The following is a brief biography of my baba's (grandmother) life, written by Anthony Radich.

Nevenka Alajbeg, maiden name Bavčević, was born on 28 December 1931 in Gornje Selo, on the island of Šolta in Croatia. She passed on 4 November 2025, just shy of her 94 birthday, while in hospice care at St John of God hospital in Murdoch.
Nevenka was the second born child to Ivan and Jelica 2 years after her eldest sister, Valeria. The two girls, given the small gap in years between them grew very close, a bond that would remain strong despite the vast distance between Australia and Croatia. They were soon followed by brother Ante, who sadly passed at a very young 12 years of age. Sister Maria followed and finally a boy, Veljko, was born into the family, a much beloved little brother. The island of Šolta is the closest of the islands near Croatia's second largest city, Split. The beauty of the island is undeniable, nevertheless, to eke out an existence there was not entirely easy. As with many of the Croatian islands, the terrain was not without its challenges. Water was acutely scare, and drinking water was dependent on rainfall collected into a bunar or well, and the gustirna. Despite the hardships of life in those days, Nevenka reflected often that life was good, it was happy. The family lived in the selo in a one room stone building. She says that most of the houses were similar, and while they did not have much, the community was very happy and close. Like most of the others, the villagers were all subsistence farmers. The family had a vinograd, or vineyard, along with olive trees, fig trees, chickens, and sheep. Near their house they cultivated a small amount of vegetables including buhar. When things became particularly difficult, Nevenka and sister Valeria would walk to a nearby area of land where wild kostrić grew, which they would harvest to supplement the family’s diet. With subsistence farming, any surplus from the vineyard or olive trees was taken by Nevenka’s father to sell at the Split marketplace or pazar. The family also traded some of this produce with a relative, who owned a small fishing boat, for sardines. There was also a small shop in Gornje Selo where the community could purchase some essentials that they couldn’t produce themselves. These were by no means luxury items, but products that did make life a little easier. As mentioned, the family were poor, as were many at that time. Nonetheless, Nevenka would recount with her grandchildren during many of their conversations; they were happy times. She particularly liked poetry and would recite these to her family. Her mother Jelica was a particularly good cook; a talent passed on to Nevenka. Everyone who had the good fortune to share in her feats can attest to this. She particularly enjoyed making very tasty cakes! Nevenka began her early education in Gornje Selo with other children her age. From all accounts, she enjoyed school life, but in 1941, as a 10yo, life changed for all of those in Dalmatia: the Italian Army entered and occupied Gornje Selo. With the arrival of the Italians, school life and life in general changed. Italian soldiers moved into many homes and established themselves there. Initially, the people had to remain indoors and were not allowed to venture out, but then those restrictions eased. Nevenka shared that despite the occupation, the Italians weren’t too bad, once they had settled, they became friendly. Lessons in Croatian ceased. Every student had to learn and speak in Italian. Nevenka’s teacher was an Italian woman who became very close with her. She made food for her and on one occasion gave Nevenka a big doll, which she cherished. Apparently, the father of the teacher was a successful businessman, and so they were quite well off. Then in 1943, as quickly as they had arrived, the Italians disappeared. What they did not know in Šolta was that the Italians had capitulated having fallen to the allies. Nevenka lamented she did not have a chance to say goodbye to her teacher and had hoped she may have fled to Australia. Nevenka told Adrian she had hoped to find her and send her a letter if she located her, but sadly, “uvik sam radila” and never got the chance. As soon as the Italians had left, the Germans arrived. Once again, the Šoltani would be placed into a state of uncertainty. By now, many of the people had fallen into different camps: The Ustaše who were allies with Germany and the Partizans, following Tito. Some Partizani had assembled above Grohote when the Germans had landed. Nevenka and her sister Valeria were in a field nearby and once the shooting between the two started, they were almost caught in the crossfire but thankfully escaped back to their home. Ona particularly harrowing day, Nevenka and Valeria escaped death by a whisker. The two girls had been sent to Split where they would stay with their aunt, Pepina. The purpose of the visit was to purchase items of cloth and clothing they would take back to Šolta. On this day, they were sent to the Pazar, but when the air raids, sirens began blaring, panic set in. People were running trying to find shelter from the impending bombing. Earlier, someone had shown them a bomb raid shelter located in the catacombs under the cathedral. Thankfully, on this occasion, the girls found shelter in a building near the Pazar and had not made it to the catacombs. Nevenka learned later that the catacombs had suffered a direct hit and everyone who had sheltered there had died. The air was thick with dust and debris, followed by flurries of machinegun fire. The two young girls were left to traverse areas where bodies lay strewn. The horror of their injuries was unforgettable, but thankfully, a woman saw the two young girls and ushered them into a shelter beneath her own home. There she washed the dust off and gave them some food. Fearing that their family would not have survived, the girls were relieved to find them alive. The house they had been staying in had sustained significant damage, but their family had survived. Once the war ended in 1945, things began to settle down into some sense of normality. Life on Šolta began to return to what it had been like prior to the war. Nevenka had reached late teens, early adulthood and had blossomed into the beautiful woman we all remember. She quickly caught the eye of eligible suitors. In Gornje Selo, the ritual to show interest by a suitor was to leave a flower on the windowsill of the young girl’s home. She had two young men who showed an interest in securing her hand in marriage. One potential suitor left a whole bunch, but it was Vjeko who left just one flower that captured her heart. And so, the two began courting and after a period, Vjeko asked Nevenka’s father for her hand in marriage and in 1954 the two were married. In 1955, they were blessed with the arrival of their first born, Mladen who arrived into this world in Split. Two years into their marriage, they realised that life in Croatia was never going to be an easy one. The decision was made to migrate to Australia in search for a new life for their family. Bepo Garbin had agreed to sponsor Vjeko who would travel here first and establish himself prior to sending for Nevenka. He arrived in Fremantle aboard the Neptunia in 1956. Upon arriving, Vjeko quickly commenced working on Bepo’s flower farm first to pay off the ticket that had brought him here and then to save enough money for Nevenka and Mladen’s ticket. The two arrived in 1957 and they took up residence in an almost derelict house in XXXX. In 1961, along with his brother-in-law, Bude and sister-in-law, Maria, they purchased their property on Churchill Avenue where they started their own market garden. They had purchased the property off another Šoltani, Mile Garbin. During this time, all of them worked different jobs to secure a comfortable life for their families. Vjeko worked as a stone mason for Stipe Šimić, and when she wasn’t working in their own market garden, Nevenka would assist others in their gardens part time to supplement their income. Bullypaddock as it was known, was a mini enclave of Šoltani. Martin Bavčević, Nevenka’s cousin, lived further up the road, as did the Garbins. Buče competitions at Ante Bavčević’s place were a regular event as well as outings to the Spearwood Dalmatinac club. Weekly gatherings in their shed were an “institution”, due mostly to the level of hospitality they extended their friends and in addition, the culiabry delights, mentioned earlier, that Nevenka would create. Their family soon grew when Mladen married Evanne in 1992. Adam and Adrian soon entered the world, creating much joy for both Vjeko and Nevenka. Linda had married Grant in 1990, and they blessed the family with to more boys Callum and Neven. The arrival of Baby Archer made Nevenka a Prababa, a role she relished. Having been alone for some time, Nevenka made the decision to sell up and move to Port Coogee. Initially, she was delighted with the move but then a huge apartment building blocked her view of the ocean. She had loved seeing the “more” (sea) from birth and anticipated she would see it until she died. Nevertheless, her walks along the boardwalk were like therapy. Sadly, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died on the 4th of November 2025.

Tue 26 May 2026