Pahīatua's Little Poland - Roadside Stories

A Manatū Taonga audio guide to the former refugee camp outside of Pahīatua. Check out the Ministry for Culture and Heritage's audio guide in the image carousel above.

Dubbed 'Little Poland', a camp outside Pahīatua was home to over 700 Polish children displaced by the Second World War. The young refugees, mostly orphans who had survived the harsh conditions of camps in Siberia, arrived in 1944. Although it was expected that they would later return to Poland, most stayed on and made new lives in New Zealand.

Pahīatua,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/wairarapa-places/1

Poles,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poles

Polish immigrant children,
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/polish-immigrant-...

Polish refugees,
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/wairarapa-places/1/6

Archival audio sourced from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives, http://www.soundarchives.co.nz/. Sound files may not be reused without permission from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives (Reference number sa-t-5087-pm).

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Roadside Stories are a series of audio guides to places of interest on major road trips in New Zealand. Each guide tells the story of an attraction along the way -- its people, its history, its cultural and natural significance. For more information about Roadside Stories visit http://www.mch.govt.nz/roadside/