Philatelic exhibit and postal issues mark 50 years of Ukrainian settlement in Australia (02/14/99)

Philatelic exhibit and postal issues mark 50 years of Ukrainian settlement in Australia

by Ingert Kuzych

SPRINGFIELD, Va. - Ukrainians from all over Australia gathered in Melbourne in December 1998 for the eighth annual Ukrainian National Festival, known as "Zdvyh." This year's celebration was truly special as it marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival of almost 25,000 Ukrainian refugees from displaced persons and POW camps in war-ravaged Europe. Held under the auspices of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations (AFUO), the Zdvyh featured an extensive program of dance, choral, instrumental, drama, art and literary works.

Actively participating in the festivities were members of a relatively new organization, the Ukrainian Collectibles Society (UCS). Founded in 1994, the UCS seeks to consolidate interest in Ukrainian collectibles and has made impressive strides over the past few years. The UCS journal, The Southern Collector, has already won several significant awards and has made itself the finest English-language publication available for Ucrainica collectors.

UCS activities centered on its mammoth philatelic exhibit titled UCSPEX-98, held December 22-23, 1998. A total of 96 frames, each holding 15 pages, made up the heart of the exhibit. According to George Fedyk, one of the main organizers of UCSPEX-98 and also the editor of The Southern Collector, the "very large exhibition covered virtually every aspect of Ukrainian philately in the 20th century. It took most people over two hours to go through [it] ... I can honestly say that everyone who saw the exhibition was very impressed, so much so that we may again go back to Melbourne, while talks have already started with the organizers of the Sydney 2000 Zdvyh for us to attend. Hopefully our exhibition will coincide with the Sydney Olympics - such was the success of our exhibition."

The UCS was privileged to have had Bill Moyle, the chairman of the Australian Multicultural Council, officially open their show. Federal Minister of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Philip Ruddock and his wife made a special trip from Sydney to visit the exhibit and spent almost three hours perusing the displays.

Mr. Fedyk summarized the reception received from the Australian government as follows: "As you can see, the Ukrainian communities in Australia (under the authority of the AFUO) have some impact upon the government of our country. I mention this as there are about 170 different nationalities living here in Australia, all wanting to obtain the exposure the Ukrainian communities command."

Australia Post also joined the festivities by issuing a special commemorative cancellation. This marked the very first time Ukrainians have been honored philatelically "down under," and it was appropriate that the trident was prominently displayed. Several attractive official commemorative envelopes were prepared for UCSPEX-98 and were eagerly snapped up by visitors, who were then able to affix stamps and have their collectibles postmarked with the special cancellation.

Ukraine Post also made a contribution to the immigration anniversary by issuing a stamp two days prior to UCSPEX-98 honoring "50 Years of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Australia." The colorful release shows a map of the southern continent along with a large "50" through which blooms the watarah of Australia and the kalyna of Ukraine.

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