“Nasza Droga” (1952-1981) – A Polish-language foreign newspaper in Adelaide (Australia) and its “German” roots

The early days of “Nasza Droga” were difficult because the newspaper was published under unfavourable technical and financial conditions. The circulation oscillated between 750 and 900 copies, “a few dozen of which would then be passed back and forth so that it is not possible to establish the exact circulation”.[8] Nevertheless, almost 500 subscribers were able to be won over and several Polish businessmen were persuaded to advertise. The Lithuanian printer “Australijos Lietuvis Publishing”, which later changed its name to “National Press”, was responsible for producing the newspaper. The Polish character set was introduced gradually. The first issue had four pages, then there were six and in the middle of August it had eight pages. The publishers were able to build up a distribution network, although it was difficult to get the newspaper at outlets which sold the Australian press. Instead, you could get it in Polish companies and it was sold in front of churches at Polish services. Over time, it also found a few readers in the state of Victoria.

The first editor-in-chief of “Nasza Droga” was Jerzy Dudziński. He was born in Warsaw [Warszawa] on 18 June 1919 and later studied chemistry for three years at the University of Warsaw [Uniwersytet Warszawski] as a graduate of the Sułkowskis Grammar School and lyceum [Gimnazjum i Liceum im. Sułkowskich) in Rydzyn, which was known for its high standards and modern education methods, In the wake of the occupation of Poland by German and Soviet troops, Dudziński arrived in France via Hungary. In the post-war period, he ran the “Jutro Pracy” [The Working Morning] publishing house in the British occupied zone in Cologne-Mülheim and Lippstadt in Germany, in which the weekly newspaper of the same name, the children’s magazine “Promyczek” [roughly: “The Little Sunshine”], the youth magazine “Młody Polak” [“The Young Pole”] and Polish literature classics were published. In the context of the immigration programme for “Displaced Persons” agreed with the IRO, he arrived in Melbourne via Naples on 21 February 1950 on board the MS Gen. Hann.[9] In May 1953, Władysław Romanowski was entrusted with the editing of “Nasza Droga”, a position he held for little remuneration until August 1954. He was a journalist and later wrote the books “Zaginiony czas. Powieść australijska“ [Lost Time. An Australian Novel], London 1978, and “Zły znak” [Bad Omen], London 1980, which were devoted to the Polish immigrants in Australia. As editor-in-chief of “Nasza Droga”, he always tried to raise the standard of the newspaper and to expand its subject matters, which was reflected, for example, in the special supplement on the tenth anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. In the era covered by these first two editors-in-chief, people published in “Nasza Droga” included Tomasz Ostrowski, Tadeusz Sobolewski, the Capuchin Monk Hieronim Myszkowski and Father Józef Kuczmański.

From August 1954, the editing of the paper fell to its owner Zygmunt Posłuszny, who also largely took care of the contents himself, largely by taking short pieces of information from the Polish exile press and from press agencies, such as the Polish telegraph agency [Polska Agencja Telegraficzna], the Inter-Catholic Press Agency and from the station Free Europe Radio. He also reported a lot on the life of his countrymen in Australia, but mostly in Adelaide. His lack of journalistic training meant that he was unable to overcome the many difficulties the paper faced and to make the newspaper popular amongst the Polonia. At the same time, he was not in a position to manage the huge amount of work on his own or to keep the loss-making project going from his own funds. As a result, after a year he left the newspaper to the Caritas and Children’s Home Association [Caritas Polska i Dom Dziecka Polskiego] run by Father Kuczmański in South Australia. “The actual value of the gift was that [the association] ‘Caritas Polska i Dom Dziecka Polskiego’, which at the time was engaged in building a children's home, now had good information and communication resources.”[10] The change of owner had an impact on the content of the newspaper which, although it maintained its secular, informative character, now afforded the structural and social activities of Carita and religious themes more space. The subheading was changed to “Dwutygodnik Katolicki w Australii” [Fortnightly Catholic Newspaper in Australia]. Posłuszny held the post of editor until April 1956. It was then taken over by Father Kuczmański, with the administrative tasks falling to Jerzy Dudziński.[11]