100 years for Polish expat

By Lachlan Ellis

A Ballan resident has marked a century of life this year, and though he was born in Poland, he says he never looked back after coming to Australia.

Ballan Aged Care resident Bill Chwalik celebrated his 100th birthday on Monday 20 March, close to 70 years after arriving in the country.

Born in a village near Glwice, Mr Chwalik was a boiler attendant by trade, working in a factory during German occupation before working on a farm for 2 years in Australia to earn his citizenship, arriving here in 1954.

There was no school in the village he grew up in, so he didn’t receive a formal education – but worked incredibly hard to make sure his daughter Marcie would, working “6 days a week so Marcie could go to college and do better for herself”, including 27 years working at the Smorgon butcher in West Footscray.

Mr Chwalik celebrated his birthday at Ballan Aged Care with a special Smirnoff cake, and said the secret to his long life was “eating well, and a shot of vodka every now and then”.

“Also, keep your mouth shut and work hard!” he told the Moorabool News with a laugh.

Mr Chwalik met his wife, Gelda, at a soccer game around the end of World War 2, and has one daughter, one grandson, and two great granddaughters.