King of cane Ilija ‘Joe’ Uzelac farewelled in Far North Qld

After escaping a concentration camp, Ilija ‘Joe’ Uzelac armed himself with a handful of chocolates, a train ticket and the shoes on his feet, before traversing a 50km route out of communist Yugoslavia on foot in 1952. He eventually settled in Far North Queensland where he became a world champion cane cutter.

Mr Uzelac eventually left the cane cutting industry in 1974 where he took up a job as a groundsman at Gordonvale State School, finally retiring in 1999.

King of cane, Ilija ‘Joe’ Uzelac, has been farewelled, with family and friends celebrating an extraordinary life of survival and escape.

In 1952, Mr Uzelac and three friends from his village hatched a plan that would change their lives forever.

Armed with chocolates, a train ticket and the shoes on their feet the four men planned to traverse the 50km route out of communist Yugoslavia.

Mr Uzelac had tried to escape twice before and was caught and imprisoned, but as rumours swirled that secret police were watching him closely, he knew it was time to jump.

Ilija (Joe) Uzelac was crowned world champion after cutting two tonnes of cane in just under 19 minutes.

Granddaughter Tanja Vukelic said after a three day journey her grandfather crossed a patch of no man’s land and was buoyed by the sound of the Italian language.

“He just had little blocks of chocolate to keep his energy up…but he travelled from Serbia, (then Yugoslavia), to Italy by foot,” Ms Vukelic said.

“They split up halfway through the journey, it was cold and raining… and every time a car would drive past he would have to hide behind bushes.

“When he finally got to Italy he was waving down the police car but they wouldn’t stop… so he stepped out in front and made them take him to the refugee camp.”

Mr Uzelac’s escape marked the end of two decades in Yugisolvia that had suffered harsh occupation during WWII and an oppressive communist regime that dominated much of post war Europe.

Mr Uzelac and his family felt the brunt of the political upheaval; at 7, he and his family were placed in a concentration camp where his brother died of starvation and at 16, he was tortured by police and suffered severe chest injuries. For a crime he didn’t commit.

Upon his escape Mr Uzelac managed to reach Darwin where he worked in the Uranium mine known as Rum Jungle, before migrating to Innisfail to cut cane and Tobacco.

Mr Uzelac’s daughter Maria Parsons said 1954 Darwin was unlike anything he had seen before.

“They came in December and the doors of the plane opened…. there’s no airconditioning and it’s raining, steamy hot rain, they’d never felt that before,” Ms Parsons said.

“You squeezed your hand through the air and it would be full of mosquitoes.

“They thought they were in hell.”

After his retirement, Mr Uzelac spent his free time playing lawn bowls, socialising and fishing the outer reefs of the Great Barrier Reef- despite not being able to swim.

In Innisfail Mr Uzelac gained his fame, through back-breaking work he became an incredibly talented canecutter and one of the last to cut cane before modern technology.

In 1972, he was crowned world champion when he cut two tonnes of cane by hand in 18 minutes and 56 seconds.

But his career was put on hold after an accident almost killed him while he and a friend drained an inlet on their land with a digger.

“Dad was meant to be having smoko and his friend said….I’ll have a practice and muck around on the hydraulics on the loader bucket,” Ms Parson said.

“His friend pulled the wrong lever and dropped it on top of him… so he was screaming, crying and thought I’ve killed him, I’ve killed him.

Dad yelled out, get me out of here, you bastard.”

Despite suffering extreme injuries Ms Parsons said her father just got on with the job.

“He actually forced himself to walk and his right leg popped straight out sideways and he pushed it down,” Ms Parsons said.

“He got back on the machine and did three more hours work, finished off what he wanted to do, went home and then lay down.

“He couldn’t get back up for two weeks.”

Mr Uzelac had broken his back but didn’t get treatment for eight years, instead opting to wear a steel reinforced girder to brace his back.

Mr Uzelac is survived by his wife Margaret, his three daughters, seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

In his later years Mr Uzelac worked as the groundsman at Gordonvale state school where he touched the lives of thousands through his sense of humour and kindness.

Councillor Brett Moller first met Mr Uzelac 50 years ago as a student and said he touched the lives of everyone in that community

“I remember him as a big man, tough as nails, a great sense of humour and a wide beaming smile,” Mr Moller said.

“He touched the lives of many students who attended the school over that 25 year period and all will remember him with great affection as I do.”

Mr Uzelac is survived by his wife Margaret and extensive family.

Originally published as King of cane Ilija ‘Joe’ Uzelac farewelled in Far North Qld