Hello my Wonderful” was unveiled on August 7 near the site of Stasia’s original soup kitchen. [Photo credits: Ryan Bridcutt (above), National Portrait Gallery (below)].
Adventist “soup kitchen lady” honoured with Canberra sculpture
A Seventh-day Adventist who spent nearly four decades feeding and caring for people in need has been honoured with a life-size sculpture in Canberra, Australia.
The late Stasia Dabrowski OAM, a long-time member of South Canberra Seventh-day Adventist Church, is among significant Canberra women recognised through an ACT Government public art initiative.
Titled “Hello my Wonderful”—Stasia’s customary greeting—the statue was unveiled on August 7 and acknowledges her decades of selfless service.
Known as Canberra’s “Soup Kitchen Lady”, Stasia became a regular fixture in Garema Place, serving homemade vegetable soup, bread and drinks to people in need every Friday night.
By 2000, she was providing several hundred loaves of bread and at least 100 litres of homemade vegetable soup, feeding more than 300 people each Friday night.
But her service extended beyond providing food. She became known for offering hugs and friendship to people who were often overlooked by others.
Long-time church friend Philippa Burley said Stasia started the soup kitchen because of her genuine love for people on the street.
“She did it all by herself initially,” said Mrs Burley. “The government much later on used to help financially, but Stasia used to do it by herself. She’d make the soup, she’d get all the cups, she’d hug people on the street—she was just wonderful.”
Stasia babysat and cleaned houses to earn money to buy ingredients for the soup kitchen. She also collected leftover bread from bakeries and vegetables from grocery stores.
On Thursdays, she would peel and cook around 180 kilograms of vegetables in preparation for the following night.
Mrs Burley said her friend’s Christian faith was evident in the way she treated people.
“She really cared for people that nobody else cared for. When AIDs first hit, she would never stop hugging people. She didn’t care. She just showed them love.”
Mrs Burley also remembered Stasia as a strong and determined woman whose life had been shaped by difficult experiences growing up in Poland during World War II.
“I used to go over there every Sabbath and she’d tell me the most incredible stories of what she went through in Poland,” she said. “I don’t know how she survived, but she did.
“She had a very strong personality. She was a very determined lady.”
Stasia’s community service received widespread recognition. She was named Canberra Citizen of the Year in 1996, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1988 and received the inaugural ACT Senior Australian of the Year award in 1999.
Despite the recognition, Stasia remained modest about her contribution. She continued her work until the age of 92 and died in 2020, aged 94.
Australian Capital Territory Minister for Arts, Creative Industries and the Night-Time Economy Michael Pettersson said the sculpture recognises the values Stasia demonstrated through her years of service.
“By immortalising Stasia in one of our city’s most important public spaces, we affirm that her compassion and generosity are the values we want to see in our community,” he said.
