone structure that once stood just to the west of the site, now occupied by playing courts and a carpark. The foundation stone was laid in 1912 before an estimated 10,000 people. Today, the church continues to reflect Adelaide’s multicultural character, with both the Croatian and Portuguese communities holding services here. Croatian Mass is celebrated each Sunday at 10:30 AM, maintaining a tradition that has connected generations.
Credits: Photo by Mate Božanić
Church of St Patrick – Second Tour Group
The second tour group gathered in front of the Church of St Patrick, which served as the main centre of Catholic worship in Adelaide before the opening of St Francis Xavier Cathedral on Wakefield Street in 1858. For Adelaide’s Croatian community, the front steps and forecourt areas hold many memories as a gathering place before and after Sunday Masses, weddings, funerals, feast day celebrations, and other special occasions. The first Croatian Masses in the 1950s were held at 5:00 PM to accommodate the limited Sunday public transport timetable at the time. As public transport improved, the timeslot shifted to the now-familiar 10:30 AM Sunday service.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Inside St Patrick's Church – 1
Jeanette Čulić captures the first tour group in a cheerful selfie in front of the upstairs organ at St Patrick’s Church. The group is joined by Croatian community priest, Father Luka Poljak, seen to the left of Jeanette, who kindly served as their knowledgeable and warmly received guide for the visit.
Credits: Photo by Jeanette Čulić
Inside St Patrick's Church – 2
The upstairs organ at St Patrick’s Church was a highlight for many on the tour—an area rarely visited by regular churchgoers. For some, it was their first time seeing the organ up close. Father Poljak spoke about the role of church bells in Croatian village and town life—how they marked the time for work and prayer, signalled weddings and funerals, and even helped both villagers and city dwellers set their watches. Church bells were, and in many places still are, a trusted rhythm of daily life, bringing a sense of order, community, and spiritual presence.
Credits: Photo by Mate Božanić
Inside St Patrick's Church – 3
The second tour group, with Father Poljak, stands beside the upstairs organ, looking out over the vast interior of St Patrick’s Church. From this vantage point, the scale and architectural beauty of the church can truly be appreciated. The church is believed to have been partly inspired by the Church of the Holy Spirit in Florence. The colourful, square-panelled Renaissance-style ceiling has long captured the imagination of churchgoers and visitors, drawing their gaze upward with its intricate detail.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Inside St Patrick's Church – 4
Members of the first tour group make their way down the ornate wrought iron staircase at St Patrick’s Church, believed to date back to when the church was built in 1914. The design and solid feel of the handrail add to the sense of history experienced during the visit to the upstairs organ area.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Inside St Patrick's Church – 5
The second tour group is pictured with Father Poljak in the baptistry, located near the entrance of the church. He explained that its location symbolises the significance of baptism—once baptised, a person becomes a member of the Church and enters fully into its life and community.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
St Patrick's Schoolhouse
Tour groups noted from afar the old stone building between St Patrick’s Church and Gray Street, which once served as a rehearsal space for the Croatian community choir until it was deemed structurally unsafe. According to the South Australian Heritage Register, St Patrick’s Schoolhouse was constructed in 1848 and is South Australia’s oldest purpose-built Catholic school. Before its construction, Catholic education in Adelaide began in temporary locations, including a brewery on Pirie Street, before a combined school hall and church opened in 1845 on the site now occupied by car parking and tennis courts west of the current St Patrick’s Church. This original church was demolished in 1959.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Visit to 5EBI-FM Studios – Croatian Radio Program
As part of the second tour, participants visited the 5EBI-FM Studios, home of the Croatian Radio Program—a vital community voice since 1976, now approaching its 50th anniversary. Vlasta Križaj, seen standing at the end of the table in the distance, is a treasured founding volunteer who has supported the program for decades and currently serves as Continuity Producer. She welcomed the group alongside General Manager Patti Todorović. Sincere thanks are extended to Vlasta and Patti for making the station premises and receiving the group. The visit offered a chance to reflect on the enduring role of community broadcasting in preserving Croatian language, culture, and intergenerational connection.
Credits: Photo by Vesna Drapač
Vukovar Memorial Sculpture
Tour group two visited the commemorative stone monument located at the northern end of Bonython Park, near the Port Road entrance. The monument honours the Croatian city of Vukovar and marks the Adelaide Croatian community’s 1992 planting of 200 native trees along the riverbank. The Adelaide City Council supported the project by clearing feral olive trees and supplying native saplings for planting. The granite sculpture, created and donated by Marijan Bekić, stands as a tribute to the suffering endured by the people of Vukovar, which fell on 18 November 1991.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Harmony Day Event 2004
As part of Harmony Day in 2004, the Croatian Community Council of South Australia and Croatian Care for the Aged held a commemorative event at the Vukovar Memorial in Bonython Park, planting trees on the opposite side of the path. Welcome speeches were delivered by representatives of both the Croatian and Indigenous communities, including the late Aunty Josie Agius, a highly respected Aboriginal Elder. HFS Lenek dancers also performed, followed by a picnic lunch in the nearby park. A plaque was added to an existing bench overlooking the sculpture, reading: ‘Harmony Day 2004 – Croatian Community South Australia’ — offering a peaceful place to sit and reflect on the tragedy of Vukovar and the symbolic hope for renewal embodied in the trees now growing below.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Visit to 2B Chief Street
On Thursday, 12 July 2025, members of the first tour group visited the former Croatian Club Adelaide premises at 2 Chief Street, Hindmarsh (1961–1980). For many, the visit was a nostalgic journey—returning to a site last used by the community 46 years ago, before the Club relocated to its newly built premises in Brompton. The building is now home to the Italian Anzano Social Club and also hosts Food on the Table, a not-for-profit community organisation dedicated to supporting vulnerable and marginalised groups. Tony Šuman, seen giving a friendly wave, recalls that his father, Ivan, volunteered during a major upgrade of the wooden floor—likely in the 1960s—which remains intact to this day.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
The Chief Street Stage
Many older members of the Croatian community recall the stage as a focal point for a wide range of activities—from school performances and St Nicholas celebrations to traditional Croatian music ensembles featuring tamburica and double bass at dances, along with commemorative addresses and other cultural events. While the backdrop has since changed—no longer adorned with Croatian artwork and other features—the first tour group still felt a strong sense of nostalgia, with some members having performed on this very stage in their youth.
Credits: Photo by Food on the Table staff
La Mama Theatre
Bus tour participants passed by the former La Mama Theatre in Crawford Lane, Hindmarsh—virtually opposite the original Croatian Club Adelaide premises in Chief Street. Founded in the early 1970s by Bruno Deurrigl-Knez and his wife, Vally, La Mama was a small but influential venue in Adelaide’s alternative theatre scene. Bruno, a former president of the Croatian Club, was deeply engaged in Croatian cultural life—contributing to folkloric performance and publishing New Homeland, a bulletin chronicling the Croatian migrant experience. The La Mama signage remains proudly displayed on the building’s facade, and Bruno and Vally’s legacy is recognised in a biography by Vesna Drapač, published online in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Sacred Heart Church Hindmarsh and Hall
Both bus tours stopped briefly at Sacred Heart Church on Port Road, Hindmarsh—a site that played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of the early Croatian Club community. Updated information suggests that the hall behind the church was one of the first venues where the Croatian Club held dances and social gatherings. It was later demolished and rebuilt in 1978. Originally opened in 1924 as St Saviour’s Church, the building was rededicated as Sacred Heart Church in 1950 through the efforts of Archbishop Matthew Beovich—a meaningful detail for many Croatians due to the Archbishop’s Croatian heritage. A separate foundation stone dated 1953 records that Archbishop Beovich also solemnly blessed a “School Church” under the title of St Joseph at the site.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Hanson Reserve
The first tour group reminisced about the many memories tied to the Adelaide Croatia Soccer Club, which called Hanson Reserve home for many years before relocating to the Croatian Sports Centre. Stories emerged of the lolly shop, painting the besser block building, and the sometimes fiery clashes—both on and off the field. The second tour group, seen in the photo, reflected on how Hanson Reserve was more than just a soccer pitch. For many members of Adelaide’s Croatian community, it was a place of belonging. The Club was not only about sport but also about community, identity, and the desire to see the name “Croatia" visible wherever South Australian soccer was discussed.
Credits: Photo by Croatian History Group South Australia
Croatian Catholic Centre Chapel
The second tour group departed from and returned to the chapel at the Croatian Catholic Centre in Ridleyton. On the wall of the chapel, the group observed a bronze plaque providing historical context for it's foundation. The following is a literal translation of the plaque’s inscription: “For the greater glory of God and the wellbeing of the Croatian people, this chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Great Croatian Vow was built by Croats through donations and labour. It was consecrated by Archbishop L. A. Faulkner, D.D., Archbishop of Adelaide, on 11 June 1989. Parish Priest: Father Nikica Dušević."
Credits: Photo by Mimi Glavaš
