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Hi there Garry,
I trust the following information will be of some help. Can¡¦t guarantee it is all 100% correct, but it is to the best of my knowledge.
According to her ¡§Certificate of Identity for the Purpose of Immigration¡¨ Sofja Malek was born 28/4/1923 Warsaw, Poland. On her ¡§Application for Naturalisation as an Australian Citizen¡¨ she states here DOB as 1928 claiming the immigration document as being incorrect, however, not being able to provide any alternative documentary proof of this, she accepted 1923 as the correct date.
Her father¡¦s name was Franciszek (on her marriage certificate, she lists his profession as an Air Pilot) and her mother¡¦s name Franciszka Psibilska, both of whom died during WWII. In a newspaper report (Daily Telegraph 3 May, 1982) she is quoted as saying forty years ago ¡§the Germans shot my parents dead in front of my eyes¡¨.
During the war, Sofi lists her place of residence as Germany. I suspect she had been transferred to a German labour camp. This is what generally happened to healthy, young Polish Catholics at the time.
Following the war Sofi remained in Germany and is reported to have been in Displaced Persons Damps (DPC) on 20/9/1945 and 28/6/1949 (exact places not known). On 12/3/1949, she is registered as being at DPC Hallendorfst.132. On 17/11/1949, Sofi was transferred from the International Refugee Organisation (IRO) Stageing Centre Seedorf to Senigallia, Italy. Sofi finally emigrated from Camp Bagnoli, Naples on 15/12/1949 aboard the S.S. Nelly and arrived in Sydney, Australia on 15/1/1950.
At the time she was 160cm tall, weighed 55kilos and had brown eyes and hair. She listed her occupation before coming to Australia as a waitress. I believe the name Malek is a variation on the Polish word for small (which she was) and also has Old Testament references to kings.
After her arrival in Sydney, Sofi moved around NSW and eventually met and married Desmond John Williams (DOB 12/3/1930 at Barraba, NSW) on 18/11/1950 at St Patrick¡¦s Church, Macksville where she (they?) were living at the time.
As you are aware, Sofi eventually ended up in Theodore Street, Balmain. She had two daughters: Thelma (deceased - whom I suspect may have been your wife) and Marie.
The marriage to Des did not last. As part of her application for citizenship in 1957 in order to obtain pension benefits, Sofi states that her husband had deserted her (although she had not taken divorce proceedings as the time). She goes on to say that her husband was in Long Bay Jail for failure to pay maintenance.
Don¡¦t really know much about her life in Balmain, not that it really matters as that is the part you do know about ƒº. The only other significant thing that I know of was the house fire in 1982 at number 33 and that Sofi eventually died on 20/5/1985 at the Ainsley Nursing Home, Burwood.
I hope this information eventually finds its way to you and is of some help.
If you wish to share any information about Sofi¡¦s life in Balmain, I would be most interested.
Cheers
Lee.
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