Polish Heritage Trust Museum in Howick, New Zealand

15/10/2026

Official Visit to Polish Children's Camp, Pahiatua by Archbishop O'Shea (NZ Catholic Metropolitan), Archbishop Panico (Apostolic Delegate to Australia and New Zealand) and New Zealand Prime Minister, RH Peter Fraser, 25.11.1945.
Image Source: PHTM #533-19a CG / Zawada Collection

14/10/2026

Jarek came straight to the museum after 25 hours on a plane from Krakow! He has bought himself a little reading about Poles in New Zealand for his 2-week visit and the flight home again.
This is Jarek's 2nd visit to NZ. He has previously visited Wellington and Pahiatua. He was astonished to find a framed picture here on the other side of the world by art deco artist and graphic designer, Zofia Stryjenska, 'Coat of Arms, Krakow' (1926), as he had recently visited an exhibition of her works in Poland.

12/10/2026

An autobiography for the Memoirs table of a Polish girl from Polesie who passed through Siberia, Iran, India and Mexico before finding a new life in Illinois USA. She says they left Karachi for Bombay in Sep 1943 and passed through Melbourne onboard the 'Hermitage' ship on their way to Mexico. It seems to be a different ship to the one which passed through Wellington Harbour, as two groups were transported to Mexico in July and August 1943 (Exiled Children, page 272).
Source: PHTM # 4069-33 ‘My Flight to Freedom’ by Anita Paschwa-Kozicka. Panorama Publishing. Chicago Il. 1996.

11/10/2026

Very interested visitors who were keen to hear from Steve Roy about his father's personal story. One woman from the UK is now living locally with her husband and the other, from Silesia, is hoping to gain NZ residency. They have also been to Dom Polski and enjoyed the Polish food there.

09/10/2026

The Nameless Ones.
"To o Was, Bezimienne..." is a moving poem written by Marian Jonkajtys. It is a deeply emotional tribute dedicated to the Polish women who were brutally deported alongside their families to the harsh regions of Soviet Kazakhstan and Siberia during World War II. The author was deported to Kazakhstan in April 1940 as a young boy with his mother and five siblings.
Image Source: PHTM #4069-32 Zwiazek Sybirakow, Bialystok, 2013 / Roy-Wojciechowski J.

06/10/2026

Thanks for thinking of us during your trip to Warsaw, dear Zusia and Rob! Hope you're back in time for the Pahiatua Coffee and Catchup - and we can hear all about your time in Poland!

05/10/2026

Visitor Jasik (Ian) from Poland, wearing an All Blacks NZ rugby shirt, traveled all around New Zealand on a 6 month working visa and visited the Polish Museum in Auckland the day before he flew home. He has also visited Pahiatua Museum, which Gilda kindly opened up for him when a passerby said he knew her and made contact.
Jasik was astonished to learn about the early Polish settlers to NZ during this visit. Their migrations in the 1870s, from what was then Pomerania (Kashubia and Kociewie), were previously unknown to him.
I was rather surprised to find a Polish supporter of NZ rugby, so I did a bit of online searching and found that the Polish Women's Rugby 7s had previously faced the NZ Black Ferns. They also compete in the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens. The Polish women's team won the silver medal at the 2023 European Games and qualified for the final 2024 Summer Olympics play off tournament.
Image Source: Rugby Europe / Poland Women claim European Rugby 7's Championship 2026.
Winners' clip link:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2147585929516440

04/10/2026

Some of the lovely 'young at heart' people and their craft creations at the Auckland Heritage Festival Christmas Wigilia presentation and craft workshop! Although none of them were Polish, they appreciated the celebrations of Christmas across time and space, including the fusions with Midwinter, Christianity, Europe and New Zealand.

02/10/2026

Fun family creative workshop and slideshow presentation this Sunday as part of Auckland Heritage festival ...

30/09/2026

Here is a link to a free YouTube channel for Polish diaspora families learning about Poland and Polish language abroad. Polonijka have kindly advised that our organization may share the link below with our followers. This recorded online meeting is about Polish cities and symbols. There are captions in Polish also.

Plan wydarzenia:Polonijka – kim jesteśmy i dlaczego wspieramy rod...