From Russia with Struggle
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 Dear George,
As my memory fades, I have written down what I can remember about our family's
tree if ever your grandchildren enquire about it.
So begins the letter of our Uncle Nick
to his brother with the epic account of his family's forced migration
from Russia at the height of the Russian Revolution in 1917,
the struggle to survive in China before
another Communist revolution finally forced the family
to make their home in Australia.
 | Dad's name-Sergei Pavelieff
Born in Simbirsk Siberia 1892
Mum's maiden name Anna Kulaha
Born in Harkov Ukraine 1898
No record of where they were married.
They met on the Eastern Front with the war with Germany.
Dad was an officer in the Czar's army.
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| He got a George Cross for bravery for driving train engines locked together through a
mined area to clear the line.
Mum also received a George Cross for Bravery. She was working as a nursing sister, when
the Germans bombed her hospital.
The two elder brothers whom I never met were named Sergei and Boris.
Flight from Mother Russia
What was it have been like to flee Russia at the
height of the Revolution and its aftermath- the bloody Civil War between the Communists
and the  White Russian Army?
The family escaped with some precious Icons that are still treasured. One of them shows
the marks of a bullet burn, where the Communist guns hit the bag it was carried in.
Refuge in China
The family escaped to China, a nation caught in the cross fire of Colonial intrigue and
exploitation. How did the family survive in this unstable scene? Uncle Nick was born in
China, as were his brothers, but they never survived. And finally the family makes passage
for Australia.
Coming to Australia
The family settles on harsh brigalow land in Callide, outside
Rockhampton in Central Queensland.The pictures of a family dwelling show us a tent with a
tin roof built to collect rain water. Another picture shows Nick and his brother George
picking cotton, a crop the family grew on their land.
Documents
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| Receipt for Passport number R 43078 issued at Thursday Island on March
7th 1927. In those days, Thursday Island was a big Customs Stop Over and first port of
call for passengers coming to Australia from the Far East. The name of the Japanese vessel
was Wishing Maru which was on the Nippon Yushen Kyshon NYK line.
It was an old vessel riddled with rats-that's what Mum remembered about it, and it sank
either on the way home or on its next trip in a typhoon in the Philippines.
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|  Receipt Deposit from the Lands Dept
Number 854692 dated 10/2/1929 for the farm at Callide which was a basehold of 428
acres of virgin brigalow scrub land-title 68 Spier.
Our cattle brand which was sold with the farm was LP8.
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| Receipt Number 123450 for 5 pounds dated 11/5/1936 being naturalization
fee. The Passport on Page one in Russian has Dad's birthday 22/3/1898 and Mum's 12/6/1897
and one for our older brothers 22/7/???? This brother died between 18/10/1924 and when the
application was lodged. The final application has his name crossed out and initialed.
Cause of death of our two older brothers is unknown to me.
As the water of the Yangste Kiang were unhealthy because of overcrowding by the poor
Chinese and Hankow was a hot region full of dysentery, malaria and other fevers, it could
have been anything that killed them.
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| Passport Page 3- signed at the Consulate General-Good for Journey to
Australia:Permission obtained from Governor General by telegram dated 5/1/1925 Not
Transferable.
Certificate of Naturalization Number CC 2507 signed by Lord Gowrie,
Governor General....page one reads "I swear allegiance to His Majesty King
Edward VIII..."
Page two-regarding the Question-Any special marks or peculiarities" is
written,"scar on left shoulder"
That was a hole from a bullet fired by the Communists which went through Dad's body
leaving a deep hole in him as Plastic surgery was not available to cover the entrance,
while natural skin covered over the back.
When Dad was conscripted for World War II, the examining doctor could not believe it and
said he was no good to them and put him on reserve, and registered the shot gun that Dad
owned.
My name, Nick, was included as I was born outside Australia.
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| Dad used to talk about our neighbors-Kooznetself-who applied a couple of months later
for naturalization after Mum and Dad. He had to give allegiance to King George VI, as
Edward VIII abdicated. So we had two neighbors who had given allegiance to two
different kings in one year!
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| A copy of my birth certificate in Russian says I was born in the European
International Hospital as the British, French and Russians had concessions in Hankow.
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A Rich Legacy
Family History and World History have a way of
colliding-
deciding who lives and dies,
where families finally settle,
and what memories get handed on.
Some are too traumatic for anyone to want to recall,
and so we only have hints of what members of our extended family had to endure to make a
new beginning in Australia.
But the larger history gives us a peek
into the courage and perseverance
of the Pavelieff family,
who left everything to find a land
where their children could grow up in peace.
That sacrifice is surely a source of family pride
and something that needs to be handed on.
The refugees of Kosova and Rwanda know the story all too well.
The Pavelieff epic shows that after great suffering, there is hope.
Happy Birthday Nick for May 21st. |
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