Mato Marić

Marić, Mato

Community Leader. (Stolac, 29 October 1927 - Broadbeach, Queensland, 7 June 2017).

Mato Marić arrived in Australia aboard the "Langfitt III" on 14 January 1950 and was initially placed at the Bonegilla Migrant Camp in Victoria. The following month, he relocated to Adelaide, where he worked briefly as a trainee fireman with the South Australian Railways. Marić played a central role in the early organisation of the Croatian community in Adelaide, co-organising the first major community gathering on 25 April 1950 in the Adelaide Parklands and serving as a founding committee member of the newly established Croatian Club Adelaide.

In mid-1953, Marić moved to Sydney, where he continued his community involvement and became a leading figure in the Croatian Australian community. He later served as President of the Central Council of Croatian Associations in Australia (Središnji Odbor Hrvatskih Društava Australije), contributing significantly to the national coordination of Croatian organisations.