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Story: Refugees

Polish children

Polish children

During their stay at the Polish Children’s Camp at Pahīatua, the orphans were educated in Polish. They were to go back to Poland once the war ended, but when political circumstances there made returning difficult, they were given permanent residence.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, John Dobrée Pascoe Collection (PAColl-0783)

Reference: 1/2-003659; F

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

Ann Beaglehole, Refugees – 1870s–1940s: refugee groups, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1093/polish-children (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Ann Beaglehole, published 4 March 2009.

Comments

Anne Nelson
20 June 2022
This does not look like a view of the camp - the house is not a camp building. The children were sent to stay with Kiwi families during the school holidays so possibly that is when the picture was taken. The boy at right is Kazimierz Markowski. Verifiable on NZETC: https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/name-433981.html