The inaugural Croatian Ball on November 23 was a chance to highlight the coronation of Tomoslav, the first king of Croatia and was organised by Rev. Fr Luka Poljak who drew heavily upon the country’s South Australian community for support.

“I had a desire to organise a unique celebration of the great jubilee of our Croatian people,” he said. “Even as a small boy in Osijek in Croatia, I often went with my parents to the park dedicated to our first king and played in the leaves under the crown of a linden tree planted on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the Croatian Kingdom in 1925.”

All guests were greeted by Belinda Fusco (Miss Croatia 2016) and Ema Šarić, prominent members of the Croatian community in Adelaide and the ball opened with the performance of four anthems on the grand Walker organ, played by the Rev. Fr. Nicholas Dillon from the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The classical ballroom music was performed by the Norwood Symphony Orchestra, the oldest community symphony orchestra in Adelaide and which began with a performance of J. Strauss Jr.’s Fledermaus Quadrille, a cult dance piece typically performed by high school graduates in Croatia.

Fr. Luka Poljak, who is head of the Croatian Catholic Chaplaincy in Adelaide, was thrilled to be able to share his country’s colourful heritage.

“The force of earthly presence bound to diminish in God’s creation over time,” he said.
“This is why stories that carry more than a millennium of heritage are nowadays seen as a kind of lost mythology of our world.”