Strzelecki Speech

The remarkable deeds of Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki have been presented to the Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee.

Felix Molski – one of the committee members of Kosciuszko Heritage, and the author of the new monograph The Best of Human Nature: Strzelecki’s Humanitarian Work in Ireland, which will be released during the Over the Moonbah festival in April – presented the book’s findings at the Commemoration Committee’s Annual General Meeting in Sydney, on February 13.

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Here is Felix’s summary of that presentation:

On Monday, February 13, I had the honour of saying a few words at the AGM of the Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee (GIFCC). The Committee was established in February 1996 in response to a speech given by the President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, inspiring her audience not to forget the struggles of those who came before them, and in particular to commemorate the struggle for survival by people in Ireland at the time of the Great Famine (1845-1848) when one-and-a-half million people died or emigrated.

The Committee has since broadened its objectives, aiming to inspire awareness and thought about famine, displacement and immigration faced by any segment of humanity, and awareness of the help needed by people throughout the world suffering from this ordeal today. GIFFC raised funds for the construction of the striking monument at the southern wall of the Hyde Park Barracks enclosure, near Queens Square, at the northern end of Hyde Park, on the Macquarie Street side. The monument was unveiled on the August 28, 1999.

At the meeting, after giving a brief account of Kosciuszko Heritage and its activities, I put the focus on Sir Paul Edmund Strzelecki. In the broader community, Strzelecki is known as an explorer of Australia with many people identifying him eponymously, the Strzelecki Track being a common example. Strzelecki, of course, was much more than an explorer of Australia. Amongst other things, he was a scientist, geologist and author, with many first to his name. Kosciuszko Heritage has celebrated these accomplishments at the various Kosciuszko Festivals since 2007. However, I stated to the Committee present that, at the 2012 Festival, it will be Strzelecki’s humanitarianism that will be celebrated, and this is where Kosciuszko Heritage has a common interest with GIFCC.

It took the members by surprise when I stated that Sir Paul received his knighthood for his humanitarian work in Ireland, which lasted from the beginning of January, 1847, to the latter part of 1848. Strzelecki was widely acclaimed at the time in England and Ireland for his relief work. The acclaim reached such a crescendo that, only a short time after he left Dublin, he was knighted by Queen Victoria on November 21, 1848.

I explained that the reason why people had become so affected was due to the positive effects from Strzelecki turning conventional wisdom upside down. Before Strzelecki’s inspiration, it was thought that the best way of helping destitute families was to provide relief to the parents and, by doing so, it was taken for granted that the parents would then provide for their children. Strzelecki changed the focus from the parents to the children! The effect was startling. Confident that the children would be clothed and fed over the long term in local schools, the parents were better able to alleviate their own circumstances. Those witnessing the actuality of this method of relief praised the author of the scheme. Strzelecki quickly became famous.

Somehow, in the 21st century, the knowledge of Sir Paul’s humanitarianism has been lost. The Committee empathised and will provide information about Strzelecki on its website. The web address of the Great Irish Famine Commemoration Committee is: www.irishfaminememorial.org

GIFCC will be involved in hosting the annual International Commemoration of the Great Irish Famine in Sydney in 2013.