Green Point is a long way from Poland.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But, for proud Australian Teresa Siminska the Great Lakes is indeed home.
Teresa was one of thousands who left Poland at the start of the Solidarity movement and before the imposition of martial law in the early 1980s.
While Poland was under the rule of the Soviets, it was at the time considered one of the least oppressive states of the Bloc, allowing Teresa and her family to quietly slip into Austria via Czechoslovakia under the pretence of a holiday.
But, at the same time the family – husband Tom Siminski and two young sons, six-year-old Michael and four-year-old Peter – was unable to tell relatives and friends of their plans.
Not knowing how their plans would pan out, their Fiat 650 was packed to the roof with camping gear, food and clothing.
“We took as much as possible; whatever we could fit in the car because we didn’t know how it would work out.”
Eight months after escaping their homeland the family arrived in Australia as sponsored refugees of the Chatswood Catholic parish.
“When we got on that plane I was so excited,” Teresa said.
“The whole Jumbo was full of Poles.”
The majority of Poles applied for and were granted refugees status for Australia, Canada and the United States.
“Everyone who comes to Australia falls in love with it; it is the best country in the world.”
Within no-time Tom and Teresa had secured full-time work.
Teresa had studied maths and computer sciences at Warsaw University of Technology, while Tom was a professor with a degree in information technology, and both could speak English.
The family later settled in Wollongong where the couple worked at BHP until retirement and relocating to the Great Lakes.
Four years after arriving in Australia the Siminska/Siminski family was able to sponsor their parents for permanent residency.
Tom and Teresa retired to the Great Lakes seven years ago after many years holidaying at their Green Point holiday home.
“I just love this area so much,” Teresa said.
“I’ve been all around Australia, but there is no place where you have so many beautiful beaches, the lake, ocean and National Parks.
Teresa and her eldest son Michael returned to Poland in 1989 following a series of revolutions in Eastern Bloc countries and the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall.
“I had always wanted to ski the alps in Europe and visit the families who had helped us.”
Since retiring Teresa annually visits these families, and has reconnected with long-time Polish friends.