Poland in Australia

On 20 February 1972 Poland and Australia announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations. This decision led to the official opening of respective embassies in Canberra and Warsaw, although relations between both countries had existed for much longer.

Poland and Australia enjoy a proud tradition of cooperation which developed prior to that official date. The length of the official diplomatic ties between our countries does not reflect the breadth and depth of interconnections, people to people exchanges and interaction, and shared values and history, linking both countries and their societies.

The opening of Australian diplomatic mission in Warsaw, just a few years before the establishment of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity”, enabled increased Australian commitment to help Polish society in the 80s and support our fight for freedom and democracy during communism. Who knows how many Poles would not find a refugee in Australia if Australians did not have first-hand updates on situation in Poland from their diplomats in Warsaw? This part of our shared history and the Australian embassy’s activities during that period were covered in detail in the book “The Solidarity Challenge: Poland 1980-81, an Australian Diary” written by then Australian Ambassador in Warsaw, John Burgess.

The 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and Australia is of a special character also for other reason. For Poland, the decision to establish diplomatic relations with many non-European countries often facilitated, or even constituted the beginning of, wider bilateral cooperation. The case of Australia was quite different. Our countries have much longer tradition of people-to-people cooperation than the record of official relations. Fifty years of diplomatic relations pale in comparison with long history of Polish settlement Down Under and Polish-Australian bonds of friendship forged over centuries.

Particularly this aspect of common Polish-Australian history should be remembered and celebrated. Therefore, the anniversary is an opportunity for both countries to emphasize much longer and stronger ties linking our societies that go back to the early years of modern Australia. For this reason, long history of interactions between Poles and Australians, including the presence of large Polish community in Australia and its contribution to the development of this country is the main focus of the 50th anniversary celebrations throughout the 2022.

The anniversary is a good occasion to recall key moments from our shared history and appreciate how many important figures and aspects of Australia’s history and culture relate to Poland (not only Tadeusz Kościuszko or Paweł Edmund Strzelecki), and how many outstanding Australians have Polish background.

A number of events planned for 2022 by the Polish and Australian diplomatic missions will be held in the framework of the 50th anniversary celebrations. In order to promote them better, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Canberra, in cooperation with the Australian Embassy in Warsaw, organized a logo competition. Together with the Polish Community Council of Australia, the Polish Embassy has prepared a special publication "Polish-Australian Connections" about interesting and often unknown events from Polish-Australian history, examples of our cooperation and brotherhood in various areas. In April 2022 we planted fifty trees in the Kosciuszko National Park, in cooperation with the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, to symbolically celebrate our friendship.

Polish-Australian ties are numerous and developed in many areas. Fifty years anniversary is a significant moment of shared Polish-Australian history which provides a timely opportunity to both go back in time and to show the richness of our relations today. We hope that despite the challenges still posed by the pandemic, we will be celebrating Polish-Australian friendship together with the Polish community across Australia and the broader Australian society.