A saint by any other name, the late Stasia Dabrowski OAM or “the soup kitchen lady”, has been immortalised in bronze not far from where she once served soup to hundreds of needy Canberrans.

To be honoured with a life-size statue would have made Stasia blush, as she was humble and once said: “the soup kitchen is a simple thing, people cooking veggies, nothing special”.

Her stature may be small (she stood on a stool to serve soup from large pots), but her legacy is large in this sculpture titled “Hello my Wonderful” (her greeting to all), unveiled today at Garema Place by artist Louise Skačej and Stasia’s grandson Josh.

For those who didn’t have the honour of meeting Stasia, she was a regular fixture in Garema Place on a Friday night, serving hundreds of loaves of bread and at least 100 litres of homemade vegetable soup to more than 500 people (circa 2005).

She tirelessly did this well into her 90s over almost 40 years (1979-2018). She passed away in 2020 aged 94.

There aren’t many statues of women in Canberra – of the 12 figurative sculptures only three are women (Australia has more public statues of animals than women), but this gender imbalance is being corrected by the ACT Government, which commissioned Stasia’s statue for $167,000.

Stasia’s worth every cent.

The Polish immigrant worked six days a week, 5am to 6pm (Saturday was her church day), driving her van around Canberra collecting donated food from bakeries and supermarkets.

On Thursdays she’d peel and cook 180 kilograms of vegetables and on Friday she’d rise at 2am to cook two giant pots of soup.

Her grandson Josh was close to his grandma.

“She was everything for me, an unbelievable selfless person just wanted to help everyone and take nothing for herself,” Josh said.

Stasia may have been tiny but she was tough, sometimes smacking people’s hands if they took too many bread rolls.

“She was fairly strict in that way, she wanted everything to run well,” Josh said. “If I was doing something out of line, she’d be quick to remind me.”

So whenever you walk past this statue that bears a tender likeness to our “Mother Teresa of Canberra”, remember her selfless work.

Artist Louise Skačej said that creating the sculpture, which wears her own mother’s knitted cardigan, took 18 months and had been a “deeply meaningful process”.

“I wanted to capture not only Stasia’s physical presence but the warmth and humanity that defined her life and the connections she built with so many people in Garema Place,” Louise said.

“I’m proud to contribute to her legacy in a place that meant so much to her and I hope the sculpture will inspire generations to come to remember her story and reflect on the power of compassion in everyday life.”

Standing once again amongst the pigeons and people in Garema Place, Stasia’s frozen stature with outstretched hand, reminds us once again of her kindness.

The soup kitchen aroma may be long gone but Stasia’s compassion will linger forever.

Josh still runs a soup kitchen with the support of St Vincent de Paul, but on a smaller scale to his grandmother’s. It’s at the Griffin Centre every Friday 11am-3pm.