Building a Life and a Home in Adelaide: Daniel Justus Celebrates 100th Birthday

Sitting in his lounge room, in the home he helped to build with his own two hands, Resthaven Paradise and Eastern Community Services client Mr Daniel Justus has come a long way, both literally and figuratively, since his birth 100 years ago in the former Yugoslavia.

The youngest of two children, Daniel was born on 23 December 1924 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Although he wasn’t overly fond of school as a child, he says he went along to keep his parents happy, and when he was old enough, he left to become an apprentice fitter and turner at the Glaser factory. It was an opportunity he was given thanks to a friend of his father’s.

‘My dad was an aircraft mechanic, and I had an interest in mechanical things,’ Daniel says. ‘I started at the factory because it was the thing you did – learn a skill to earn a living.’

Daniel says he started his apprenticeship in Yugoslavia, but finished it in Hungary, referring to the Hungarian occupation and annexation of the city in 1941. With fighting in the region continuing, at the age of 18 Daniel joined the German army to fight against the USSR on the Eastern Front. He was a member of the 9^th SS Panzer Division, and when the war ended in 1945, Daniel found himself in Austria.

‘I was put in an American prison camp for a year after the war had finished,’ Daniel says. ‘When the camp was closed in 1946, I moved into a refugee camp, and that’s where I met Amalia.’

Amalia (Bauer) was from Romania. She and her family lived in the same barracks as Daniel, and they became friendly.

After a time, Daniel found a job as a fitter and turner again, working for the Austrian Steel Works VÖEST (Vereinigte Österreichische Eisen und Stahlwerke) in Linz, Austria. Daniel and Amalia were married in 1950, and later that same year their twin sons, Hans and Alf were born. In 1953 a sister, Helga was born.

Around this same time, Australia, Canada and South Africa put out a call seeking skilled migrants. Daniel saw this as an opportunity to leave Europe, which was struggling to recover after the devastation of the war.

‘We applied to emigrate to Canada, where Amalia’s brother had moved already,’ Daniel says. ‘But, because we had three children, we were knocked back. Australia was next on our list. We knew nothing about Australia and did not speak any English, but we were accepted.’

The journey took around six weeks on the ship, and Daniel suffered terribly from sea sickness. Meanwhile, Amalia was homesick; but together they rallied to make a good life in their new home.

From Austria to Australia

The family disembarked in Melbourne and were taken to the Bonegilla reception centre. They were amongst more than 300,000 migrants who passed through the centre between 1947 and 1971.

‘They were ex-army barracks, and we were there for two weeks before we travelled by train to Adelaide,’ Daniel says.

Daniel had secured a job at the South Australian railways, and when they arrived, the family moved into a camp on the site that is now the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

‘The job was working as a lineman in the Signal and Telegraph Department,’ Daniel says.

Hans and Alf went to the Sturt Street Primary School, travelling on the bus with an older boy from the camp. One day, the older boy was unwell, so the twins hopped on the bus by themselves, but did not know when to get off. When they found themselves in the middle of ANZAC highway, lost, late and not speaking the language, they both burst into tears. The bus driver took pity on them and drove back into the city to let them off at the school.

‘We were even in the paper for that,’ Daniel’s son, Hans says.   

‘The kids at Sturt Street Primary didn’t speak German,’ Hans says. ‘So, we learnt English pretty quickly.’

The children spoke some English at home, helping their parents learn the language.

‘Learning English was a real struggle,’ Daniel says. ‘I had picked up a few words from the Americans at the POW camp, but they weren’t the sort of words you could use in polite conversation! Luckily, I had a job where most of my time was spent with a machine, so I guess I didn’t need it as much.’

Daniel, who now speaks excellent English, also speaks Serbian, Hungarian, German and some French.

A new home 

The Justus family had friends from Austria who had moved to Croydon Park and had an empty shop. They invited the Justus’ to live there for a time, allowing them to move out of the camp. At this time, Daniel also found a new job, working as a fitter and turner at the British Tube Mills, where he could be closer to home. He was given a two-week trial, and stayed for 25 years, earning a gold watch for his service.

‘I always had work,’ Daniel says. ‘That was the least of my worries.’

The family applied for a Housing Trust home at Mansfield Park, which they were granted, and then also a second home in at Angle Park when the first one was demolished due to asbestos.

Daniel joined the Home Builders Club, a group that worked cooperatively to build their own homes. The group’s motto was Non nobis solum (Not for ourselves alone) and together they built hundreds of homes in the suburbs of Adelaide. The club provided labour, and the owner of the home supplied the materials. Before the foundation of a home could be poured, a member was expected to accumulate credit of 200 hours, with a further 2,000 hours required before the walls were begun.

‘Every weekend I was out building these houses,’ Daniel says. ‘Our house was built between 1963 and 1965.’

In 1965, the couple’s fourth child, Carolyn was born.

Once the children were a little older, Amalia found work outside the home. She worked in the Simpson Pope factory in Adelaide, and then also at Visy Glass on Port Road. In later years, she worked at Heidi’s Homemade Cake shop – baking as well as working at the counter.

The couple travelled back to Austria several times to visit Amalia’s family, as well as visiting Canada to see her brother.

In their later years, Daniel and Amalia enjoyed time with the University of the Third Age (U3A) group, taking different educational classes and fitness activities. Sadly, Amalia died in June 2020.

These days, Daniel spends much of his time reading in his neatly kept lounge room. Family photos and ornaments are on display, and many of Daniel’s books (in a variety of languages), are close at hand. Daniel is assisted to live in his own home at St Agnes by Resthaven, supporting him with help around the home and medication care.

For Daniel’s 100^th birthday, a celebration will be held for him at the Austrian Club of South Australia. Around 60 people have been invited, including his family of four children, 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Happy 100^th birthday Daniel – we hope you enjoy your celebration!

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