Acknowledgement

The following snippets and the Photographic History of the Centre are copied from Marian Kałuski’s book “Polish Community and Sporting Centre in Albion (Melbourne) 1984-2009” in an unedited form.

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“Mr Mieczysław Żurek is the originator, founder and builder of the Polish Community and Sporting Centre in Albion.

This fact cannot be questioned by anyone who knows the history of the Centre, without him, this Centre simply would not exist, just like without a great leader there would be no victorious wars and no productions in the theatre without the artistic director.”

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“In the years 1978 -1980, Mieczysław engaged in negotiations with Sunshine City Council regarding the purchase of land for the stadium and the Polish Centre. A suitable ground was found near Highpoint Shopping Centre. Unfortunately, a building permit could not be obtained as some residents and nearby secondary school protested against the construction of such facility. The Commissioner of Sunshine, Mr A. Gillon, offered Mr Żurek to lease a few hectares of land near Forest Street, Ardeer where some time later the Croatian Centre and Catholic Church were built. However, the Club Committee could not accept this offer, as they did not want to compete with the nearby John Paul II Polish House, but more importantly, they wanted to own the land where the new Centre was to be built.”

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“On 25 July, 1982 Mr A. Gillon, the Government Administrator of Sunshine, offered Mr Żurek the 25-hectare golf links in West Sunshine (Barret Reserve) for the price of $350,000. However, when the Sunshine Golf Club managed to settle its financial matters with the bank the offer was withdrawn.

In 1984, Mr Gillon’s office made another offer: an 8-hectare lot on Carrington Drive (off Ballarat Road) Albion, owned by Boral Company. The first inspection was rather pessimistic. As noted by the Centre chronicler: Many of the people who saw the “moon landscape” shook their heads. Particularly that Boral Co. was asking $350,000for this wasteland with a deep hole. As free land was scarce in the Sunshine area, serious negotiations started. However, the price was unacceptable, which was communicated in a letter addressed to the Director of Boral Co. Two weeks later, the Director sent a revised offer – $150,000. In response, President Żurek offered $75,000. After three weeks the company responded that the land could be purchased for $73,500.  Therefore, by negotiating, the Centre saved $276,500. The truth is, the land was obtained practically “free of charge” as the $73,500 was paid out of the interest from the Centre’s bank deposits.

One of the most important advantages of the land in Carrington Drive, Albion was the convenient location and fast access to and from surrounding suburbs. Thanks to the Western Ring Road, a drive to the City takes only 15 minutes and is about the same time one can get to Marian Shrine in Essendon.”

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“The construction of the Centre began in the middle o 1987, foundations were laid and from then on, the main building of the Centre grew in front of our eyes. The main Hall was finished at the end of 1990, and a New Year’s Eve Ball was organized that year. Followed by, the first Sports Festival in February, 1991 (at the time, the biggest gathering of Victorian Polonia) took place there. The construction of the remaining parts of the Centre – kitchen, bar, restaurant, small function room and the office – was not completed until the middle of 1992.  Also, there was a separate “Pavilion” built for “KS Polonia Soccer Club”.”