This year was the 170th anniversary of conquering of the highest peak in Australia and naming it Mt Ko¶ciuszko by our great traveller and geologist Paul Edmund Strzelecki. To publicise this anniversary the Australian association Strzelecki Heritage Inc. from Melbourne organised a cycle of mass events. The main points of the observance in Australia was the Ko¶ciuszko Run 2010, which was a run to the peak of Mt Ko¶ciuszko, organised with the help and under the patronage of the Olympian Robert Korzeniowski. In Poland, in turn, the association Strzelecki Heriatge Inc. joined in organising the 10th World Championship in Moutain Running, which took place on 28 August 2010 in Korbielów.

The association gained support of the Australian Embassy, the Polish Senate and of the association “Wspólnota Polska” functioning under its patronage. Of course the State Geological Institute could not miss taking part, since the figure of Paul E. Strzelecki is becoming an essential symbol of our Institute. The main hall of the Geological Museum PIG is named after him and contacts with his descendants are diligently cultivated (cf. The Visit of a relative of P. E. Strzelecki).

Not without meaning are also the contacts of the Institute with Australia, which are becoming closer from the time when the director for scientific matters, Grzegorz Pieñkowski became the consul in that country. As a result of efforts made by Strzelecki Heriatge Inc. and of supporting institutions a sessions commemorating the anniversary as well as the person of our great compatriot was included in the program of the championship as an event immediately preceding the ceremony of awarding the medals to the victors of the runs. The session was began by Her Excellence Gabriele Tonkin – see below), charge d’affaires per interim, that is fulfilling the role of the Ambassador of Australia in Poland, by succinctly describing the role of Paul E. Strzelecki in the development of that continent and then handing the organisers 8 medals struck to commemorate the anniversary of naming the highest mountain of Australia Mt . Ko¶ciuszko.

Two of those medals were brought by the delegates of the Institute to Warsaw, where they will join other exhibits in the exposition in the Geological Museum devoted to P. E. Strzelecki.Following this the President of the Strzelecki Heritage Inc. Paul Gospodarczyk presented two documentaries about the commemorative events of the anniversary in Australia: Kozzie Fest 2010 and Ko¶ciuszko Run 2010. As could be surmised, the second one immediately gave an impulse to talks about when Australia will become the host to the championships and whether this would be a run to Mt Ko¶ciuszko.

Mrs Gabriele Tonkin (by the microphone) from the Australian Embassy during the celebrations in Korbielów.

Korbielów - ceremonies of the 170th anniversary of the discovery of Mt. Ko¶ciuszko

Pawe³ Gospodarczyk with Mrs Tonkin (light coloured jacket) and other guests of the celebrations in Korbielów.

It fell to the representatives of the Institute (W. Brochwicz-Lewiñski and A. Szymkowiak) to present a silhouette of Paul Strzelecki. Taking into account the character of the audience and the conclusions from the discussion with the Ambassador and the organisers of the event, the presentation stressed those episodes in the life of our distinguished explorer and discoverer, which have a great significance for the more and more heated discussions about immigration and assimilation of immigrants.

The successes of Paul Strzelecki are all the more meaningful, because he decided to start a new life in a strange country at the age of 34, which according to the standards of those times was rather advanced. The choice of a universal direction of studies such geology and related fields has to be judged as particularly well suited for the 9-year expedition around the world which was undertaken after additional studies in Great Brittain. The investigations completed during the expedition brought many successes, beginning with the discovery of deposits of copper in the province of Ontario (Canada), to deposits of gold, silver, coal and many other minerals in Australia and Tasmania. Of particular meaning were the maps and relations from his travels which were published in newspapers and passed to the governments of the provinces and in London.

One could risk stating that his confirmation of good conditions for settling contributed to the overthrowing of the stereotype of Australia as “hell on earth”, suitable only for a penal colony and brought fruit in first more serious waves of immigrants of settlers from the British Isles already from 1840, when the discoverer was still on the continent.

Start of the run in Korbielów

Dr Wojciech Brochwicz (on the right) with the Tonkins

Paul Gospodarczyk with Pr. Bruno Gozzelino from WMRA in Italy and Pr. Brian Keaveney from WMA Canada

The results of Strzeleckis expeditions, and in particular his life’s work entitled A Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemens Land brought him recognition in scientific circles (including an enthusiastic review by Charles Darwin), a Gold Medal of Explorers, membership in the Royal Geographic Society and of the Royal London Society and British citizenship. These proofs of recognition turned out to be great motivation and when famine visited Ireland in 1846, Paul Strzelecki engaged in organising relief for its victims. He headed the main committee bringing direct help. With approval of the British government he helped the Irish as well as Brirish people to emigrate to Australia. This actions were honoured by a knighthood and the Order of the Bath (as one of the first civilians) and his explorations in Australia, the discovery of mineral deposits as well as finding areas suitable for settlement were recognised by Queen Victoria with the title of the Knight of the Order of St Michael and St George.

The example of P. E. Strzelecki, who as a migrant successfully broke down barriers between cultures and managed to serve his new country well has become exceptionally timely right now, when we became members of the Union and the borders were opened. The example of P.E. Strzelecki, it seems, is becoming exceptionally applicable to immigration to Australia.

After contracting in February 2010 in the “deal of the millennium” to supply coal for China, Australian firms found it necessary to enlarge the existing mines and to open new ones, and so it was necessary to attract many geologists and miners to build them. So in a short time we will find out how many of our experts decided to follow the footsteps of Strzelecki and how did they fare. It would be appropriate to mention some of the many other events and missions that were entrusted to Paul Strzelecki, particularly his mission to Crimea during the Crimean war, where he worked side by side with Lord Lyons, the Commander of the HM Mediterranean Fleet , and where he also supported the mission of Florence Nightingale, the famous founder of the modern nursing care on the battlefield.

In sum his biography would be enough for a screenplay of a movie of the Indiana Jones type, including some melodrama. In this story the unrequited love to Adyna Turno would have to be seen as the reason for Strzelecki to emigrate, and there would have to be a mention of the flower from Mt Ko¶ciuszko, sent to Adyna from Australia. And also a question, whether - if the father of Adyna would have said ”yes” – Paul Strzelecki would have had the willpower to go on all those expeditions, surmount all the difficulties and break the ground for other explorers, like Livingstone?

Wojciech Brochwicz-Lewiñski, Andrzej Szymkowiak
Translated by Andrew Ostapowicz

Medal Strzeleckiego w zbiorach Pañstwowego Instytutu Geologicznego w Warszawie, sala im. P.E. Strzeleckiego