Polish Organizations in Australia (from the beginning of settlement till the middle of the 1970s)

Abstract

In the history of the Polish Community in Australia we can distinguish four periods. The first, covering the years 1788-1840, is the time of occasional contacts. Naorganizations were established at that in Australia, since there were very small settlements of Polish emigrants. The second period, expands from 1840 till the end of the I World War. First groups of Polish church in Sevenhill. There arrived at that time political emigrants. In 1913-1919 there acted in Melbourne the first Polish political organization — Polish Socialist Party of fifteen persons. Beginning from the 1913 on new Polish ethnic organizations came into being in defiferent Australian cities having a sodo-cultural character. During the I World War, there was established the Polish Rescue Fund (Polski Fundusz Ratunkowy) giving financial help to people living in Poland. The third period is the interwar period. At that time, there active in Australia organizations which had a socio-cultural character. There came into being the first Polish Societies, the aim of which was to preserve the Polish language among Polish descendants and thg propagation of Polish culture. There was created a committee of the Polish House in Victoria — yet the building itself was not built. There were established at that time National Societies of Poles. The Polish Community in Australia then numbered 3,500 members. The fourth period-dates from the end of the II World War till the present times. In the 1950s the number of Polish Communities in Australia increased up to about 70,000 members, and in the 1970s it was estimated at about 180,000 members; after the war they gathered mainly political emigrants. Polish Societies organized in Australia had an extensive structure: there were established certain sections e.g. of political prisoners, of social services, of sport, culture etc. there were set up combatants’ organizations. At that time, there were set up in Australia Polish organizations which were supraregional. The main organization of that type is the Federal Council of Polish Associations in Australia which is originally anticommunistic and restricts itself only to family contacts with Poland.

' The main characteristics of a greater number of the boards of Polish organizations in Australia are frequent quarrels and lack of unanimity as far as basic matters are concerned, even whenjhe question of the young generation’s education is discussed. The article also comprises a characteristic of the teritorial arrangment of Polish organizations in Australia.