Dracevica to Cleveland via Perth.
There are few reasons why anyone would want to connect Dracevica, a
tiny village nestled between hills on the island Brac off the
Dalmatian coast in Croatia, Perth, the largest city on Australia's
west coast, and Cleveland.
They are three different cultures, but the foundation and bond of an
extended family now living on three continents. It all began
in 1895 when Ivan Simunovich left Dracevica as a 17-year-old with
little education and no skills for a month-plus long boat ride to
Perth. He worked in the mines in Kalgoorlie and Boulder, adjoining
towns, about 375 miles northeast of Perth. He returned more than 15
years later with his younger brothers Michael and Tony. Like Ivan,
they had limited education and no skills, but their resumes had two
key ingredients: They were willing to work hard and were full of
hope for a better life. In a way they were pioneers. It took a lot
of courage to step on a ship and travel to the other side of the
world in the early 1900s without knowing a word of English, little
money or a job. All they had were dreams and hope. But that can only
take you part of the way.
They had few reasons to stay in Dracevica. The three brothers came
from a family of 16, who shared one room, no running water, an
earthy floor and lived off the land. Their plans for a new life were
placed on instant hold for four years in 1914 when World War 1 broke
out. At the end of the conflict Ivan and Michael returned to
Dracevica while Tony made his way Cleveland where he was later
joined by Michael. Ivan made his third trip to Australia before
returning to Dracevica. His son, Tony, sailed to Perth on the liner
Otranto from Italy on November 25, 1937.
Recently, Ivan, Michael and Tony's children, great nephews and
nieces and great nieces and great great nephew gathered in Cleveland
for Michael's great granddaughter's high school graduation, an
annual family picnic, which was started years ago by the family of
William Goebel, who married Theresa Simunovich, a daughter of
Michael, and his granddaughter's housewarming party.
It was a long way from Dracevica, whose population has dwindled from
more than 300 when the brothers lived there to about 90, and Perth,
which has prospered in nearly a century since they left.
Perth now has a population of more than one million people, arguably
the finest beaches in Australia, almost perfect weather -- winter
temperature ranges from low 30s to low 50s, the only ice there is at
the bottom of glass, and summer is in the 85 to 105 range.
Occasionally the conversation drifted to the brothers, Dracevica and
Perth. For the older ones they are still very much alive even though
those days are now generations away and becoming distant memories.
The two recent generations never saw the three brothers who knew
they had to leave Dracevica and start all over again for their
families to have a better life.
By the way, they would have loved the ribs, cheeseburgers and
dessert washed down with sodas and beers and the guys playing
friendly card games. It was a lot of fun.
But more importantly, the three brothers would have been proud of
was watching their extended families enjoying the good life. They
had opened the doors for everyone one of them. Maybe one day a
reunion will be held in Dracevica or even Perth. Now that would be
something.
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