On Saturday, 21st September, the Ukrainian Women’s Association Australia marks the 75th Anniversary of the organisation’s foundation in Cowra Migrant Camp.

UWAA President Luba Kaye, warmly welcomes all local residents to join in the celebrations at 11am, Europa Park, where a ‘Kalyna’ (Viburnum opulus), the national flower of Ukraine, will be planted. A luncheon will then be held in the Cowra Services Club.

Since the inception of the Ukrainian Women’s Association Australia (UWAA) in Cowra, the organisation has played a prolific role in the Ukrainian diasporic and wider Australian community.

Raising funds in countless philanthropic endeavours, the UWAA has delivered thousands in funding for education, medicine and war relief.

Above all, the Ukrainian Women’s Association Australia, has worked to develop harmonious relations between Ukrainians and Australians and to repay their adopted home of Australia.

Originally founded in 1921 in Lviv, Ukraine, the women’s organisation sought to mobilise and edify Ukrainian women in civic affairs and all aspects of public life.

The UWAA has never forgotten its antecedent origins in Ukraine. Throughout the Soviet occupation of Ukraine (1918-1991) and the Russian invasion (2014-ongoing), the UWAA has supported the inviolability of Ukraine’s borders and right to self-determination.

The UWAA has worked tirelessly so that the community may observe Ukrainian traditions 13,000 km away from home and ensure the survival of the Ukrainian language and culture.

Suffering the privations of displacement and having borne witness to the ravages of WW2 and subsequent Soviet occupation of their homeland, the Ukrainian community found an unlikely solace in Cowra.

Attendees return therefore not only to mark the foundational moment of the UWAA in 1949 but the generosity extended by the people of Cowra 75 years ago.

It is a tragic irony and attestation to the perennial suffering of Ukraine, that the descendants of the Cowra internees are joined this anniversary by another wave of displaced Ukrainians, this time from the current Russian invasion.

Two waves of Ukrainians mark the suffering that has befallen their country, the enduring struggle of Ukrainian women to preserve their culture and language and commensurately to express their sincere gratitude to Australia and the people of Cowra for their generosity and hospitality.