PODCHOR¡¯ÓWKA MANOR

I am a Polish-born Australian Chartered Architect, currently in Warsaw on an extended trade mission thru my own business.

My father was an active architect in Warsaw after the war and thru his extensive restoration works on, amongst others, the Lazienki Summer Palace and later thru our many other cultural connections, I have just started working with Professor Marek Kwiatkowski (Lazienki Director) and Katarzyna Szrodt on a Polish/Australian Museum project to be housed in the famous Podchorazowka Manor in Lazienki Royal Gardens in Warsaw.

The theme of the exhibition which is to open in May of 2006 under the title of "Muzeum Wychodzstwa" will be the achievements and experiences of Polish settlers and came to Australia. Stage 1 will deal with the early period from first contact in 1770 to 1918. (There were already 2 Poles on Cook's 2nd trip in 1772: Forster father and son reportedly from Gdansk).

The exhibition will be an invaluable "cultural bridge" between Poland and Australia, which will develop the still fairly limited understanding between our 2 countries. It will also serve as an emotional home base for Poles who come to revisit Poland as well as those who cannot return but who want to leave something to be kept for posterity in their country of origin.

Much has been written about Polish Australians since 1948, but far less is available for the period before 1918. We are now looking for information about that earlier period and are seeking photos, artifacts and recordings on CD (audio and/or visual) about the endeavours of Polish settlers and or visitors.

Then we can proudly exhibit their achievements (and their struggle against the elements) in very distinguished historical premises in the cultural heart of Warsaw in the Lazienki Royalm Summer Palace.

Prof. Marek Kwiatkowski (on the left) with Mark Krawczynski

I will be returning to Sydney towards the end of this year to assemble all available information. We are already in contact with the Australian Embassy in Warsaw and with various groups of Polonia in Sydney, including Radio SBS. Any ideas or lists of possible exhibition items would be greatly appreciated at your convenience.

I am starting actively preparing for the muzeum design in Lazienki Palace in about 12 days. We will be doing basic fit-out of the building interior first.

(...) We will have 2 medium exhibition halls. Displays will include panels of written information of about 2 to 4 paragrahs with a related photo or a drawing or an item if visual interest about 20 interesting Poles who came to Australia between 1772 and 1918 (Poland's independence).

Contextural paintings or drawings about local conditions, hardships and achievements should also be included. We are thinking of a "background" of "bush" scenes, desert and mountain and harbour landscapes and maybe textural surfaces on the floor, perhaps even involving sand and red gravel. We will also have 1 or 2 plasma screens for possible audio/visual presentations.

These are early ideas. I plan to travel to Australia towards the end of this year and about a month later to bring back with me all collected materials and any artifacts or memorabilia which could be placed on exhibition. (Perhaps a lute instrument crafted by a Pole in the Australian goldfields could be included? - just an early thought).

The school project could be a great motivator for any Polish group which wants an assignment with an inspiring and practical purpose to create pride in Polish achievements by settlers overseas.

Good information is available about many such famous early Polish/Australians on the Internet. Polski Instytut Historyczny w Australii has a number of pages as well there is a good article under the title Polacy w Krainie Kangurów. Also under the general title of Polacy w Australii i Oceanii there is much information to get started. Mr. Lech Paszkowski has also written a book by the same title, which is available in English and Polish.

Yours sincerely,
Mark Krawczynski

See also an article in Polish.