Stanislaw Blum
1909-1998

The Blum Foundation was established in accordance with the will of the late Stanislaw Blum, a Polish migrant, who throughout his life upheld the values of generoisty, benevolence and charity. In a quiet and humble manner, he regularly assisted a broad range of non-profit organisations and charities. However, what was close to his heart was the maintenance of Polish culture and language with future generations in Australia.

This has been demonstrated by The Blum Foundation which is dedicated to the promotion and encouragement of education of the Polish language and culture in Australia.

Stanislaw Blum arrived in Australia in 1949 - a qualified civil engineer from Poland, who spent the duration of the Second World War as a prisoner- of- war. The post-war years were spent working for the US Army rebuilding war-torn Germany. Like many other migrants to Australia, he was committed to a two year work contract. In his case his first two years as a migrant were spent in Whyalla in South Australia.

His first contact with organised Polish community life was in Melbourne, where he was the co-founder and first president of the Polish Technical Club.  Opportunities of employment led him to Eildon and eventually Cooma, where he was to spend the last 25 years of his working life. It was there that is pre-war qualifications were recognised and he was employed as an engineer.

He lived quietly and frugally in a workers' hostel with few personal possessions. Apart from his books and personal mementos, he treasured his late 1950s Holden, which he purchased brand new and drove until he passed away.

With retirement, Stanislaw purchased a home in Boronia, in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. It was his first and only home in Australia. he died in 1998, at the age of 90, never having been married or having children.

Stanislaw Blum's life in Cooma during the 1950s

It was only with his death, that the level of his generosity was revealed. Through hard work, he acquired properties and investments which eventually became the basis for The Blum Foundation. The values which Stanislaw Blum exemplifies is the generosity of the human heart. He lived with the belief that the average person can assist and make a difference in every small way. Though without a wife and children of his own, he felt that he was part of a larger family - that of the Polish Australian community - which has become one of his beneficiaries.