Gallery – Polish refugees in New Zealand

The new arrivals enter the dormitories on their first day in the Pahiatua Camp.

An aerial view of the camp with the Mangatainoka River, which is a tributary to the Manawatu River.

The youngest new arrivals in the dining room on their first day in the camp. A solider (front) helps Bronisław Węgrzyn.

The children get helped off the army trucks as they finally arrive at the Polish Children's Camp in Pahiatua, 1 November 1944.

An aerial view of the Polish Children's Camp in Pahiatua, New Zealand, 1945. The camp was located on the site of the old Pahiatua Racecourse. A - Main entrance, B - Garage, C - Teaching staff quarters, D - School buildings, E - Girls' dormitories, F - Camp hospital, G - Recreation hall/chapel, H - Kitchen/dining hall, I - Boys' dormitories, J - Soldiers' quarters, K - Henhouse, L - Grotto, M - Rest area/monument, N - Old racetrack, O - Old grandstand, P - Vegetable gardens,

A view of the camp with the girls' dormitories in front.

The polonaise dance group at a concert in Wellington, 1953. l-r: Krystyna Niedźwiecka, Irena Niedźwiecka, Marcin Babczyszyn (also the Polish choirmaster), Teresa Czochańska, Krystyna Skwarko

Regina (Zielińska) Villmo with Peter Dobson in Devon Street, New Plymouth, New Zealand. This was the first year that she stayed with the Dobson family while attending Sacred Heart Girls' College.

Back (l-r): Tadeusz Woś, Bronisław Woś, Jan Woś (Nawalaniec), Adolf Nawalaniec Front (l-r): Danuta Woś, Jadwiga Leszewicz

Farewelling the Polish Girls' Hostel's Ursuline Sisters at St Anne's Hall in Newtown, Wellington, 9 March 1958. (l-r) Mikołaj Polaczuk, Sister Bernarda Brennan, Stefania Zawada (Sondej), Stefania Sondej (Manterys), Sister Monika Alexandrowicz

Maria Zielińska (left) and Bolesława Połeć (right) at the Polish Children's Camp in 1945

Julian Mazur on the way to Wellington from Hawera for a holiday

Jan Roy-Wojciechowski signs a copy of his biography 'A Strange Outcome - The Remarkable Survival Story of a Polish Child', published in 2004.

Boarders at St Dominic's College in Dunedin, 1947. Back (l-r): Helen Chwieduk (1st), Anna Manterys (5th), Romualda Sokalska (6th), Dioniza Gradzik (7th), Irena Ćwirko-Godycka (8th), Stefania Manterys (12th) Front (l-r): Zofia Rombel (2nd), Krystyna Czoba (3rd)

A reason to smile - a proud Antoni Rybiński with his school sporting trophies.

Two boys sitting on the ship's torpedo. Stanisław Manterys (left) and Michał Petrus (right) upon the USS General Randall's arrival in Wellington. An American crewman looks on.

A group of friends from the Polish Boys' Hostel in Hawera l-r: Bronisław Gmyterko, Kazimierz Krawczyk, Antoni Rybiński

Seven Polish boys in Marist Brothers' High School (with teachers in the back row), Greymouth, 1947 Middle: (l-r) Edward Kukiełko, Artur Gawlik, Tadeusz Zioło Front: (l-r) Jan Turkawka, Kazimierz Depczyński, Tadeusz Rozbicki, Jan Sajewicz

Inside a prefabricated classroom that was especially built for the Polish Children's Camp l-r: Augusta Aniecka, Maria Dac, Emilia Banaś, Aleksandra Kraczko, Anna Kozłowska, Felicja Nadolska (profile, front right), Wanda Dejnakowska, Teresa Wypych

Every non-citizen of New Zealand was obliged to have a Certificate of Registration under the Aliens Act 1948. This had to be presented within 14 days after change of abode, place of employment or occupation. The visits to the police weren't pleasant experiences as the refugees felt that they were truly treated as "aliens".

Surrounded by former Polish children refugees in the Polish House in Auckland (l-r) Jan Jarka, Stanisława (Piotrowska) Nowacka, Tadeusz Mazur, Jan Roy-Wojciechowski, Jadwiga (Jarka) Cooper (seated), Maria (Dac) Jaśkiewicz, Franciszek Kubiak, Maria (Nowotarska) Kołodzińska, Zofia (Rombel) Bieniowska, Sister Jadwiga, Janina (Malczewska) Szczepańska, Jadwiga (Nawrocka) Kołodzińska, Jan Pąk, Zofia (Głowgowska) Nowak, Rozalia (Manterys) Zazulak (seated), Kazimierz Rajwer, Roman Kołodziński, Jan Kaźmierów, Cecylia (Gawlik) Zazulak, Irena (Iwan) Pąk

l-r: Witold Suchodolski, Eugenia Sajewicz, Alfred Sapiński, Emilia Sondej, Jan Lasota, Weronika Potem, Krzysztof Jasiński (Staszczuk)

Józef Jagiełło, age 18, on the road to Wellington during a trip with his friends

Emilia joined Pat and Mary Leahy for holidays at their home whilst at the Pahiatua Camp and maintained contact with the Leahy family. 8 March 1953

Bogusław (on the left) with his brother Stanisław (on the right) at a wedding in 1957

Wanda (Pelc) Ellis received this award in 1996 for many years of community service at St Peter's College in Auckland

The Captain (far left) on board the Sontay with the Polish children, guardians and crew members Wacław Sumicz (left of Captain's hand), Mieczysław Bieniowski (below Captain's elbow), Andrzej Dawidowski (front left), Bolesław Żygadło (behind Dawidowski), Sister Monika Alexandrowicz (far right bottom), ship's officer (left of Sister)

Sister Stella (Józefa Wrotniak) - 3rd from left receives family and guests at a Warsaw convent during her 50th Jubilee celebrations of life as a nun of the Nazarene Order

l-r: Stefania Jasionowicz, Sister Johnson, Janina (Kornobis) Duynhoven, Sister Leaming

Back: (l-r) Jan Nowotarski, Józef Aulich, Kazimierz Rzepka, Franciszek Wypych, Czesław Pelc, Józef Chwieduk, Piotr Adamczyk, Lech Lubas, Witold Suchodolski Middle: (l-r) Stanisław Wołk, Piotr Aulich, Bolesław Wojtowicz, Alfred Sapiński, Witold Chumko, Bronisław Rożniatowski, Stanisław Skiba, Mieczysław Bieniowski, Jan Lasota, Jan Kaźmierów Front: (l-r) Ryszard Białostocki, Marian Olechnowicz, Frank Muller, Helena Wenckiewicz, Antoni Perkowski Sitting: (l-r) Tadeusz Solarz, Adam Żak, Franciszek Żak