Author: Anthony Sharwood
Review by Anne Reeves
This book was discussed by the Club on 28 April 2025
Kościuszko never set foot on the Australian continent. The mountain was named in 1840, long after his death, by Polish explorer Paul Strzelecki (1797-1873), in honour of his national hero, Tadeusz Kościuszko. Most Australian’s probably know little about him, so journalist and author Anthony Sharwood has done us a service in investigating the man and his times. Kościuszko was a truly significant engineer and political leader, involved in the American Revolution, and independence struggles in Poland. But how appropriate is the use of his name for our highest mountain?
Citing from p253
“Kościuszko’s name sits on the highest point of a land that was never formally ceded, on the sacred summit of a continent whose original inhabitants were denied their rightful claims to the land by the British, first by ceremony, then by force, then with a cynical swish of the quill.”
Long known and visited by the first peoples of this country, this mountainous region was known by different names in keeping with their different traditions. Naming the highest peak ‘discovered’ by colonial explorers after a Polish hero of outstanding integrity and leadership was in keeping with their practice of the times. Naming is now at the centre of discussions about Indigenous recognition and extensively covered in the book.
As Sharwood makes clear, until otherwise determined the Kościuszko name embodies attributes that symbolise much that is appropriate for Australia’s highest mountain and NSW pre-eminent national park. The colloquial name ‘Kosci’ shows how fully we have adopted it.
The book ranges over different continents which are also the paths taken by Sharwood in researching it. The first 140 pages take place in the US where Kościuszko showed his brilliance at planning and outsmarting the enemy (look at his fortification of West Point on the Hudson River). Then in Part Two he returns to Europe where his dreams of an independent Poland are not realised despite his fighting and being imprisoned by the Russians, and thirdly – and most directly relevant for NPA readers “Australia: The learning walk”.
As set out in the first two sections, Kościuszko was recognised and widely acknowledged as an outstanding person ahead of his time, as a good and caring man – an emancipist, brave, kind, and of unwavering strength of character. In the last 90 pages the emphasis changes to material more familiar from Sharwood’s earlier work. he knows Kosciuszko National park intimately so is well qualified to discuss our fames mountain. Here he describes the ecology of the park and the many threatening processes that have beset it. He also recounts some Aboriginal perspectives on the landscape and the name.
The discursive style makes for easy reading despite detail that at times becomes overwhelming – in particular the road trip sections seemed a bit indulgent. In particular, details of encounters and experience in the ‘road trip’ sections are sometimes excessive and indulgent.
The useful additional timeline plus a guide to Polish pronunciation, and extensive reference list, reflect journalist-author Anthony Sharwood’s appreciation of the importance of context setting. All are helpful. Disappointing is the lack of a good index for a book underpinned by extensive research, not only of documented events but also locational visits and interviews.
The book makes clear that Kościuszko, the man, was a person of outstanding character whose name is worthy of wide commemoration. It also raises questions about the process of naming places and what might cause them to be renamed.