Transcript Mount Kosciuszko and the Polish Community

The Significance of
Mt Kosciuszko
as a Special Place
to the Polish Community in Australia
Ursula Lang and Andrzej Kozek
28-07-2012
Song My Mountain Kosciuszko
Lyrics: Ursula Lang. Music and performance: John Hospodaryk.
Dr Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek (standing) and Ursula Lang
with Ngarigo traditional dancers at Kozzie Fest, Cooma 2009
Kosciuszko Heritage
• Why us – who are we?
• How did we get involved (Kosciuszko Music on Mt K,
involvement with NPWS)
• Working in group sessions with Aboriginal leaders organised by NPWS
• Organisation of yearly Festivals – each year with a
different theme
• Invitations to Aboriginal community reciprocated at
NAIDOC week
Dr Andrzej Kozek (with camera)
with Ngarigo traditional dancers at Kozzie Fest, Cooma 2009
Acknowledgement of Significance
•
2008 – Draft Statement of Significance on public
exhibition:
no mention of why the name of Kosciuszko was
important,
no mention of who “Kosciuszko” was,
no mention of why Strzelecki gave the mountain this
name, and
no mention of why the values that Kosciuszko fought
and stood for, are important to the Polish Community
Dr Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek (red hat), Steven Reden (Kosciuszko NP)
and Mr Jerzy Więcław , the Ambasador of Poland
with Lajkonik, Polish folklore dancers at Mt Kosciuszko,
Kosciuszko Music on Mt Kosciuszko 2007
Mission of KHI
• To tell Australians, with all its many cultures, that the values
of freedom and equality, core values within our democracy,
are embedded within the name of Kosciuszko, because of
who Kosciuszko was, and because of what he fought and
stood for – its about the values. These values unite us!
•Kosciuszko fought in foreign countries, for the liberty of
others, esp. the underprivileged. When the American War of
Independence broke out in 1775, K travelled to America to
fight under George Washington. He is recognised as a great
man.
•Kosciuszko never came to Australia – does this matter?
From the Visitors Book at the exhibition
Tadeusz Kosciuszko: Hero of Nations
Macquarie University, 27 July – 27 August 2006
Why the Name of Kosciuszko
•When Strzelecki named Australia’s highest mountain, it was
for good reason. It is our view that this reason forms part of
the cultural heritage. The reason should be known,
understood and respected;
•Strzelecki chose the name of Kosciuszko to honour General
Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The shape of the mountain reminded
him of a man-made mound in Poland’s old royal town of
Krakow, which is a monument to Kosciuszko.
Mt Kosciuszko seen from the Main Range Walk
Dr Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek with Dr Mieczysław Rokosz
at the Mound Kosciuszko in Krakow, 2009
•Kosciuszko was an expert on fortifications (WestPoint was his design) and a
brilliant military strategist and engineer;
•His friend, Thomas Jefferson, main author of the American Declaration of
Independence, said about him
“the purest son of liberty that I have ever known”;
Following the signing of the Polish Constitution of 3rd May 1791, the first in
Europe and the second in the World, after the American one, Poland was
subjected to the second of three partitions by Russia, Austria and Prussia.
Kosciuszko led a national uprising in 1794 in which he managed to persuade
both nobles and peasants to fight for one cause, promising extensions of
liberties to the underclasses;
Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko leading his
Insurection Army to a victory at Racławice, Poland
(Fragment of Panorama of Racławice, a famous 360° painting, Wrocław, Poland)
Belorussian author Vladimir Lihodedov wrote
“The name of Kosciuszko unites various people on
different continents. The national hero of Belarus and of the
United States of America, is also an honoured citizen of
France. Everybody claims him for their own and he is
remembered everywhere.
This is a wonderful foundation for strengthening
understanding between peoples, developing fruitful
relations at an inter-personal and interstate level”.
°
A Ngarigo Elder, Aunty Rae (right) with her daughter Sharon Anderson
Kozzie Fest, Jindabyne 2010
Meaning of the Name
•Kosciuszko’s name is synonymous with the human
quest for liberty and justice;
•Kosciuszko’s achievements and the person he was, inspired
the writing of celebrated authors and poets:
•Lord Byron wrote:
‘The sound that crashes in a tyrants ear. . .
Kosciuszko’;
•and Thomas Campbell wrote:
“Hope for a season bade the world farewell, and
freedom shrieked as Kosciuszko fell”.
A portrait of Gen. T. Kosciuszko with his American Will
A painting by A. Szyk
Monuments in Poland, Ukraine, the States
and other countries
•Man-made mound in Krakow;
•The equestrian bronze statue at the Royal Wawel Castle
in Krakow, where Kosciuszko was buried
•Belarus - Bir, Kobrin, Baranovichi and Brest Streets in
Pinsk, Slonim and Volkovysk were named after the
hero;
• Chicago - monument to Kosciuszko, unveiled in 1905;
•Detroit Milwaukee – famous, much-loved statue of
Kosciuszko on horseback, placed in a park named
after the US Army Brigadier General;
•Town of Kosciuszko in the USA and Kosciuszko Park;
•Kosciuszko Bridge, New York City, built 1939;
The equestrian bronze statue of General T. Kosciuszko
at the Royal Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland
Dr Ernestyna Skurjat-Kozek (right) with Krystyna Jacniacka
at the Kosciuszko monument in Chicago, Ill. (USA)
Gen. T. Kosciuszko monument in Chicago, Ill. (USA)
• Warsaw monument unveiled in November 2010 in the
presence of the Polish President and the US Ambassador.
The monument is an exact copy of one in Washington by
sculptor Antoni Popiel given to Americans on behalf of the
Polish nation. At its unveiling outside of the White House in
1910 the promise was made to erect a copy in Poland if ever
the country regained its independence;
•US Congress not only conferred high military rank on K but
awarded him large land holdings, with a life-term pension.
Kosciuszko willed his money to the purpose of buying
freedom and educating Black American slaves;
K
osciuszko - Champion of Human Rights
Kosciuszko’s Will
“I, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, being just in my departure from America, do hereby
declare and direct that should I make no other testamentary disposition of my property
in the United States thereby authorize my friend Thomas Jefferson to employ the whole
thereof in purchasing negroes from among his own as any others and giving them liberty
in my name in giving them an education in trades and otherwise, and in having them instructed
for their new condition in the duties of morality which may make them good neighbors,
good fathers or mothers, husbands or wives and in their duties as citizens, teaching them
to be defenders of their liberty and country and of the good order of society and in whatsoever
may make them happy and useful, and I make the said Thomas Jefferson my executor of this.”
Thaddeus Kosciuszko
5th day of May, 1798
Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko Will
directing Thomas Jefferson to use all his properties in the
US to free and educate Black American slaves
(70 years prior to the abolition of slavery in America)
MT KOSCIUSZKO
IT IS A UNIQUE MONUMENT BECAUSE IT IS
THE ONLY NATURAL MONUMENT
We believe it should be treasured by ALL
Australians as a symbol of Democracy,
Freedom and Equal Rights –
the Principles so dear to every Australian.
Participants of the Kozzie Fest 2012 pointing their hands towards Mt Kosciuszko
at the Monument of Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki in Jindabyne, NSW
Mt Kosciuszko and its links with Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki and with
the Polish community found the way to the National Heritage list in 2008
Why do people want to go to the
Summit?
•According to NPWS data, over 100,000 people go to the
Summit each year, to experience the highest point of
Australia;
•Stunning landscape, unique environment;
•Sporting events – Bike rides and mountain runs;
•1913 - first Catholic mass celebrated on the summit
• 2013, a centenary mass will be held. There have been
other pilgrimages e.g. in 2008 carrying the Papal Cross
Sunset at Mt Kosciuszko (fot. Puls Polonii)
A Catholic Mass at Mt Kosciuszko
celebrated by Father Wiesław Wójcik 2012
Polishness – why Polish people value freedom
so much
• History of Poland’s partitions (Poland did not exist for
123 years), moving boundaries, invasion,displacement
• Loss of independence as a result of WWII
• Suppression of Democracy by Communists/
USSR after WWII – role of Polish Pope John Paul II and
Solidarnosc (Solidarity Movement)
• Migration – Australia the Land of Freedom/Opportunity
Legendary Leaders of the Solidarity movement
Andrzej & Joanna Gwiazda
At the Kozzie Fest 2011, Charlotte Pass, NSW
Going forward – Our vision
• Ongoing dialogue/friendship with the Aboriginal
Community;
• Ongoing cultural festivals and celebrations linked with Mt
Kosciuszko;
• Ongoing education and promotion – Brochure, Music,
information for schools, events
Ngarigo Dancers posing to a joint photo with a Polish
folklore ensemble Lajkonik, Kozzie Fest, Jindabyne 2009
Polish-Aboriginal-Australian fraternity and friendship flights over Mt Kosciuszko,
Kozzie Fest, Jindabyne Aeroclub 2012
(four generations of Ngarigo and Polish communities took part in the flights)