NEXT CHAPTER IN POLISH FAMILY’S JOURNEY
A BOOK highlighting the Polish influence in the Tasmanian community is being launched in Hobart on Saturday.
On the Rough Waves of Life documents the life and legacy of Mieczyslaw Drelich, a Polish Rat of Tobruk, who arrived in Tasmania in 1947 and was a prominent member of the local community.
The memoir was originally published in Polish in 1995 and has now been translated into English by Mr Drelich’s son, Leszek Drelich.
“My father had a vision in the 1990s to publish the stories of Polish men and women who had migrated to Tasmania after the war,” Mr Drelich said.
“He hoped to one day have his memoirs translated to English so that future generations of his family could understand where he came from and his transition to Australia.”
President of the Polish Museum and Archives in Australia, Dr Zdzislaw Derwinski, said the memoir was important in helping remember the Polish contribution to the Australian community and restoring the memory of people such as Mieczyslaw Drelich.
The book launch is on Saturday at 2pm at St Therese’s School Parish Hall in Moonah.