ISLAND LIFE

POLISH military migrant Tadeusz “Ted” Szczepanowski’s study holds many precious memories. It’s where he keeps memorabilia such as his war medals, books and family photographs.

“Sometimes, when I look at the photos of my family [in Poland], I wonder why I’m not there with them,” Szczepanowski says. “I miss them. In Poland, family is the centre of things; it means everything.”

Szczepanowski, 95, of Rosny, was one of 750 members of the Polish military base in Britain who came to Tasmania for a new life in 1948. His is among many Polish soldier migrant stories being told as part of a new exhibition, Destination Australia – Post World War II Odysseys, on now at the Polish Club, in New Town.

“About a quarter of the photos in the exhibition are Tasmania-related,” says Polish Museum and Archives in Australia vice president Lucyna Artymiuk. “These men came to Tasmania to work at the Hydro. In 1949, it was acknowledged that one quarter of the Hydro workforce was made up of Polish men.”

Unlike some of his compatriots, Szczepanowski, who served in the Polish Army, Polish Resistance and British Army, acclimatised quickly. He married his wife Cecily, a Tasmanian, in 1951 and the couple had a son in 1953. He retired from the Hydro where he worked as a civil engineer and manager in his mid-60s.

After his wife died in 2003, Szczepanowski focused on his golf, gardening and daily walks, and for many years travelled to Poland to see his family, including three younger brothers — one of whom died last year — and sister.

“I used to go back every year, but it’s a bit too far to go now. Tasmania is my home,” he says.

Destination Australia — Post World War II Odysseys, is on until the end of November at the Polish Club in New Town.