Poland in Australia

On Sunday 12 April, representatives of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Sydney took part in the anniversary celebrations (known as ‘Tobruk Sunday’) held in Melbourne and Sydney. The aim of the ceremony was to commemorate the heroism of the soldiers who took part in the battles at Tobruk. These battles took place between April and December 1941 and stand as an example of the self-sacrificing struggle of the besieged soldiers from Australia, Great Britain, India, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, and Poland (the so-called ‘Rats of Tobruk’), who fought side by side against German and Italian forces. The Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade (“Samodzielna Brygada Strzelców Karpackich” SBSK), under the command of General Stanisław Kopański, took part in the defence, writing one of the most glorious chapters in the history of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during the Second World War.

The ceremonies in Melbourne, organised by The Rats of Tobruk Association, were attended by representatives of Australia’s highest public authorities, including Ms Sam Mostyn, the Governor-General, members of the federal and state parliaments, representatives of the military, the consular corps, as well as veterans’ organisations and the Polish community in Victoria. The event was also attended by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland, Piotr Rakowski, together with Honorary Consul Andrzej Soszyński, the son of a Rat of Tobruk. Meanwhile, the commemorations in Sydney were organised by the Descendants of the Rats of Tobruk Australia Association at the Five Dock War Memorial, during which Vice-Consul Katarzyna Fałkowska laid a wreath on behalf of the Consulate.