We had prepared for this experience prior to our own embarkation in March, calling in to have a chat with a Mr Howard Thiele (Adelaide), principal author of a book tracing the history of the Maczkowiacks in Australia. Howard supplied us with lots of information, and more importantly, with contact details of key people in the town of Nekla. The key person is a Mr Jerzy Osypiuk (whose first name translates to Yurek or George), a keen, expert, and published historian, and his son Lukasz. George had provided Howard with the detailed information used in the ‘Maczkowiack’ book (and the family tree books of many other emigrant families of the period). Howard also contacted George on our behalf, asking him to be of assistance to us if possible. We were in touch with George and Lukasz in the weeks leading up to our arrival, and they were keen to make our visit meaningful and wonderful.
George Osypiuk with a teacher at the school we visited |
Lucasz Osypiuk |
So it was that on Thursday afternoon, 2nd October, we arrived at Nekla, checked
into the local hotel for a few nights, and later met Lukasz, George and his
wife Christina. Together they described the itinerary they had prepared for us
– visits to several cemeteries, churches and villages, as well as other places of general tourism interest.
They also invited us to spend the Saturday night with them as guests in their
house. Thus George and Lukasz became our personal expert tour guides and hosts
for the next two days. We were very grateful to them for bringing the whole of
the emigration tale to us with energy, warmth and expert knowledge. Without
their input we could have driven around seeking in vain a cemetery here, a
church there, ignorant of their significance in the lives of the ancestors.
The Osypiuk family were fully conversant with our genealogy – and in
particular, of one Anton Maczkowiack, Bob’s great-grandfather. George and
Lukasz escorted us to a series of relevant historic sites – the church where
Anton had been baptised, the location of the farming area where he was brought
up, his wife’s family homestead (still standing).
Bob and Anne inside the church where Anton Maczkowiack (1817 - 1899) was baptised. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
At the family home of Bob's great-grandmother. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
The Neckla region contains various cemeteries where
the Old Lutherans were laid to rest. Some headstones still had
legible inscriptions. All the cemeteries had been neglected until the past ten
to twenty years, when George initiated community interest in their restoration.
The local council now maintains most of these cemeteries, and has erected
explanatory plaques.
Well-maintained cemetery plots
|
Cemeteries being overtaken by forest. These were cleared some years ago but without regular upkeep the forest soon takes over. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk
|
George also arranged for us to speak to group of fifty
school children about our family history, our lives in Australia, and our trip.
The children’s school is adjacent to one of the historic cemeteries, and there is some interest in making the cemetery's upkeep a school project, thus
honouring our forebears.
Speaking to students through the interpretation of their English teacher. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Student of the school. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
During our conversations, we were surprised many times to discover connections and coincidences – e.g. that our niece Debra White had also visited the Osypiuks (2011); discovering that from all of Anton’s numerous descendants, I was actually raised on Anton’s original farm at Birdwood, and that my brother now owns the same farm. Furthermore, that my brother had married a descendant of the Herbig forebears (with whose ancestory George is also familiar).
George
was also familiar with Anne’s ’Herrman’ genealogy, and possesses a copy of the
Herrman family history book (complete with an early photo of Anne).and her
great grandfather's birth certificate.
Thanks to George and Lukasz, our passing interest in events of 175
years ago grew into a fascination with the general history of Poland, ethnic
German migrations into and out of the Nekla region, and in particular,
enthusiasm regarding our family roots. If you wish to explore
more of your own family’s German-Polish-Lutheran roots, we would
strongly advise you to contact Lukasz and his father via their web-site http://www.beactivetour.com/oferta.html Also, be sure to contact us for several other
key web-sites or just for a chat.
If you consider a trip to this area of Poland, we would really
recommend staying a night or two at a BNB house we visited, a restored, 18th / 19th century German house http://blog.chata-olenderska.pl/p/kontakt.html , or at a
real, swanky Manor house http://www.podstolice.pl/ , both in
the Nekla region.
Photo of the BNB house before restoration. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
The house twenty years later. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk
|
The interior of the restored house
Inspecting an inscription on a roof beam long hidden under paint. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Builder's date 1798. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Modern kitchen. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Spacious warmth of the accommodation in the BNB. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Poring over the photographic record of restoration. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
And now for some family photos!
Lukasz and Bob's niece (2011). Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Bob and Anton. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Bob with his great-grandparents. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
The four of us. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
In the busy schedule planned for us around Nekla, we also visited the historic town of Gniezno, an important site in Poland's early history.
At Gniezno cathedral. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |
Relaxing after a coffee. Photo by Jerzy Osypiuk |