Joseph Potaski

Joseph Potaski
Joseph's Potaski's plaque at St. Davids, Hobart
Born	1764 Poland
Died	1824 Hobart, Tasmania
Criminal charge	Stealing
Criminal penalty	Transportation
Conviction(s)	Guilty

Joseph Potaski or John Potaskie (c. 1764 – 31 August 1824) was the first Pole to settle in Australia, and one of the first convicts to arrive in Van Diemen's Land on Ocean. Joseph Potaski worked hard to establish himself as a successful farmer in colonial Hobart. This was however undone by the exploits of his family. Joseph Potaski reflects the attitudes of those convicts who never progressed beyond their criminal past. Potaski is seen as representing the auspicious beginning of the Polish community in Australia.

His daughter, Catherine, was the first European born and baptised in the new colony of Van Diemens Land.

It is estimated that Potaski was born in 1764, in Poland. Not much is known of Potaski's early life. It has been suggested that Potaski was born into the aristocratic family of . It is also known that Potaski was a member of Kosciuszko's army. During this time Potaski would have been involved in the Warsaw siege and the Praga massacre. After the war Joseph Potaski arrived in London, probably as a refugee or asylum seeker.

On 27 March 1802, Potaski was arraigned before the Sussex Spring Assizes at Horsham, Sussex. Along with a John O'Brien, he faced charges of stealing a woman's hair shawl from Mrs. Pollard's shop in Newhaven, Sussex. Potaski was sentenced to several years transportation to Australia. He was transported on the ship HMS Calcutta. His wife, Catherine and infant son, Joseph, also accompanied Potaski, as free settlers. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Collins, the Calcutta left Portsmouth, and arrived at Port Phillip Bay on 9 October 1803. Collins was charged with establishing a new settlement, at present day Sorrento. However, he found the area to be unsuitable for settlement and departed on 20 January 1804 for Hobart. This time the Potaskis travelled on Ocean, which anchored at Risdon Cove on 17 February 1804. It was at this time that Catherine Potaski gave birth to a daughter, Catherine Jnr., the first person of European descent to be born and baptised in Tasmania. Potaski's wife, Catherine was granted land at Clarence Plains, and Potaski himself received his freedom in 1810. By 1816 the Potaski family was supplying the colony with more corn then was needed for a whole year. The Potaskis also supplied the whole commissariat with wheat.