1957 - 2007

Slovensko društvo Sydney - 50 let
Paddington – 1961
With the arrival of Father Odilo Hajnšek
in 1961, language classes moved to the new
location of Paddington, in the hall attached
to the Church of St Francis. With two
dozen students Father Odilo began classes
once more. This time, he was assisted by a
qualified teacher, Anton Omerzel. Antonia
Vodopivec took over these classes in
the second half of the 1960’s, after which
classes ceased.
Cabramatta –1962
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the expansion of
the general population of Sydney out to
the western suburbs of Sydney, reflected
the settlement of migrants generally, but
specifically Slovenians. There was an obvious
need to open up Slovenian language
classes further out in the western suburbs
of Sydney. This was done with the opening
at two new locations –Cabramatta and
Condell Park.
The Cabramatta classes were held at the
Sacred Heart School, Park St. Cabramatta.
The teachers were: Jože Čuješ, Father Bernard
Ambrožič Ludvik Klakočer (singing)
and Antonia Vodopivec. By 1970, these
classes ceased.
In 1964, under the wings of the Slovensko
Društvo Sydney, Jože Čuješ wrote and
published a textbook for the teaching of
the Slovenian language.
It was called: ‘Prvi Koraki ’. This text was
used in the Slovenian classes.
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