Wladyslawa Boettcher
| Town/City | Adelaide |
|---|---|
| First name | Wladyslawa |
| Last name | Boettcher |
| Country of Origin | Poland |
| Date of Birth | 24th October 1901 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1950 |
| Submitted by | Marie Boettcher |
Story
Wladyslaw was the son of Lucien Boettcher a Professor of Maths at Lvow University. He was a decorated Polish officer in World War 1 who had to flee when the Russians invaded.
He fled with his two sons Edward & Adam to Germany. In Schramberg he worked in a cheese factory and later as a lecturer in Physics and Chemistry. He fathered a girl called Bronhilda.
The economic recession was hard so he walked with his sons to Naples and caught the ship “Skaugum” which landed in Sydney. He enjoyed the cultural life in Sydney visiting libraries, museums, public gardens and art galleries.
He met and married Roma Traeger. They had a daughter, Marie in 1956.
He was very depressed and frustrated by Australian’s refusal to recognise his European qualifications. Working at Kelvinator he asked the management to give him a room, chemicals and equipment so he could produce cheaply a synthetic insulator to replace the high priced wool lining refrigerators. When he successfully produced the insulator he was fired with the excuse that the Unions would kick up a fuss.
He enrolled and completed 3 units at Sydney University before dying at the early age of 62.