Story: Poles

Later 20th-century arrivals

Later 20th-century arrivals

Polish migration to New Zealand virtually stopped during the Cold War, but in the 1980s, when the rise of the Solidarity movement led to political turmoil in Poland, people were again able to leave. About 300 of the large numbers of Poles who fled their country in that period came to New Zealand. The already established Polish associations helped these newcomers settle in. This group is on its way to Wellington’s Polish Association premises in 1981.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1981/3597/18-F
Photograph by Merv Griffiths

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Theresa Sawicka, 'Poles - Life in New Zealand', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/1177/later-20th-century-arrivals (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Theresa Sawicka, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2015