Katyń 1940 – Smoleńsk 2010, Australia 2020 Rally
19.10.2020
Ambassador Michał Kołodziejski and Consul General in Sydney Monika Kończyk participated in the 5th rally commemorating the massacre of Polish elites in Katyń in 1940 and the Smolensk air disaster of the Polish Air Force Aircraft on 10 April 2010.
The Katyń 1940 – Smoleńsk 2010, Australia 2020 Rally took place on 16-17 October. The route included Sydney to Canberra drive on the first day, followed by the drive to Thredbo on the side of the Mount Kosciuszko on the next day. While in Canberra the participants laid wreaths beside the Pool of Reflection at the Australian War Memorial. After departure from the Australian capital, they visited Tadeusz Kosciuszko Monument in Cooma and Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki Monument in Jindabyne, where the main ceremony honouring those who gave their lives for the Fatherland – the Appeal to the Fallen – took place. To pay respect to the renowned Polish explorer, the Ambassador, together with the Consul General and the Commander of the Rally Richard Adams-Dzierzba, laid flowers at the Strzelecki’s statue.
The rally was initially scheduled for April, when the commemorative ceremonies of the 80th anniversary of the Katyń massacre and the 10th anniversary of the Smoleńsk disaster were to take place worldwide. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the event was postponed to October.