Tadeusz Jan Goralski

Story

My father and mother chose to migrate to Australia as a direct result of WWII. My father was a career army officer with the Polish Army and a qualified Civil Engineer with the rank of Captain prior to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by hostile German forces. Tadeusz was captured shortly after the invasion and was held captive in a number of Stalags in Poland and in Germany until 1945. My mother Maria Irena was also held captive in a variety of Labour Camps in Germany where she worked in difficult conditions producing munitions for the German war effort. Upon their release by liberating US forces in 1945, both parents worked with the US armed services in Southern Germany until 1948. My parents could not return to their homeland as they feared persecution at the hands of occupying Soviet Communist forces.

Having been accepted to migrate to Australia my father (Tadeusz), my mother (Maria) and I (Jan) embarked upon a journey leaving Naples in Italy through the Suez Canal en-route to Australia upon the US troop carrier ‘The General Blatchford’. My father was the appointed coordinator for some 1000+ refugees aboard this ship and his role was to maintain harmony and to address any issues the refugees may have had at the time during transit. For all intents and purposes my father was successful in fulfilling his responsibilities as the trip was rather uneventful even though some fears were held for the welfare of the Jewish refugees as the ship sailed through the Suez canal.

My parents arrived in Australia as penniless refugees and their first impressions upon arrival in Australia was rather mixed. They were relieved to have completed a harrowing trip as political refugees to a foreign land but were very uncertain about a future in a country so markedly different to what they had left in Poland. As a family we lived in rather derelict rental accommodation in the suburbs of Fairfield and Yennora (NSW) until 1962. Our first opportunity to purchase a house was through the ‘Housing Commission’ of NSW in 1963 and we were blessed to find our first real home in Ausralia at Miller which is a part of the Green Valley estate in SW Sydney.

Tadeusz and Maria struggled to bring up their son (Jan Tadeusz) and my younger sister (Magdalena Maria) the best they could. My father was well into middle age upon his arrival and as such found it difficult to find employment in the area of his expertise, namely Civil Engineering. His credentials were not recognised in Australia by any authority and he did not have the luxury of youth or opportunity to pursue any additional studies. Left with no other alternative, both my parents sought employment as unskilled labourers in a variety of factory situations. Eventually my father found full time employment with AWA as a plastic moulder and my mother worked for a short period as a seamstress for Ernest Hiller. Their life was difficult as both my parents struggled to make ends meet working 12 hour shifts during the day, afternoon or at night to bring up their two children the best they could.

Both my sister and I were very fortunate to have educated parents who gave us both the opportunity to seek out careers as teachers with the Department of Education in NSW. As a result of their effort our respective lives have been a direct contrast to those of our parents and we are now part of the success story of Australia today.

My father and mother were true patriots of Poland and were immensely proud of their heritage but equally proud to be called Australians in their new found home. My father Tadeusz died (17/8/1973) and my mother Maria died (10/2/2005), both are buried at the Forest Lawn Cemetery at Leppington NSW.

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