150 Years Polish People In New Zealand

History of Polish visitors and settlers in New Zealand started exactly 100 years prior to 1872 with the arrival of Captain James Cook during his 1772 voyage aboard The Resolution.

(1830-1875) migrated to New Zealand in August 1862 aboard of Ring Dove, settled at Hokitika where he set up business as Cabinet Maker. He was more renowned for his work

Born in 1802 in Warsaw, Poland. Alois took part in the Polish-Russian war of 1830-31 as an officer in the Polish National Army and after the end of the fighting

(1860 – 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation’s Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I

On 1 November 1944, 733 children, mostly orphans and half orphans, arrived in Wellington Harbour. They had lost their homes and family members following the 1939 German invasion of Poland and its subsequent occupation by the USSR

Despite more than 30 years passing, Pope John Paul II is still the only supreme pontiff to have come to New Zealand’s shores.