Between 1924 and 1939 many Estonian families fled their homeland to avoid conscription by invading German or Russian armies. Australia offered the promise of cheap land, prosperity and a safe life. The Commonwealth Government offered Estonian migrants plots of Crown land at Thirlmere and Wollondilly, 15 kms south-west of Camden near Sydney. The community grew to include over 60 families.
After the defeat of fascism in Europe in 1945, millions of people were left homeless from the carnage and chaos of the Second World War. Britain, the United States, France and Russia set up displaced person camps to house the millions of refugees. Many of these were in Germany to house the millions made homeless by years of bitter fighting and bombing of cities and towns.
People from the countries of Eastern Europe were expected to return to their homelands. The Soviet Union claimed Eastern Europe as war booty and introduced a rule of Orwellian tyranny. This included Estonia. The Soviets installed a conceptual 'iron curtain', closing the borders of Eastern European countries. Behind this iron curtain Soviet leader Joseph Stalin reined a regime of terror. Stalin's secret police known as KGB (Committee for State Security) ordered regular purges to wipe out dissent and install fear in the population. Many people 'disappeared' or sent to work in concentration camps at Siberia in the remote wastelands of the vast Soviet empire.
Between 1945 and 1955 some Estonians caught up in these displaced persons camps decided not to return and sought freedom in the west. They lived in terror of being sent back to their homelands and the hands of the KGB.
Many chose to migrate to Australia to start new lives, traumatised by the loss of family members and friends in the KGB purges and the fact they could never return home. Some Estonian families made their way to Thirlmere to join family and friends who had set up farms in the first wave of migration before the war. They brought skills and knowledge to further assist the development of the poultry industry and start other businesses at Thirlmere and the surrounding districts.
One of these families was - Hugo Silm
The Nortott Brothers: Acknowledged as the first Estonian settlers to take up the bush blocks in Thirlmere in 1924.
The Nortott Brothers: Acknowledged as the first Estonian settlers to take up the bush blocks in Thirlmere in 1924.
Hugo Silm & Family: Arrived in 1925. Hugo, originally a master pastry cook in Sydney, bought land in Thirlmere to start a duck farm to supply eggs for his cakes. His son, Roland (Ron) Silm, later shifted the farm's focus to apples and persimmons, and was a key voice in documenting the history of the local community.
The Pilt Family (including August & Naomi Pilt): Leading figures in the farming community who co-founded the highly successful "Kungla" Thirlmere Farmers Cooperative Society in 1939.
Arnold Kaljusto: Partnered with August Pilt to buy the initial large shipments of grain that launched the "Kungla" Cooperative.
Eduard Liira: Arrived with his family in May 1939. Because he lacked capital, he leased 28 acres of land, cleared it with the help of relatives, built a poultry shed, and became a central community organizer.
The Alp Family: Migrated in 1927 and bought their Thirlmere farm in 1932, specializing in apple orchards (growing Jonathan, Delicious, and Granny Smith varieties).