Croatian Archive of Australia website launched in Sydney  

Father Klaudio Milohanović at the presentation (Photo: Private album)

On Friday, December 1, 2023, the Croatian Archive of Australia Society unveiled its website – www.croarchive.org – at the Croatian Catholic Centre of St. Nikola Tavelić in Sydney.

The event, hosted by Father Klaudio Milohanović, parish priest and director of the Croatian Catholic Centre of St. Nikola Tavelić in St Johns Park, was attended by approximately 50 guests, including special guests at the official presentation:

Ivica Glasnović, Consul General of the Republic of Croatia in Sydney;

Sandra Tvrtković, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Canberra;

Father Ivo Tadić, parish priest at the Croatian Catholic Center of Mary Queen of Croats in Wollongong;

Dr. Ivana Hebrang Grgić, extraordinary professor at the Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb;

Dr. Ana Barbarić, professor at the Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb;

As well a many esteemed guests from the Croatian community in Australia, representatives of the Croatian Studies Foundation at Macquarie University, representatives from various societies, schools, media, clubs, and other institutions in the community. 

L-R: Bože Žuro, Šime Dušević, Sandra Tvrtković, Vesna Žuro, Ivica Glasnović, Ivana Brkić and Ivana Hebrang Grgić (Photo: Private album)

The evening began with the secretary of the society, Bože Žuro, extending a warm welcome and introductory remarks, followed by the singing of the Croatian and Australian anthems. Then, Father Klaudio welcomed everyone as the host of the evening, offering God’s blessings on the occasion.

President of the Croatian Archive, Vesna Žuro, spoke about the overall work of the society and the development of the archive’s website in the past 12 months, emphasising its goal of digitising records and preserving the history of the Croatian community in Australia.

Žuro expressed special thanks to the Central State Office for Croats Abroad, which generously funded the development of the website.

She thanked everyone involved in creating the website, highlighting Ivana Brkić, a young computer scientist who designed the website, young graphic designer Vinko Kraljević, who created the new logo of the society, and Vice President Šime Dušević, who assisted in selecting materials and worked on scanning a large portion of the initial records on the website.

Participants in “Konoba” room of the St Johns Park centre (Photo: Private album)

Žuro then asked the Croatian Consul General, Mr. Ivica Glasnović, to officially launch the website. Mr. Glasnović praised the website project as a modernisation of the archive that allows access to its records and materials for all interested parties. He congratulated President Vesna Žuro, the entire archive administration, and the entire Croatian community on the launch of such a significant website project.

A video presentation of the website prepared by Brkić was then shown to the attendees. President Mrs. Žuro concluded the formal proceedings and the evening’s program with words of thanks, inviting everyone present to a small refreshment and socialising in the”Konoba” room of the St Johns Park centre.