Speech on Mt Kosciuszko - Włodek Wnuk



Wlodek Wnuk przemawia na Górze Kościuszki.
Fot. J.Lawonski

W samo niedzielne  południe, 12 lutego  nastąpił kulminacyjny moment trzydniowej imprezy sportowo-turystycznej pn. "End of Summer on Mt Kosciuszko". Na szczycie Gór Śnieżnych, na wys. 2228 m n.p.m do uczestników wszystkich tras imprezy: a więc Strzelecki Hike, Kosciuszko Run, Strzelecki Walk i Kosciuszko Ride przemawiał m.in. członek Rady Naczelnej Polonii Australijskiej Włodek Wnuk.

Mówił o znaczeniu organizowania tego typu imprez, ktore nie tylko pozwalają kontemplować piękno krajobrazu The Kosciuszko National Park ale  wzbogacają i upowszechniają wiedzę o historii zdobycia i nazwania najwyższego szczytu Australii. Podziekował szczególnie Oscarowi Kantorowi, szefowi Strzelecki Hiking Club za udane próby podążania śladami  Sir Pawła Edmunda Strzeleckiego. Zachęcał również  do organizacji podobnego spotkania na Górze Kościuszki  w przyszłym roku. Oto autoryzowany tekst przemówienia:

Good afternoon.  My name is Wlodek Wnuk, and I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Polish Community Council of Australia.  Standing here, on the rooftop of the Snowy Mountains, I welcome all the participants in this event, on behalf of the Polish Community Council of Australia.

We are standing on the highest peak in mainland Australia; the sign post for all Australians, and - due to the exploratory endeavours of our Polish compatriot, Sir Paul Strzelecki, who gave it such a distinctively Polish name - a beacon to the Polish diaspora world-wide.

But first, let's pay tribute to the traditional custodians of Mt Kosciuszko and other such important natural places - the Aboriginal tribes, who still maintain their customary links to wonders of nature.  

 

All of us here would like to see more people visiting The Kosciuszko National Park in summer.  It is an ideal time to contemplate the landscape and the delicate balance of local wildlife. But this also should be an opportunity to become familiar with the history of Mt Kosciuszko's recording, surveying and documentation.

Perhaps then more people would understand why this mountain was given this particular name by the very person who recorded this mountain and measured its height, while climbing through the thicket with a party that included Aboriginal guides.

Any initiative that truly recalls this great story deserves to be commended.

Therefore, I congratulate Oskar Kantor, the Founder and Chairman of the Strzelecki Hiking Club, who clearly understands this. His successful attempts to repeat Strzelecki's feats (including a winter expedition) and documenting them on film are promoting awareness of this important part of Australian history.

As mid-March better reflects the actual time of Strzelecki's discovery, we suggest that we shall again converge here on Victorian long-weekends in March.

However, Australian citizens with a Polish background should remain aware that pushing the limits of commercial, noisy developments in national parks is not appreciated anywhere in the world, and we may antagonize a large and influential group of Australian conservationists and - for other reasons - indigenous Australians.

Let me extend the Polish Community Council of Australia's thanks to the organizers of all events which - at their core - commemorate and celebrate our global explorer Paul Strzelecki's heritage in Australia.

Thank you.

David Broadfield (1L), Oscar Kantor (2P) i Patryk Wasilewski - uczestnicy wyprawy Strzelecki Hike
 oraz Wlodek Wnuk (2L) i konsul Daniel Gromann (Ś). Fot. K.Bajkowski