45 years of Diplomatic Relations Poland and New Zealand

45 YEARS of Diplomatic Relations Poland & New Zealand

Friendship • Partnership • Cooperation

45 YEARS

of Diplomatic Relations Poland & New Zealand Friendship • Partnership • Cooperation

This publication was prepared by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland © Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Wellington, November 2018 Published by: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington Written by: Anna Gołębicka-Buchanan Graphic design, layout and print management: Adam Manterys Photography: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington, New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Archives New Zealand, Alexander Turnbull Gallery, Government House New Zealand, European Union Delegation, International Viola Congress 2017, Victoria University of Wellington, Photography by Woolf, Matangi Tonga, Polish School Wellington, Krzysztof Pfeiffer, Dariusz Zdziech, Tom Prokop, Jarosław Budzyński, Ewa Ginał-Cumblidge, Magdalena Podbielkowska Bisley, Kasia Jekielek, Roberto Rabel, Alex Buchanan, Neil Mackenzie, Ewelina Kosmal, Nika Danielska, Krzysztof Dydo, Tadek Gawor, Roger Watkins, Bogusław Nowak, Paul Wills, NeSpoon, Trevor Perry Diagram Source: Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology of the Republic of Poland 45 Years logo design by Marta Sudomirska, creative-marta.com ISBN 978-0-473-46435-6

Contents 1

EARLY DAYS First Arrivals, First Diplomats, The Great Gesture, Kazimierz and Maria Wodzicki, Wartime Solidarity ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13

2 1973 – 1989 Post-War Diplomacy, The First Official Contacts, Early Economic Ties, Support for

....... 29

3 1989 – PRESENT POLITICAL DIALOGUE Diplomatic Representation, Head of State Visit, Prime Minister Level, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Other Ministerial Visits, Parliamentary Ties, Multilateral Cooperation, Honorary Consuls................35

4 1989 – PRESENT ECONOMIC COOPERATION Trade Missions and High-Level Visits, Bilateral Trade......................................................................57

5 1989 – PRESENT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 20th Anniversary of Democratic Changes in Poland, Polish Presidency of the EU Council in 2011, #PolskaFree25 #PolskaNATO15 #PolskaEU10, World Youth Day 2016, 100 Years of Poland’s Regained Independence, Polish - Jewish Relations, Guests from Poland, Talks About Poland in New Zealand, Recognition of Support......................................................................................................67

6 1989 – PRESENT EDUCATION..........................................................................................85 7 CULTURE Early Cultural Links, Music, Theatre, Literature, Film, Photography and Design, Acknowledgement of Support, Sport..............................................................................................................................95

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SPECIAL AND RECURRING EVENTS Polish Trails in New Zealand, Trilingual Publications, Polish Days................................................ 119

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS AND DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIONS.................. 129

10 POLISH DIASPORA Polish Community in New Zealand, Organised Community, Selected Literature on the Polish Diaspora in New Zealand .................................................................................................. 139

11 SELECTED POLISH PLACES IN NEW ZEALAND

NEW ZEALAND PLACES IN POLAND.............................................................................153 12 POLAND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC New Relations in the Pacific Region, Republic of Kiribati, Independent State of Samoa, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Cooperation and Development Aid..........................................................................165

Dear Readers, This year the Poles, in our Homeland and all round the world, celebrate the Centenary of Poland’s Regained Independence. In the difficult times of persecution, my compatriots always cherished the idea of an independent Poland – before 1918, during World War II and after.

This year marks 45 years of diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand. We also recall our official cooperation, which began earlier. In 1941 the Polish Government-in-Exile in London established the ConsulateGeneral of Poland in Wellington. In his address delivered 75 years ago in Wellington, at the celebration of Polish National Day, Consul Kazimierz Wodzicki spoke of excellent Polish pilots in Great Britain, reminding that the Polish squadrons’ banners bore a one and a half century old motto “For your and our freedom”. He added, “Poland who was the first Nation to enter this war on the strength of her own decision, after having rejected any compromise with the enemy, is paying in blood the highest price. Much has gone which is lost forever, but one thing (…) remains – the soul of Poland.”

Wodzickis’ reports reflect their patriotism – dedication to the Country and to the Polish people. When we remember Consul Wodzicki and his wife Maria, we refer to their role in arrival of the Polish children, later known as the Pahiatua Children. Besides the brotherhood-in-arms among New Zealand and Polish soldiers, the invitation of a large group of Polish children who survived Siberia was one of the most significant chapters in Polish-New Zealand closer relations.

In August 2018 we witnessed the first official visit of a Polish head of state to New Zealand. Poland and New Zealand share the same values of freedom, democracy and good governance, respect for international law and a rules-based system. The President’s visit was of great importance to the Polish Community, with its distinguished members recognised with state decorations and the “Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci” Square inaugurated in central Wellington. The visit also served to further foster our bilateral relations, providing a great opportunity for the Leaders to discuss current challenges such as security, commitments and our future relations. Their talks included a particular focus on Poland’s activities in the United Nations Security Council, climate policy and the upcoming COP24 to be held in

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Poland, and political and trade relations between Poland and New Zealand, along with the ongoing EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Several bilateral agreements were signed in the presence of the Polish President and the New Zealand Prime Minister. The meeting with the business community highlighted our common interest in trade relations, expected to triple up to NZD 500 million this year.

The 2nd edition of this book on Poland-New Zealand relations tells the story of contacts between our countries. It also tells the story of friendship and partnership between our nations. Our common history was often marked

by Polish migrants coming to New Zealand in search of a better life; many times in history, our nations defended universal values of freedom and independence. Many Poles escaped from communism imposed on Poland, including in the early 1980s when the communists crushed the “Solidarity” freedom movement. In today’s globalised world, Polish nationals, many of whom are highly qualified professionals, continue to travel and some choose to settle in New Zealand. Their contribution to the development of a new home country has always been highly appreciated.

In a time of peace, we can focus on building our prosperity. This publication is a chronicle of our latest activities and achievements – it presents an overview of visits, trade statistics, commemorations and cultural events organised over the past years. It also marks a notable expansion of Poland’s diplomatic reach in the Pacific, as last year I had the honour and pleasure of being the first Polish Ambassador to present the Letters of Credence in four Pacific island states – the Republic of Kiribati, the Independent State of Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga and Tuvalu. Certainly, the years ahead will open new chapters.

Zbigniew Gniatkowski Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to New Zealand

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Speech of the President of the Republic of Poland State Dinner hosted by the Governor-General of New Zealand, 22 August 2018 Dear Madame Governor-General, Your Excellencies, Distinguished representatives of the authorities of New Zealand, Dear Compatriots and the Polish Organisations representatives, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I would like to thank you very much, Madame Governor-General, for your invitation. I feel proud to be able to make the first historical visit to New Zealand as the President of the Republic of Poland.

Polish people know New Zealand from its breath-taking nature, pictured in many films, from tasty wines, great sportsmen, such as speedway racers Ivan Mauger and Ronnie Moore, who were once very popular in Poland.

However, ties between our countries go far into history. The first settlers with Polish roots came to New Zealand from the 1870s. The great Polish discoverer and traveller Jan Paweł Strzelecki visited New Zealand in 1839.

Poland and New Zealand are joined by a brotherhood of arms. Our soldiers fought on the same fronts of World War II. They fought arm in arm in the Battle of Britain and at Monte Cassino. Today I had the opportunity to see the moving Hall of Remembrance at the Auckland Museum, where I laid a wreath as an expression of tribute to the fallen.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the gesture of kindness and solidarity from the Government of New Zealand, who in 1944 accepted a group of 733 children and 102 caregivers from eastern Poland. The so-called “Children of Pahiatua” came here through Siberia and Persia. I am honoured to be able to participate in tomorrow's ceremony of giving the name of “Polish Children” to the Square in Wellington. It will be a symbolic confirmation of Poland – New Zealand friendship and long-term partnership.

Despite the huge geographic distance between our countries, we share many common values, such as democracy, attachment to freedom and solidarity, respect for international law and human rights.

This visit takes place in a very important moment for Poland. This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of regaining Independence.

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It is also worth mentioning that a reborn Poland, as one of the first countries in Europe, has granted suffrage rights to women. In this area, however, New Zealand was an absolute pioneer. Women in New Zealand were granted voting rights 125 years ago. I would like to congratulate Madame GovernorGeneral on this anniversary.

An important element of our bilateral relations is tourism. More and more Poles are visiting New Zealand, and an increasing number of New Zealanders are also discovering Poland - getting to know its beautiful landscapes, rich history and culture.

Our trade relations are also developing from year to year; I hope that they will deepen further in the coming years, also thanks to the currently negotiated free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand.

Currently, Poland hosts the position of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, where the memory is still vivid after a very active and fruitful membership of New Zealand. We try to draw from these experiences.

Today, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, we discussed the development of our cooperation.

Dear Madame Governor-General Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you, our New Zealand partners, for your very good cooperation up to date and express my hope for its continuation.

Andrzej Duda President of the Republic of Poland

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Ma whero ma pango ka oti ai te mahi With red and black the work will be complete This Māori proverb sums up the intertwined links between New Zealand and Poland which we are celebrating with 45 years of diplomatic relations in 2018.

Traditional kowhaiwhai patterns on the inside of Māori meeting houses are made with red and black, coincidentally symbolic colours of Poland and New Zealand, which come together to make intricate flowing patterns. Through the last 45 years, and well before that, the stories and experiences of the people of New Zealand and Poland have become interwoven in many shared endeavours.

2018 is a year of significant anniversaries and events for our two countries.

Poland marks its centenary of regained independence. It is 125 years since New Zealand women have been able to vote, and 100 years for the women of Poland. 2018 sees the launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement between New Zealand and the European Union, including Poland, which will support sustained economic growth and improve standards for our producers, businesses, consumers and citizens in the future.

And 2018 is also the year when the President of the Republic of Poland made a historic first state visit to New Zealand, acknowledging connections which go back nearly 150 years to the arrival of Polish settlers. These connections grew further with the presence of the “Pahiatua Children” and their contributions to New Zealand life. Today the connections flourish with a new generation whose skills are as diverse as photography, IT programming, fashion and jewellery design, administration, film-making, research, entrepreneurship and being world-class wine somelliers. The President’s visit is both a milestone and a signpost, the highpoint of our engagement to date but also the platform for our engagement in the future.

We warmly welcome this initiative of the Polish Embassy in New Zealand which helps to remind of us of our shared history and cooperation. It provides us with a record of the solid foundation of links between us, and an idea of the possibilities of our future together. We look forward to continuing to develop the strong and enduring relationship between New Zealand and Poland in the years ahead.

Mary Thurston

New Zealand Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

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New Zealand Governor-General Speech State Dinner for the President of Poland 22 August 2018 E ngā iwi o ngā hau e wha, tena koutou. Nau mai ki tēnei whare. Nau mai i o koutou whenua, o maunga o moana.

Tau mai rā ki Aotearoa.

(Welcome to the four winds, welcome to Government House, acknowledging the lands you have come from, welcome to Aotearoa New Zealand.)

Welcome to this dinner at Government House in honour of the President of the Republic of Poland, His Excellency Andrzej Duda, and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda.

It is a great honour to welcome you this evening, along with all our distinguished guests. Allow me to extend my congratulations on the centenary of Poland’s re-established independence this year. I would also like to acknowledge that this year Poland is celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage, while New Zealand is also celebrating its 125th anniversary of this democratic milestone.

The relationship between New Zealand and Poland is one marked by warmth, respect and closeness.

Our people have been crossing paths for nearly 150 years. Settlers from Poland first came to New Zealand in the 19th century, to clear the land, farm and make new lives in New Zealand. Madeline Anderson, who when she passed away in June this year was New Zealand’s oldest person, was the granddaughter of two of those early Polish settlers.

In the early 20th century Polish pianist and later statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a sensation when he toured New Zealand in 1904 and 1927 and one of his grand pianos is now homed at Waiheke’s Whittaker’s Music Museum.

Here in New Zealand, our best-known citizens of Polish heritage are the more than 700 refugee children and their carers who arrived in Wellington in 1944. They are known affectionately in this country as the ‘Pahiatua children’.

During the Second World War, New Zealand and Polish troops fought side by side in the Battle of Britain, and at Tobruk and Monte Cassino. More 45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

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recently, New Zealand and Polish troops have served alongside each other in conflicts and peacekeeping missions around the world.

This year we mark 45 years of formal diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Poland. Your Excellency’s visit is testament to our commitment to the bilateral relationship at the highest levels.

Our contemporary connections are strong. They include a Working Holiday Scheme, which allows young people from Poland and New Zealand to learn much about each of our cultures and forge lifelong friendships.

In the arts, the Wellington Polish Film Festival brings the best of classic and modern Polish cinema to a Kiwi audience. We also have a film co-production agreement which was concluded while I was chair of the New Zealand Film Commission. The Wellington Phoenix A-League football team has just signed two Polish players – a welcome addition indeed.

In the New Zealand fashion scene Polish designer Gosia Piatek with her label Kowtow has made her mark with an organic ethical clothing line. In Akaroa Polish New Zealand jeweller Jacek Pawlowski combines European expertise with local paua pearls to create beautiful pieces of jewellery.

Several agreements signed today will bring us closer together. An Air Services Agreement will open up a world of possibilities to make the connections between Central Europe and the Asia-Pacific even more dynamic. Wellington and Warsaw will be closer than ever before!

Academic connections are also growing, and today agreements were signed between Massey and Jagiellonian Universities, and Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Warsaw.

A partnership agreement has also been signed between Pahiatua in Tararua and picturesque Kazimierz Dolny located on the banks of the Vistula river.

Finally, New Zealand and Poland have a fast-growing trade and economic relationship. Poland is discovering New Zealand wine and Polish pork is increasingly finding its way onto New Zealand dinner tables.

Opportunities for such links are only set to grow as we look forward to the conclusion of a high-quality, comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the European Union. That will mean more jobs and improved livelihoods for New Zealanders and Poles alike.

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45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

We were pleased to welcome EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia MalmstrĂśm to New Zealand in June to help launch negotiations, ahead of the first round held in Brussels last month.

To conclude, I would like to share with you a MÄ ori proverb that in many ways sums up the intertwined links between New Zealand and Poland which we are celebratingthis evening. Traditional kowhaiwhai patterns on the inside of meeting houses are made with red and black, which come together to make intricate flowing patterns.

Ma whero ma pango ka oti ai te mahi With red and black the work will be complete.

The Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy New Zealand Governor-General

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1 EARLY DAYS First Arrivals First Diplomats The Great Gesture Kazimierz and Maria Wodzicki Wartime Solidarity

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First Arrivals The history of Poles in New Zealand officially began in the 18th Century with Captain Cook’s second trip to this land on HMS Resolution in 177275. Accompanying him were two Polish-born notable botanists Johann (Jan) and his son Georg (Jerzy) Forsters. According to JW Pobóg-Jaworowski’s History of the Polish Settlers in New Zealand, they were “to explore, classify and record all the indigenous vegetation found in New Zealand”.

Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, the great geographer and explorer, appears to have been the second Pole to reach New Zealand soil. On his second voyage around the world, he reached New Zealand, where he spent three months in 1839.

Prince Alois Konstantin Drucki-Lubecki arrived from Australia with his family as settlers in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, in June 1863. His second son Alois Duffus Lubecki became Officer-in-Charge of the Dunedin Telegraph Office.

Major Gustaw Ferdynand Tempski’s name is mentioned numerous times in the New Zealand history of 1860s. Born in Braunsberg, Ost-Prussia (now Braniewo, Poland) into a Prussian noble family of Polish origin, he was an adventurer, artist, writer, soldier and commanding officer of the Forest Rangers. He arrived in New Zealand in 1862 as a goldminer and newspaper correspondent. He died in a battle against Titokowaru at Te Ngutu o te Manu in 1868. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, describes Gustaw Tempski as “one of the most colourful characters of nineteenth century New Zealand”.

The discovery of gold in the 1860s in New Zealand attracted numerous Poles, including the adventurer and writer Sygurd Wiśniowski, the author of the first Polish book about New Zealand. The autobiographical novel Dzieci Królowej Oceanii was published in 1877 in Warsaw and translated into English in 1972 by Jerzy Podstolski under the title Tikera or Children of the Queen of Oceania. (…) it is the best New Zealand novel of its period. (…) A Polish novel about New Zealand might have been a mere curiosity. ‘Tikera’ is much more. Through the candid eyes of a young Polish seaman we see the country at the time of the AngloMaori wars. We see the dingy waterfront pubs in the old-looking young town of Auckland, life in a Maori village which was debating whether to join the war, a New

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Plymouth dividing its attention between military speculation, the unlovely attitudes of settlers towards the Maoris, and especially towards Maori women.

– Dennis McEldowney, 1972 [notes to the first translation] The first large group of Polish settlers came to New Zealand on the ship Friedeburg, which left Hamburg on 19 May 1872 and arrived in Lyttelton on 30 August 1872. These first Poles settled in the Christchurch area. They worked hard draining the wastelands and making them into market garden lands. The next ship bringing Polish passengers was Palmerston, which sailed from Hamburg to Port Chalmers between 29 July and 6 December 1872.

During the journey there was an outbreak of scarlatina and typhoid, mainly among children. The majority of first Poles settled in the Otago region near Dunedin and also in Taranaki in the North Island, primarily in Inglewood, near New Plymouth.

Those first Polish settlers built the small wooden Church of Mary Queen of Peace (originally named after St Hyacinth) at Waihola, south of Dunedin.

The church was opened on 16 April 1899. In 1948, by the decision of the

Unveiling of the commemorative plaque during the opening of the 145th anniversary of the Polish Settlement celebrations in Christchurch, from left: Deputy Marshal of the Senate Maria Koc, Abina Pope from Kotlowski family – some first Polish settlers, Dorota Szymańska (organiser), Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, October 2017

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bishop of Dunedin, the church was moved from its original location to Broad Bay, where it still serves Dunedin’s Polish community and local Catholics. To enable relocation, the church had to be cut in half and transported on a barge. During the transport the church bell was lost and then found by the Polish community 40 years later.

The original bell from the Church of Mary Queen of Peace that was built by the Polish settlers who came to New Zealand in 1872

Thanks to the support of the Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington, organs and stained glass have been recently renovated.

The Trust members take great care of the Polish heritage preservation in the region, including looking after the graves of Polish settlers in Allanton, most of them originating from the late 19th Century.

In May 2017 the Polish Ambassador met with Madeline Anderson, née Orlowski, the granddaughter of one of the church builders from Waihola, August Orlowski. Madeline lived in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, and at that time she celebrated her 110th birthday, having been named the oldest New Zealander alive. Madeline passed away a year later.

First Diplomats

Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski paying a visit to Madeline Anderson nee Orlowski on her 110th birthday, 4 May 2017

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Poland has maintained consular relations with New Zealand since the 1930s. In 1933 the first Polish Honorary Consul-General Władysław Noskowski was appointed in Australia and accredited to New Zealand in 1934, as well as to Western Samoa. Consul Noskowski had many interests. He was a journalist, editor, music critic, Hollywood actor and the secretary to Ignacy Jan Paderewski. An opera

45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

enthusiast, he was also considered an expert on this music. From 1938 a Polish Consulate operated in Wellington (reporting to the Polish Consulate General in London).

In September 1940, August Zaleski, Foreign Minister of the wartime Polish Government-in-Exile, anticipating significant waves of Polish migration to the British Dominions, proposed the establishment of consulates in Australia and New Zealand. These were opened in Sydney and Wellington in 1941.

The first Consul-General to New Zealand was Kazimierz Wodzicki.

The Great Gesture The German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 from the west was followed by the Russian invasion from the east on 17 September, and the country was subsequently partitioned between these two allies. This was followed by the deportation of 1.7 million Poles to forced labour in Russia’s Soviet Union or what is often referred to as Siberia. As part of a deliberate ethnic cleansing policy, the Poles were expected to die there of hunger, diseases and cold.

But Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, his former ally, in a surprise attack in 1941. One of the unexpected results of Germany’s invasion of Russia was the renewal of diplomatic relations between Russia and the Polish Governmentin-Exile on 30 July 1941. This agreement resulted in the release of some of the surviving Polish deportees and allowed the Poles to form an army in the

Cablegram from Stanisław Mikołajczyk, Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-Exile during WW2, to the Prime Minister of New Zealand Peter Fraser expressing gratitude for the invitation and care given to the Polish orphans. Allied Nations Co-operation – Polish Children’s Camp in NZ - Polish Children’s Camp in NZ- General [ACIE 8798 box 695 90/13/1 part 1] Archives New Zealand, Department of Internal Affairs, Te Tari Taiwhenua

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Polish refugee children arriving in New Zealand on board the ship USS General Randall. Pascoe, John Dobree, 1908-1972. Photographic albums, prints and negatives. Ref: 1/2-003634 – F, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

Soviet Union, with the intent of fighting Germany, now the common enemy.

That is how the Polish Armed Forces in the East were formed.

During its evacuation to Iran the army took with it tens of thousands of fleeing civilian refugees, mostly women and children. Among them were thousands of orphans. After this evacuation to Iran, the army was sent to the Near East to join the British army. With nowhere else to go, the children remained in Iran. More of them would lose their parents, or lose track of them, in the course of the war. Orphanages were set up for them in Isfahan, the former capital of Iran. In response to an international appeal, New Zealand agreed to shelter a group of Polish orphans until the end of the war.

This was made possible primarily thanks to the diplomatic activity of the

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Children in play area of a Polish refugee camp in Pahiatua. Pascoe, John Dobree, 1908-1972: Photographic albums, prints and negatives. Ref: 1/4-001376-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

Polish Consul in Wellington Kazimierz Wodzicki, his wife Maria, the New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser and his wife Janet Fraser.

When on 9 June 1943 the US transport ship Hermitage, carrying a group of 706 mostly orphaned Polish children from Iran to Mexico, anchored for a short time in Wellington, Maria Wodzicka visited them and envisaged bringing a similar group of Polish orphans from Iran to New Zealand. She shared her idea with Janet Fraser and eventually that idea became a reality.

Prime Minister Peter Fraser and his government agreed to offer temporary hospitality, until the end of the war, to a group of 733 Polish children and 105 adult caregivers.

They arrived on 1 November 1944 in the port of Wellington on board the

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United States troop carrier the USS General Randall and were welcomed by Prime Minister Fraser, the Polish Consul Kazimierz Wodzicki and his wife Maria Wodzicka. That same day the group was transported by train to a specially organised camp called the Polish Children’s Camp in Pahiatua or simply “Little Poland”. Because it was intended that the children would return to Poland after the war, classes were conducted in Polish at the camp’s kindergarten, primary school and secondary school. There was a Polish priest, Polish Scouts and even the camp’s streets bore Polish names.

The administration of the camp was also Polish and self-governing.

The Polish Government-in-Exile possessed appropriate funds to pay for part of the cost of living of the children and their Polish caregivers. Later, full responsibility for the camp was taken over by the New Zealand Government.

When the war ended, Poland did not regain its independence. With the agreement of its former allies at the Yalta Conference, eastern Poland, where the children of Pahiatua lived before the war, was annexed by the Soviet Union. Poland became a Russian satellite and the Polish Government-inExile ceased to be recognised by its former allies.

Unable to return, the Polish orphans of Pahiatua were stranded with nowhere to go. The New Zealand Government proposed to care for them until they grew up and were able to decide themselves whether to remain in New Zealand or return to their native Poland. Gradually the children were sent to boarding schools, hostels or to live with New Zealand families. Some of the older children were found employment in towns and farms around the country. The camp eventually closed in 1949. The majority of the children remained in New Zealand and made it their home.

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Kazimierz and Maria Wodzicki Kazimierz Antoni z Granowa Wodzicki (4 February 1900 – 15 June 1987) was born at Olejów, eastern Poland, as the son of Maria Dzieduszycka and Count Alexander Louis Wodzicki. Kazimierz’s father spent his life managing the family estates at Olejów and his grandfather was a distinguished naturalist. Wodzicki had his primary schooling at home, his secondary and tertiary education at Kraków and Lwów, and graduated with a PhD from the Jagiellonian University in 1925. In 1928 he married Maria Dunin Borkowska.

He was a lecturer of comparative anatomy at the Jagiellonian University and then moved to become professor of biology at Warsaw University College of Agriculture in 1935. By 1939 he had published 39 scientific papers on parasitic worms, stork migration and the genetics of rabbits.

The Soviet Union’s occupation of Poland after the outbreak of the WWII saw the family estates taken and Count Wodzicki deported to Siberia, where he died. Kazimierz was also arrested but escaped to Italy. After reuniting with his family in Paris, they fled to Britain and in late 1940 the Polish government in London appointed Wodzicki its Consul-General in Wellington, New Zealand. Raising awareness among New Zealanders about Poland’s occupation by Germany and assisting Polish nationals was an important part of Wodzicki’s duties, and he and his wife persuaded the New Zealand Government to accept the large number.

In 1945, with Poland now firmly under the Soviet Union, the consulate in Wellington was closed. Wodzicki had no wish to return to communist-controlled Poland and the New Zealand Government invited him to stay and review current knowledge about the economic importance of the many introduced wild mammals in New Zealand. His 1948 report, subsequently expanded and published as a book, led to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) establishing an animal ecology section (later division) with Wodzicki in charge. Kazimierz Wodzicki was an effective advocate for his research unit. He worked extensively on the ecology and control of rabbits as well as other mammals and birds. His bird studies documented changes in the bird life at the Waikanae estuary. Also significant were his papers on gannets.

For the rest of his life Wodzicki took an active interest in the welfare of Polish immigrants and tried to ensure that the children appreciated their cultural heritage.

He helped organise a Polish language course at Wellington Polytechnic, pressed for a faculty of Polish studies at Victoria University of Wellington and helped secure a Polish chaplaincy in New Zealand. Through personal interest in the New Zealand 45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

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Polish Consul-General Count Kazimierz Wodzicki, Countess Maria Wodzicka and children Antoni and Monika arriving in Auckland, 1941

way of life, Wodzicki did much to foster a mutual understanding and respect between the two cultures.

After his retirement from the DSIR in 1965, Wodzicki developed a keen interest in the ecology of rats on Pacific islands and their damage to coconuts. He was still writing papers at the time of his death in Wellington. He was survived by his two children, both of whom became distinguished academics overseas.

Wodzicki’s services to New Zealand were acknowledged with his appointment as an OBE in 1976. His scientific achievements were recognised by his election as a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1962, an honorary DSc from the Victoria University of Wellington in 1980 and honorary life membership of the New Zealand Ecological Society in 1984. Universally regarded as a gentleman, he had a knack of getting along with people in all walks of life. He was a devout Catholic.

After: Peter Bull. ‘Wodzicki, Kazimierz Antoni z Granowa’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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Maria (Myna) Dunin Borkowska (31 March 1901 – 24 July 1968) was born in Klimaszówka, eastern Poland, then part of Russia. Her father, Kalikst Dunin Borkowski, an estate owner, and his wife, Maria Wołowska, belonged to the Polish nobility. She went to school in Kiev and was there during the Russian Revolution when her parents’ estate was destroyed. Her family moved to Kraków. She finished her schooling in Zakopane in the Carpathians, where she became an accomplished mountaineer and skier. Her university studies were interrupted by the Polish/Soviet War of 1919-20, during which she joined a Polish Red Cross unit serving at the front. After her return, she continued her studies, graduating from the Jagiellonian University in 1923 with a master’s degree in soil science. She then worked as an assistant in the soil chemistry laboratory at the university.

On 9 February 1928 Maria married Kazimierz Antoni z Granowa Wodzicki, a fellow graduate of the Jagiellonian University. Their two children were born in Kraków. In the late summer of 1939, while they were holidaying on the family estate in eastern Poland, the Soviet invasion began. She joined the Polish underground movement in Kraków and throughout the winter of 1939-40 used her knowledge of the Carpathians to lead many Poles across the mountainous border into Romania. She once narrowly escaped capture herself. A year after the outbreak of the war Maria Wodzicka arranged an exit visa from Poland. The family and their nanny travelled by train to Paris, where they reunited with Kazimierz. In late 1940 Kazimierz was appointed Polish Consul-General to New Zealand.

As the delegate of the Polish Red Cross, Maria Wodzicka set to work doing what she could for her fellow countrymen. A practiced speaker with an excellent command of English, she travelled extensively giving public addresses to raise money to help Polish refugees. With friends in New Zealand, at the instigation of Ann Jacques, they founded the Polish Army League. Formed in Palmerston North in December 1941, the League’s purpose was to send letters and parcels to Polish soldiers fighting alongside New Zealanders in the Middle East during World War II. After the war the League sent parcels of food and clothing to impoverished relatives of the Polish soldiers.

Maria Wodzicka was at the centre of the preparations for the Polish Children’s Camp at Pahiatua. She was the only Polish member of the Polish Children’s Hospitality Committee, which the New Zealand Prime Minister set up to act as “a liaison between the public generally and the Polish children and staff”. Her role involved many visits to Pahiatua. She accepted many speaking engagements in which she explained the plight of the Polish children and their country and thanked New Zealanders for their kindness and generosity.

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Maria worked tirelessly on the children’s behalf, acting as a mediator between the camp and the many governmental and non-governmental agencies involved with their welfare. At the end of the war she became a member of the board of guardians constituted by the Supreme Court of New Zealand for the children’s protection.

When the Polish consulate closed in 1945, the official roles the Wodzickis had played in the Polish Children’s Camp ended. Neither they nor the Polish children wished to return to communist-dominated Poland. The Wodzickis stayed in New Zealand, and in the Polish community both Kazimierz and Maria continued to play a leading role centred on the children’s welfare. Maria was naturalised as a New Zealand citizen in 1954 and died in Wellington, survived by her husband and two children.

After: Theresa Sawicka. ‘Wodzicka, Maria’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

In a letter sent to Kazimierz Wodzicki on 17 December 1945, with information on the official ending of diplomatic relations with London-based Polish Government-in-Exile, Prime Minister Peter Fraser wrote: I should like to take this opportunity of telling you how much I respect the sincerity with which you have expressed your convictions. You have made the ideal and achievements of the Polish people widely known and greatly respected in this country. It is largely because of you that we have a deep knowledge of and sympathy and admiration for the courage and spiritual strength of the people of Poland during years of dreadful trial.

It has been a pleasure to have you and the Countess in this country. Now as private citizens you and your wife and family are welcome to stay amongst us and continue to share in and enrich our country’s life.

Since 2010, there has been a permanent photo display dedicated to Consul Wodzicki in the Board Room at the premises of the Polish Embassy in Wellington.

On 5 September 2011, Kazimierz Wodzicki and Maria Wodzicka were posthumously honoured by the Polish President Bronisław Komorowski with the Commander’s Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta for their outstanding achievements in helping Polish refugees and orphaned children in Siberia. The official presentation of the honours took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. On behalf of the late Mr and Mrs Wodzicki, the orders were received by their grandson Michał Wodzicki.

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Members from the Executive Committee of the Polish Army League formed in Palmerston North in December 1941 are, from left: Mrs A Stewart; Mrs L E Bale (President); Mrs T K Fraser (Treasurer); Mrs W A Jacques (organising secretary), Elmar Studios, 459 Main Street, Palmerston North May 1942

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Deputy Foreign Minister Jerzy Pomianowski and Michał Wodzicki holding the Commander’s Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restiututa awarded to Count and Countess Wodzicki, Warsaw, September 2011

Wartime Solidarity Poles and New Zealanders fought together against Germany in World War II on several fronts. One of the most remarkable campaigns was the 1940 Battle of Britain. Poles and New Zealanders made up the two largest contingents of foreign aircrews involved in this epic air battle. The Polish II Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders, successfully fought alongside the 2nd New Zealand Division (including the famous 28th Māori Battalion) against the formidable German defences in the Battle of Monte Cassino (17 January – 18 May 1944) during the Italian campaign. On 18 May 1944 Polish troops, supported by the Allies, captured Monte Cassino.

It was one of the most intense, difficult and costly battles of World War II. 860 Polish soldiers died and 2,800 were wounded. The Commonwealth War Cemetery in Cassino holds the graves of 464 New Zealanders, while a further 55 names are listed on the Cassino Memorial.

New Zealand pilots were among the Western Allies who supported the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, flying their planes over the Polish capital in its

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Photograph of a Polish flag upon the ruins of the demolished Cassino Monastery, received from Mr Trevor Perry from Picton, a tank driver from the 19th NZ Armoured Regiment, who fought in the battle of Monte Cassino in May 1944

New Zealand Ambassador to Poland Wendy Hinton (left) in Żagań, at the official dinner marking part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Great Escape, March 2014. Among the “Fifty” murdered by the Gestapo was New Zealand Flying Officer (FLGOFF) Porokoru Patapu “Johnny” Pohe. His great-grandnephew Keepa Hipango is pictured here, next to the Royal NZ Airforce Squadron Leader Susie Barnes (next to Ambassador Hinton) and members of “51 Squadron” to which Johnny Pohe was posted

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darkest hours with airdrops of munitions and other supplies. New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives supporting Poles in Warsaw have been buried at Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków.

Both Polish and New Zealand soldiers were also among the escapees from Stalag Luft III, a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp in Lower Silesia, near the town of Sagan (now Żagań) in Poland. “The Great Escape” took place on the night of 24-25 March 1944. Out of 76 prisoners who made it outside through a 111-metre-long and 10-metre-deep tunnel, only three managed to avoid the traps and chases, and the rest were caught by the Nazis. In pursuance of Hitler’s personal order, 50 of the unsuccessful fugitives were executed. All six Poles participating in the escape were in the group shot by the Gestapo. The ashes of the three New Zealanders, along with the many other murdered men, are interred at Poznań Old Garrison Cemetery in Poland.

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2 1973 – 1989 Post-War Diplomacy The First Official Contacts Early Economic Ties Support for Solidarnosc

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Post-War Diplomacy New Zealand did not maintain any diplomatic relations with communist Poland until 1965. On 7 July 1965 the first trade agreement was signed between Poland and New Zealand. In 1966, the Consulate-General of the Polish People’s Republic was opened in Wellington. It was headed by Jan Cedzyński. On 1 January 1969, the Consulate became a part of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Trade.

The First Official Contacts On 1 March 1973, official diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand were established at the embassy level. The main aim for the relationship upgrade was to further develop and strengthen mutual economic and cultural relations. With the establishment of these relations, the Polish Consulate-General in Wellington was raised to the rank of Embassy.

From 1974 the Polish Ambassador to New Zealand was accredited from Australia and resided in Canberra, while the Embassy in Wellington was managed by a chargé d’affaires. The first to take on the role of chargé d’affaires in the New Zealand capital was Jerzy Bogdanowicz, appointed on 18 July 1973. Before taking up this role, he was the Consul-General of the Polish People’s Republic (Poland was a communist country under Soviet control at that period) from 2 February 1972. The first Ambassador to represent Poland in New Zealand and Australia was Eugeniusz Wiśniewski, who took up his position on 26 April 1974.

On 31 May 1982 activities of the Polish Embassy in Wellington were suspended. On 26 March 1987, the Government of New Zealand expressed its consent to reactivate the Polish official presence in Wellington. In the meantime, the Office of the Commercial Counsellor in Sydney filled in some of the functions related to trade with New Zealand.

Due to financial concern, the New Zealand Government decided against opening its own representation office in Warsaw and accredited one of its Europe-based ambassadors to Poland instead. Balfour Douglas Zohrab, resident in Vienna, became the first New Zealand Ambassador to Poland, assuming this position on 4 October 1973. From 1973 to 1993 all New Zealand ambassadors were accredited to Poland from Austria.

Basil Franklin Bolt was the head of the New Zealand mission to Poland in

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the years from 1975 to 1978. He visited Warsaw to present his Credentials in March 1975. The diplomatic note sent to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Wellington dated 11 March 1975, on the Ambassador’s return from Warsaw, said: The Ambassador, accompanied by Mr Fergus McLean, visited Poland from 6 to 8 March and presented his Letters of Credence to Professor Henryk Jablonski, Chairman of the Council of State, on Friday 7 March.

Certainly to outward appearances Poland seems far less regimented than Romania or even Hungary, an impression which was confirmed by diplomatic colleagues to whom we spoke. There are no party flags, red stars or slogans in evidence – only the national flag and the Polish eagle. Writers have considerable liberty of expression and art is far removed from the tenets of socialist realism. It is not difficult to invite Poles from various walks of life, even members of the old aristocracy, to one’s home. As you already know most agricultural land remains privately owned and the Catholic Church is an active force. Priests and nuns in their clerical habit can frequently be seen in public places. Nonetheless Poland is essentially communist and in geo-political terms firmly wedded to the Soviet Union. It is this contrast between the political pull to the east and the cultural and economic attractions of the west which makes Poland, for the diplomatic observer, such a fascinating place. Our colleagues were as one in declaring Warsaw an interesting and agreeable capital in which to serve.

Polish attitudes to the rest of the world are no doubt deeply influenced by their bitter memories of World War II, during which one in five Poles were killed. We heard constant references to the war, and indeed it seems part of official policy to keep memories green. As far as New Zealand is concerned this is no disadvantage, since we are warmly remembered as a wartime ally.

- International Affairs: Economic Affairs - Poland – General [ABHS 950 W4627 box 2325 104/379/1 part 4] /R22487027

Early Economic Ties In the 1970s and 1980s, when Poland experienced permanent food shortages, New Zealand was one of the sources of agri-food products. On a commercial basis Poland was importing from New Zealand large quantities of butter and animal products. The Polish fishing fleet was operating in and around New Zealand fisheries. At that time, bilateral relations were primarily economic and amounted largely to trade in goods.

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New Zealand Ambassador BF Bolt presenting credentials in Warsaw, March 1975 Reference: AAEG W2972 Box 123 Archives New Zealand The Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua

In October 1975, a New Zealand economic mission led by a senior official James WH Clark visited Poland. The main aim of the mission was to define and commercially assess areas of opportunity for trade and economic relations.

F Bruell in his summary of the mission says: The mission was called ‘An economic mission to the Socialist Countries of Eastern Europe’ which actually is a misnomer. Nothing would be further from the truth for instance than saying that Poland is an Eastern country. Nobody in his right mind would call Austria, which is very much to the east of Warsaw and East Germany, an ‘Eastern country’. As a matter of fact neither the Poles nor East Germans appreciate the term and it should be dropped altogether, particularly in correspondence with officials of these countries. Just call them socialist countries.

– Trade with Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. Report of the New Zealand

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Economic Mission to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. September/ October 1975, Wellington 4 November 1975 Following the economic delegation from New Zealand, Polish representatives visited Wellington on a trade mission, led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Maritime Affairs, in May 1977.

New Zealand was the first country to grant Poland preferential customs status under the Generalised System of Preferences. Poland became a beneficiary of New Zealand’s GSP schemes as of 1 July 1986.

CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 14-17 September 1972

Michael John Moriarty, New Zealand Secretary of Trade and Industry, visits Poland

6-10 October 1975

New Zealand Economic Mission led by James WH Clark, Deputy Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry, visits Poland

2-4 May 1977

Polish trade delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Maritime Affairs Stanisław Długosz visits Wellington for trade consultation

26 April-3 May 1988

Delegation of New Zealand Parliament Representatives, led by Speaker of the House Kerry Burke, visits Poland

Support for Solidarność New Zealand’s support for the Solidarność (Solidarity) movement was a strong expression of sympathy for the Polish nation. The public responded to events in Poland with a great deal of understanding through both political and economic initiatives.

New Zealand accepted Solidarity refugees from Poland. At midday on 9 February 1981, a Polish Solidarity march went through Wellington with more than 2,000 participants. The march was led by Frank Thorn (Secretary of the Clothing Worker’s Union), Zdzisław Lepionka (President of the Polish Association) and the Catholic Bishop of Palmerston North, the Most Rev 45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

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Peter Cullinane. The demonstrators, among whom were Sir Michael Fowler (Wellington Mayor) and Tony Neary (Secretary of the North Island Electrical Workers Union), silently marched from Civic Square to Parliament Buildings to be met by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon and the Opposition Leader Bill Rowling. Supporting the Solidarność were storemen and packers, plumbers, electricians and many others New Zealand labourers.

Thanks to the continuing appeal for money and New Zealand Red Cross support, 20 tonnes of New Zealand cheese were sent to Poland in response to a food shortage.

On 24 May 1981 Roger Woodward, an internationally renowned Australian classical pianist, performed a concert of Chopin works. The pianist studied in Poland in the 1960s and in later years became strongly associated with the Solidarność movement. The performance was very successful, attracting a nearly 1,000 people, and all the proceeds were given to the Food for Poland Appeal.

Polish Solidarity marchers in Civic Square, Wellington. Photograph taken by Phil Reid. Further negatives of The Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1982/0409/21-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

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3 1989 – PRESENT POLITICAL DIALOGUE Diplomatic Representation Head of State Visit Prime Minister Level Ministers of Foreign Affairs Other Ministerial Visits Parliamentary Ties Multilateral Cooperation Honorary Consuls

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Diplomatic Representation Until the end of the 1990s the Polish Embassy in Wellington, then subject to the Ministry of Foreign Trade (Office of the Commercial Counsellor), was headed by a chargé d’affaires. Since 2004, the Embassy has been maintained at the ambassadorial level by a Polish Ambassador resident in Wellington.

Before this the ambassador was accredited from Canberra. The first Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to reside in the New Zealand capital was Lech Mastalerz (2004-09), followed by Beata Stoczyńska (2010-14) and Zbigniew Gniatkowski.

Between 1973 and 1993, the New Zealand Ambassador was accredited to Poland from Austria (resident in Vienna) and until 2004 from Germany (resident in Bonn and later in Berlin). The New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw was officially opened in April 2005. The first New Zealand Ambassador to reside in Warsaw was Philip Griffiths (2004-08), followed by Penelope Ridings (2008-13), Wendy Hinton (2013-17) and Mary Thurston.

Since 1 May 2004 Poland no longer requires visas from New Zealand citizens for tourist stays of less than 90 days. As from 1 April 2005, New Zealand does not require visas for Polish citizens under the same conditions.

Traditional Māori challenge during the ceremony of the Credentials presentation by the Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski at the Government House, Wellington, 17 September 2014

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Ambassador of Poland Zbigniew Gniatkowski and New Zealand Governor-General Lt Gen Sir Jerry Mateparae, Government House, Wellington, September 2014

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, February 2018

Polish Consul Agnieszka Kacperska and Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski meet New Zealand Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at the Waitangi Day commemorations, February 2017

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and New Zealand Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy at the Waitangi Day commemorations, February 2018

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Ambassador Z Gniatkowski, New Zealand Prime Minister J Key and Consul A Kacperska, April 2015

European Union Heads of Mission in Wellington with the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, April 2016

Wellington Diplomatic Corps, from left: Michalis Rokas, Head of the European Union Delegation, Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Polish Consul Agnieszka Kacperska, German Ambassador Dr Anne-Marie Schleich and spouse, Cheng Guan Tan, Javier Barca and Italian Ambassador Carmelo Barbarello, May 2016

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Opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw; Helen Clark and Phillip Griffiths, New Zealand Ambassador to Poland (on the left)

Premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington, Wellington Central

Premises of the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw

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Over the years, following political changes in Poland, the exchange of official visits between the two countries, at various levels, has increased.

Head of State Visit The first official visit to New Zealand by the President of the Republic of Poland took place on 22-23 August 2018. President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda were accompanied by Krzysztof Szczerski, Secretary of State and Chief of the Cabinet of the President, Adam Kwiatkowski, Secretary of State responsible for Polish Diaspora and Andrzej Papierz, Deputy Foreign Minister.

In Auckland, President Andrzej Duda and the First Lady were officially welcomed by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and her husband Sir David Gascoigne at Government House. The Presidential Couple took part in an observance at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, where the President laid a wreath at the World War II Hall of Memories monument,

Official welcome at the Government House in Auckland, from left: First Lady Agata KornhauserDuda, President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy, Sir David Gascoigne, August 2018

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Meeting between the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, August 2018, Auckland

and together with the Governor-General viewed an exhibition dedicated to Marshal Józef Piłsudski, which was prepared for the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland regained Independence.

The Polish President met with Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. After the meeting a joint press conference was held, during which President Andrzej Duda reiterated: Poland wants to strengthen economic cooperation with New Zealand, including a free trade agreement between this country and the European Union, and we would like it to be concluded as soon as possible.

In the presence of the Polish President and New Zealand Prime Minister, several bilateral agreements were signed to strengthen Polish-New Zealand cooperation with the Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of New Zealand, signed by Andrzej Papierz, Undersecretary of State at Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, New

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Signing of the Partnership Agreement between Kazimierz Dolny and Pahiatua by the Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Tracey Collis, Mayor of Tararua District, 22 August 2018

Zealand, and the Partnership Agreement between Kazimierz Dolny, Poland and Pahiatua, New Zealand, signed by Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Ambassador of Poland to New Zealand and Tracey Collis, Mayor of Tararua District, as well as two academic agreements.

In Auckland, the Polish President also met with the Leader of Opposition, Simon Bridges. In both Auckland and Wellington, the Polish President met with the Polish communities. In Wellington, in the presence of Mayor Justin Lester, he inaugurated “Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci” Square to highlight the friendship and partnership between Poland and New Zealand in the year of the Centenary of Poland’s regained Independence.

Prime Minister Level Jim Bolger, the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1990-97), visited Poland in 1993 and mentions the trip in his memoirs: In 1993 our next stop was Warsaw. Our visit to Poland was to make contact with an emerging democracy in Eastern Europe and establish dialogue with a country that

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was clearly going to grow in wealth and importance and almost certainly one day become a member of the European Union. The Prime Minister who welcomed us at the time was Dr Hannah Suchocka – described as the Polish Margaret Thatcher – who had but a short career in the Prime Minister office.

– Jim Bolger, Bolger: A View from the Top. My Seven Years as Prime Minister, 1998, Viking Helen Clark, New Zealand’s 37th Prime Minister, serving three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008, personally inaugurated the opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw during her visit to Poland. At the address during the official luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Marek Belka at Łazienki Palace on the Water in Warsaw, on 21 April 2005, she spoke about the history of relations between the two countries as well as the importance put on the newly opened New Zealand representation in Poland: The history of Poland and New Zealand could not have been more different. Poland sits at the centre of Europe and the great ebbs and flows of events on this continent have impacted on Poland in powerful ways. Poland has known the heights of empire

Opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw; Helen Clark and Marek Belka (left), Polish Prime Minister, April 2005

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and the depths of occupation. But even in the bleakest hours, the spirit of the Polish people has always shone through for independence and freedom.

Our country, far away in the South Pacific, has also fought for freedom and democracy in Europe, and our people lie buried in Poland, as they do in great numbers all over this continent.

Only last year at the commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the battle of Cassino in Italy, I was reminded of the role New Zealand and Poland played together in the war against fascism in Europe. There can be no more poignant reminder of our shared history than seeing the Polish cemetery on the upper slopes of Monte Cassino where so many died in that terrible battle, and the Commonwealth War Graves in the fields below where New Zealand and other allied soldiers lie. It is our pleasure now to see Poland not only as a free and independent nation, but also as an influential nation at the heart of the European project. These are all factors which have led my government to establish New Zealand’s first embassy in Poland.

The European Union is a vital economic and political partner for New Zealand, and through our embassy here we will have a voice in another key European capital.

Placing the embassy here also reflects our determination to modernise our relationship with Poland. We have a shared history, as I have outlined. Now it’s important to develop a substantial shared present and future as well. The opening of our New Zealand Embassy here in Warsaw, and the appointment of a resident Polish Ambassador in Wellington, give us the opportunity to open a new chapter in our relations.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michael Kenneth (Mike) Moore, visited Poland in 1990. A year later, Polish Foreign Minister Krzysztof Skubiszewski (1989-93) visited New Zealand as the first representative of the post-communist Poland. On his two-day trip in May 1991, Minister Skubiszewski held talks with Prime Minister Jim Bolger, Trade Minister Philip Burdon and other ministers and officials. This visit opened a new chapter in Poland’s relationship with New Zealand and created a window for improved trade between the two countries.

On his visit to Poland, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff (1999-2005), on 8 May 2002, opened the Honorary Consulate in Warsaw and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Minister also held talks with the

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Polish Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz in Auckland, March 2003

Polish Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz and met with President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and Prime Minister Leszek Miller.

In March 2003 in Auckland, Polish Foreign Minister Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (2001-05) and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark discussed Poland’s integration with the EU, the possibilities of boosting economic cooperation and developments relating to the war in Iraq. The two politicians also discussed the Polish proposal of signing an agreement on avoiding double taxation, as well as the introduction of visa-free traffic between both countries and the opening of New Zealand’s Embassy in Warsaw. While in New Zealand, Minister Cimoszewicz also met representatives of several businesses cooperating with Poland and Polish community organisations.

In June and July 2006, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters paid a two-week, five-country visit to Europe, which included bilateral meetings in Poland.

In May 2013, Radosław Sikorski, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, visited New Zealand. The Minister met with his New

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Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and New Zealand Governor-General Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, Government House, Wellington, May 2013

Foreign Ministers Radosław Sikorski and Murray McCully in Warsaw, March 2014

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Zealand counterpart Murray McCully to discuss the development of bilateral cooperation. The Polish Minister was also received by the New Zealand Governor-General, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae. In Wellington, Minister Sikorski laid a wreath at the plaque commemorating the arrival of 733 Polish orphans, the Pahiatua Children, and participated in a panel discussion on Polish perspectives on the EU and the Asia-Pacific region, organised by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs at Victoria University of Wellington.

In his speech at the Polish National Day at the Wellington Club, the Minister reflected on bilateral relations: Poland and New Zealand have always enjoyed good relations. I hope they will grow ever stronger in the years to come. New Zealand is becoming an increasingly important political and economic partner for Poland in the Asia-Pacific.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully visited Warsaw in March 2014, where he met with his counterpart Radosław Sikorski, as well as the Marshal of the Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Janusz Piechociński. He also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw. The aim of the visit was to reinforce the strong cultural and growing economic ties between the two nations, as well as their shared democratic values.

Minister Witold Waszczykowski met with Minister Murray McCully in September 2016 in New York and again in March 2017 in Washington.

Other Ministerial Visits Following the political and economic transformation in Poland, the exchange of ministerial visits became more frequent. Ministers representing both countries’ various departments, such as the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Economy (Mieczysław Stelmach), the New Zealand Ministry of Energy (Pete Hodgson), Trade Negotiations (Jim Sutton) and Education (Trevor Mallard), to name a few, have travelled to meet each other’s counterpart in person.

Judith Collins, New Zealand Minister of Police, Corrections and Veterans Affairs went to Poland in August/September 2009 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. The Minister’s itinerary included laying a wreath at the Westerplatte Defenders’ Cemetery, meeting

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with the Deputy Prime Minister and a visit to the Police Headquarters in Warsaw.

Minister Chris Finlayson at the Warsaw Uprising Museum, January 2013

In January 2013, Chris Finlayson, New Zealand Attorney General and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, visited Poland. In Kraków, he met with the local government authorities and toured Poland’s former capital. Minister Finlayson also visited the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In Warsaw, he met with the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bogdan Zdrojewski, Deputy Prosecutor-General and Deputy Foreign Minister.

Later in January 2015, Minister Finlayson, this time in the company of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Annette King and Gael Keren, representing the Jewish Community of New Zealand, visited Kraków for the official commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The New Zealand Government has been one of early contributors to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation Perpetual Fund set up to support the maintenance and preservation of the original camp buildings and grounds.

Secretary of State and Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, Minister Krzysztof Szczerski, visited New Zealand in December 2017 and held talks with the Deputy Secretary for Europe at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Jeff Langley. Minister Szczerski also had a courtesy call with the Leader of the Opposition, former Prime Minister Bill English and former Foreign Affairs Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Parliamentary Ties Both countries work jointly on the parliamentary level. This cooperation began with the exchange of visits by representatives of the Polish Senate

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Minister Krzysztof Szczerski speaking at the New Zealand Parliament, December 2017

From left: Polish Ambassador Z Gniatkowski, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition B English, Minister K Szczerski, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson G Brownlee, December 2017

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Marshal Bogdan Borusewicz in a Māori welcome, Auckland, March 2007

in New Zealand (1990) and the New Zealand House of Representatives in Poland (1998).

Bogdan Borusewicz, the Marshal of the Polish Senate and Janusz Dobrosz, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, led a Polish delegation to New Zealand in March 2007.

In April 2008, a delegation of the New Zealand Parliament, led by the Speaker Margaret Wilson, went to Poland. The group met with the Polish President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Sejm, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as select committees and parliamentary friendship groups. While in Poland, the delegation visited the former concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Warsaw Uprising Museum. Ms Wilson laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and visited New Zealand war graves at a military war cemetery, which is a part of the Rakowicki Cemetery in Kraków.

In April 2010, the New Zealand-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group was established at the New Zealand Parliament. Since its creation, the group was chaired by one of New Zealand’s most prominent politicians, Simon Bridges. The group’s main objective was to focus on cooperation between

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Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski meets with the members of the New Zealand-Poland Parliamentary Group co-chaired by Simon Bridges and Judith Collins; from left: Simon O’Connor, Judith Collins, Ambassador Z Gniatkowski, Simon Bridges, Mark Mitchell, Alfred Ngaro, Paul FosterBell, August 2015

Deputy Marshal of the Senate with members of the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group, from left: M Orzechowski, Deputy Marshal of the Senate M Pańczyk-Poździej, Chair of the Group, L Krajewska, T Latos, November 2014

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Polish Honorary Consul W Dormer, Ambassador Z Gniatkowski and the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, D Carter during Poland’s National Day celebrations, Wellington, May 2015

Deputy Marshal of the Senate Maria Koc, accompanied by Pahiatua Children, lays flowers at the Wellington Waterfront, October 2017

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Ambassador Mary Thurston meeting the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group at the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, March 2018

the two countries and maintain contacts with the Polish Parliament. At the Polish Parliament, the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group was set up within the framework of the Polish Group of the Interparliamentary Union and its major objective was to establish effective cooperation with Parliamentarians in New Zealand. The Group’s Chairman, Jakub Rutnicki, visited New Zealand in March 2007.

In June 2014, the Marshal of the Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz visited New Zealand once again for discussions on Polish-New Zealand relations.

To participate in the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Polish Children in New Zealand (known as the Polish Pahiatua Children) in November 2014, the Polish parliamentary delegations visited Wellington. The Senate was represented by the Deputy Marshal, Maria Pańczyk-Poździej, while the Sejm delegation was led by MP and Chairperson of the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group, Ligia Krajewska. The Polish delegates also had meetings with the New Zealand Parliament and Government representatives.

In April 2015, the Speaker of New Zealand Parliament, David Carter, led delegation of MPs to Poland as part of the annual Speaker’s Delegation to exchange views on the economic, political and security challenges facing

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the European Union and its near neighbourhood, as well as those affecting the Pacific. In Warsaw, the delegation met with the Marshals of both the Senate and the Sejm, as well as with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy, Janusz Piechociński, and members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group.

The delegation also visited the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

In October 2017, the Deputy Marshal of the Senate, Maria Koc, took part in the celebrations of the 145th anniversary of the Polish Settlement in Canterbury and New Zealand. Deputy Speaker held numerous encounters with the Polish diaspora in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

Thanks to the engagement of the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group, the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw has managed to maintain an active dialogue with Polish parliamentarians, exchanging views on topics of interest to both countries.

Multilateral Cooperation Poland and New Zealand work together bilaterally, as well as in multilateral frameworks. New Zealand and Poland cooperate in international forums such as the United Nations (both countries are founding members), OECD, WTO and ISAF/NATO (in February 2018 New Zealand and NATO signed the Individual Partnership and Cooperation Programme). Both countries are part of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (New Zealand and the EU).

New Zealand served a two-year term as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016. During that time, the Security Council considered and responded to the most pressing threats to international peace and security. These included the situations in Syria, South Sudan and North Korea, as well as ISIL/Daesh brutal attacks on civilians.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, despite the many global challenges during the two years on the Council, New Zealand performed with distinction and played a widely commended role as one of the most constructive and active elected members in recent years. Specifically, New Zealand worked to ensure the Security Council performed better

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in preventing conflicts and emerging crises; improving engagement with stakeholders, including troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping operations; ensuring all states, including small states, received a fair hearing; and improving the transparency, inclusiveness and responsiveness of the Council.

On 1 January 2018 Poland began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. In the UNSC, Poland is the voice of the region it represents – Central and Eastern Europe. Poland’s aim is to draw international attention to global issues and challenges, such as terrorism, crimes against humanity and non-observance of the fundamental principles of international law.

A significant focus on the Polish agenda is the situation in Ukraine and renewed participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Among the most important priorities are strengthening of the Security Council’s effectiveness and increasing the role and authority of the organisation.

Honorary Consuls There are two Polish consulates headed by honorary consuls in New Zealand.

Since 28 October 1998, the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Auckland was headed by John Roy-Wojciechowski as the Honorary Consul. Born in Poland, he was one of the 733 children who grew up in the camp in Pahiatua.

Now retired, John Roy was a successful businessman. Since 15 October 2013 the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Auckland has been headed by Bogusław Nowak, also a businessman, who owns and runs a travel agency and has extensive contacts in the tourism sector.

On 1 February 2011, the Polish Foreign Minister established the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Christchurch. The Consulate is headed by Honorary Consul, Winsome Dormer, the founder of the ship-supplying company based in Lyttelton, Canterbury.

From November 1993 until the opening of the New Zealand Embassy in

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Warsaw, an Honorary Consulate of New Zealand was operating in the Polish capital. Initially it was headed by Barbara Pomorska, a commercial consultant. In May 2002, during the visit of Phil Goff, New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogumił Szklarzewicz was appointed as the new Honorary Consul in Warsaw.

Honorary Consul for South Island in Christchurch Winsome Dormer, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Honorary Consul in Auckland Bogusław Nowak

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4 1989 – PRESENT ECONOMIC COOPERATION Trade Missions and High-Level Visits Bilateral Trade

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Trade Missions and High-Level Visits Economic and trade cooperation is of vital importance for the development of mutual relations. Both countries support further intensification of contacts between companies and business people.

The first trade mission from post-communist Poland visited New Zealand in 1992. Trade development was one of two main objectives of the visit by the first Foreign Minister of free Poland, Krzysztof Skubiszewski. Following the meetings with the New Zealand Trade Minister, Philip Burdon, the Polish Minister forecasted a boost in trade between the two countries. In 2000, the Polish Undersecretary of State for Economy travelled to New Zealand for official calls. In 2003, the New Zealand Trade Negotiations Minister went to Poland on a mission.

In April 2005, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka witnessed the signing of the double tax agreement in Warsaw. Following the signing, Helen Clark said: Once in force, the double tax agreement will help to reduce the costs for New Zealanders doing business in Poland and vice versa. The agreement will thus encourage stronger economic links between our two countries.

While in Poland, Prime Minister Clark held a meeting with representatives of the Polish Centres of Commerce at the Business Centre Club.

In September/October 2009, Poland’s National Chamber of Commerce organised a trade mission to New Zealand. Among members of the mission were representatives from the following industries – cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agri-food, information technology and energy. The main objective of the mission was to explore existing opportunities and conditions of trade with New Zealand.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise representatives visited Poland on 8-9 May 2012 to research Polish market potential. Marcus Scoliege, NZTE’s Trade Commissioner for Northern and Central Europe and Christine Spahn, NZTE Marketing Manager for Poland, had meetings in Warsaw with Polish representatives from the food and beverage sector, the financial services sector and investment banking. Poland’s principal economic promotion agency (PAIZ) was included, as were calls on the Ministry of the Economy.

The meetings provided a snapshot of the scale and dynamics of the Polish

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Poland’s GreenEvo mission members at the Go Green Expo, Auckland, April 2015

market and its population. Many possibilities were identified, mainly in agriculture.

Tim Groser, New Zealand Minister of Trade and Climate Change Issues, visited Poland twice in 2013. In July, Minister Groser met with the Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Stanisław Kalemba, and the Minister of Economy, Janusz Piechociński. The main purpose of the visit was participation in the 16th Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Kraków. Minister Groser also held a seminar on the New Zealand perspective on transatlantic and transpacific trade agreements at the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Minister Groser returned to Poland in November 2013 for the COP19 Conference in Warsaw.

Representatives of 15 Polish companies from the green technology sector and Poland’s Ministry of Environment visited New Zealand in April 2015 for a trade mission and to participate in a Go Green Expo in Auckland.

GreenEvo mission members met with Mike Underhill, CEO of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), and took a study tour of the Watercare Services – Auckland Council-owned water care and wastewater

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service provider. The Polish companies exhibiting in Auckland presented new leading green technologies from various sectors, such as energy savings, waste and water management, and renewable energy.

New Zealand Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy visited Poland in June 2015 to highlight opportunities for more agricultural partnerships between producers in the European Union and New Zealand. The visit involved meetings with the Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister, Zofia Szalczyk, and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Secretary of State, Dr Jerzy Witold Pietrewicz.

A Polish-New Zealand Business Association POLANZ was established in March 2015 in New Zealand, under the patronage of the Polish Ambassador, to promote cooperation between businesses from Poland and New Zealand, and to encourage and stimulate interest in trade, investment and culture between the two countries. Since its inception, POLANZ has held several successful events promoting the Polish economy (December 2015) and highlighting leading exports, namely green housing technologies (April 2018).

Representatives of the Polish meat sector, including six producers, Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry and market experts participated in the Fine Food fair in June 2016 in Auckland, as part of the “European Meat – tradition, quality and taste” campaign. An informational seminar was also held with a focus on meat trade aspects between New Zealand and the European Union, including Poland and prospects for its development. Among the speakers were Polish Ambassador to New Zealand Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Economic and Trade Adviser at the Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand, John Leslie, and market experts from Poland.

Workshops on Polish industrial design and presentations on Polish economy were held during the inaugural Polish Design Days in October 2016 in Christchurch. Two days of exclusive events were organised by Live House Design Studio and partnering institutions under the Honorary Patronage of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland Zbigniew Gniatkowski. Polishborn Alicja Podemska, lecturer at the Ara Institute of Canterbury, spoke about Polish industrial design.

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Kazik Jasica, President of POLANZ (right), Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski (centre) and Robert Hołubicki, Vice-President of POLANZ (left) at the Polish Embassy’s stand at the Fine Food fair in Auckland, June 2016

Polish Ambassador speaking at the seminar with the members of the European mission representing the meat sector, Auckland, June 2016

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Joint press conference of the Polish President A Duda and the New Zealand Prime Minister J Ardern, August 2018

In August 2018, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern witnessed the signing of a an intergovernmental agreement on civil aviation. In a joint press conference following the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Ardern, the Polish President underlined potential benefits of such an agreement with two-way traffic growth, better connections and services offered by national carriers which should ultimately further encourage increased people-to-people relations. President Duda noted that the current trade flow between Poland and New Zealand is worth around 200 ml USD annually. Nevertheless, the President added: (…) looking at the possibilities, it can be said that huge potential is still not being exploited.

On 23 August 2018, President Duda met with representatives of New Zealand business in Auckland. The Business Roundtable, hosted by the New Zealand Trade Minister David Parker, was attended by representatives of New Zealand companies currently trading and those interested in trade with Poland, as well as Polish entrepreneurs. The President expressed hope that his visit would act as a stimulus for increased interest by Polish

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Business Roundtable hosted by the New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker, Auckland, August 2018

Business Roundtable, Auckland, August 2018

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entrepreneurs in the New Zealand market, and New Zealand business in the Polish market.

To maintain a regular dialogue and to present emerging Polish economy sectors, Polish Ambassadors often hold meetings with the regional Chambers of Commerce around New Zealand.

Bilateral Trade Recently, the volume of trade between Poland and New Zealand has been steadily increasing from year to year. In the past decade Poland has recorded a surplus in trade with New Zealand. Poland’s exports to New Zealand are dominated by electromechanical industry products, medicaments, pork meat and electrical appliances. New Zealand goods most commonly imported into Poland are frozen fish, dairy products, wine, wool and sheep meat.

At the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, November 2012

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Meeting at the Otago Chamber of Commerce, Dunedin, June 2015

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Poland’s trade turnover with New Zealand

Poland's trade turnover with New Zealand

$180,000,000 $160,000,000 $140,000,000

USD

$120,000,000 $100,000,000 EXPORT

$80,000,000

IMPORT

$60,000,000 $40,000,000 $20,000,000 $2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (I-VIII)

BILATERAL AGREEMENTS 21 April 2005, Warsaw

Double taxation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of New Zealand

9 May 2008, Warsaw

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of New Zealand on a Working Holiday Scheme

21 October 2015, Warsaw

Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of New Zealand on the Coproduction of Films

22 August 2018, Auckland

Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of New Zealand

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5 1989 – PRESENT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 20th Anniversary of Democratic Changes in Poland Polish Presidency of the EU Council in 2011 #PolskaFree25 #PolskaNATO15 #PolskaEU10 World Youth Day 2016 100 Years of Poland’s Regained Independence Polish – Jewish Relations Guests from Poland Talks about Poland in New Zealand Recognition of Support

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The Polish Embassy in Wellington, in collaboration with various New Zealand institutions, has worked on numerous projects in the field of public diplomacy. Various lectures, seminars and meetings with guests from Poland have been organised on modern history and political and economic issues.

20th Anniversary of Democratic Changes in Poland To mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism in Central Europe, in 2009, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland held a series of events commemorating the Solidarność (Solidarity) movement, restoration of democracy and introduction of political, economic and social reforms in Poland. The Polish Way to Freedom, an exhibition of photos featuring Solidarność and the development of democracy in Poland, was shown in Wellington (2009), Auckland (2010) and Christchurch (2013). The Polish journalist Ryszard Holzer participated in the international conference Europe Twenty Years After the fall of the Berlin Wall: Overcoming East and West. He also took part in a seminar organised by the Department of Political Studies of the University of Auckland and the New Zealand Institute of International

Opening of The Polish Way to Freedom exhibition; Dr David Capie speaking, Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska on the left, University of Auckland, June 2010

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Affairs 20th Anniversary of the Restoration of Independence and the Fall of Communism in Central Europe. The Polish-German Chamber Music Duo Artus performed in Wellington to commemorate Poland’s first democratic election.

Polish Presidency of the EU Council 2011 The Polish Presidency in the Council of the European Union, managed in New Zealand by Poland in 2011, created great opportunities for public diplomacy initiatives. The Polish Embassy organised three study visits to Poland: for Tim Collins publisher of the bimonthly magazine IN-Business; Professor Roberto Rabel, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), Victoria University of Wellington and National Vice-President at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs; and and Professor Martin Holland, Director of the National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury, Co-ordinator of the New Zealand European Union Centres Network.

The year of the Presidency was also filled with political meetings with New Zealand guests of various backgrounds, including high-level politicians. The Polish Embassy also held a local EU Presidency in 2013 on behalf of Ireland.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska at the Polish Ambassador’s residence, meeting with the EU Heads of Missions, June 2011

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#PolskaFree25 #PolskaNATO15 #PolskaEU10 2014 was a year of significant anniversaries for Poland and our foreign relations. Poland celebrated the 25th anniversary of political changes and the first democratic elections, 15 years of membership in NATO and the 10th anniversary of Poland’s membership in the European Union.

To commemorate its first decade in the EU, Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska took part in two panel discussions on the subject. One of them, organised with the New Zealand European Union Centres Network, the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and the EU Heads of Missions in Wellington, referred to the European Parliamentary elections. The other event discussed values shared by the European Union and New Zealand in a changing environment.

During a visit by the Polish Senate delegation in June, at the University of Canterbury, the 25th anniversary of free Unveiling of a street lamp from Sopot upon the elections in Poland was River Avon in Christchurch by Ambassador Z marked with a photographic Gniatkowski and Christchurch Mayor L Dalziel, exhibition The Polish Way to December 2015 Freedom and unveiling of a plaque dedicated to Lech Wałęsa. Additionally, one of the lecture rooms at the University was named after the Solidarność movement.

Finally, in November, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski participated in a panel discussion held by the New Zealand Initiative think-tank, dedicated to the historic events of 1989 leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the role of peaceful revolution in Poland in this process.

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World Youth Day 2016 celebrations in Auckland; New Zealand pilgrims going to Kraków are farewelled at St Patrick’s Cathedral, June 2016

The following year continued with activities on Poland’s transformation through successful reforms and Ambassador Gniatkowski spoke on that topic in Christchurch in February, as well as in December in Auckland at a lecture organised by the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. A true symbol of freedom and mutual solidarity in the form of a street lamp was gifted by the city of Sopot in Poland to the city of Christchurch in New Zealand. The lamp was first lit in December 2015 as part of the Solidarity Grid project in the frame of SCAPE Public Art Festival in Christchurch.

World Youth Day 2016 In July 2016, pilgrims from around the world met in Kraków to celebrate World Youth Day with Pope Francis. Around 110 participants from New Zealand attended the events in Kraków. Local celebrations in New Zealand were attended by many Catholic young people. In Auckland, a special Mass was held in English and Māori at St Patrick’s Cathedral to farewell the pilgrims.

A concert was performed by the Auckland Chamber Orchestra with the

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Polish flutist Adrianna Lis. In Christchurch, 250 Catholic school students held multi-day events, including a Polish cultural programme, with Kraków’s events being broadcast. In Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington, concelebrated a special Mass on the occasion of World Youth Day in Kraków.

100 Years of Poland’s Regained Independence 2018 marked the centenary since Poland regained its Independence. To commemorate this significant jubilee, the Polish Embassy held a series of events. Throughout the year, displays referring to various periods of Poland’s history were shown in New Zealand: Anders’ Army – The Trail of Hope, Żegota – The Council for Aid to Jews, Józef Piłsudski – Polish and European statesman as well as Women of Independence highlighting one hundred years since Polish women gained their voting rights.

One of the projects highlighting #PL100 was a presentation dedicated to one of the so-called fathers of independent Poland, Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

The project draws on research at the National Library of New Zealand, including press cuts from the time of Paderewski’s concert tours. The Polish statesman also left a lively account of his 1904 tour in his memoirs. The article summarises various New Zealand press commentaries of the time: Ignacy Paderewski gave his first New Zealand recital in Auckland on 31st August 1904 in His Majesty’s Theatre. The Pianist’s tournée included concerts in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. All of the pieces were performed on his own piano, Erard. Together with Paderewski arrived his wife, Helena, as well as 37 trunks of wardrobe and general luggage, a piano, and a talking parrot named Cockey Roberts. During his tour an artist was accompanied by Doctor Ratyński, a medic and a friend of Paderewski, William Adlington, a manager of general affairs linked to the Pianist, and John Lemmone, one of Paderewski’s representatives, as well as a friend and a world-famous flautist. (…)

Paderewski’s second visit to New Zealand was announced in a very pompous way, even for beginning-of-20th-century standards. This time the country was going to be privileged to host not only the world-known pianist, but also a statesman. The stubbornness of Paderewski was stressed – it was him who, thanks to his glory and personality, imposed the US President Woodrow Wilson to accent the Polish issue in his ‘Fourteen Points’ peace statement, which was very important for regaining independence.

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Polish Presidential Couple and Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy are viewing an exhibition dedicated to Marshal Jรณzef Piล sudski, Auckland War Memorial Museum, August 2018

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis and Romuald Rudzki viewing the exhibition dedicated to the Polish Army League at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History in Palmerston North, May 2018

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In April/May 2018, a “master interpreter” of Chopin, Raphael Alexandre Lustchevsky, made his way back to New Zealand to perform a series of gala piano concerts with compositions of Fryderyk Chopin and Ignacy Paderewski in Wellington, Auckland, Waiheke Island, Christchurch and Dunedin. A special concert was held on the occasion of the Polish National Day commemorating the 3 May Constitution, among a wide array of guests, at the Council Chamber of Victoria University of Wellington.

The special third edition of the Wellington Polish Film Festival screened seven masterpieces of Polish cinema, offering a wide thematic spectrum and a diversity of aesthetics from various historical periods and through different generational viewpoints. This edition was the first in a worldwide celebration to commemorate Poland’s Centennial of its regained Independence. A guest of honour at the opening gala was the lead actress of the opening picture Warsaw 44 (directed by Jan Komasa) Zofia Wichłacz. Among other titles of the third WPFF were The Promised Land, Man of Marble and Ashes and Diamonds by Andrzej Wajda, The Pianist (Roman Polański), Volhynia (Wojciech Smarzowski) and Nights and Days (Jerzy Antczak).

Polish National Day celebrated with the piano performance by Raphael Lustchevsky, Victoria University of Wellington, May 2018

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Unveiling of the plaque at the inaugurated Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square in Wellington by President Andrzej Duda and Zdzisław Lepionka, August 2018

In May, at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History in Palmerston North, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in memory of the Polish Army League, founded on 14 December 1941, also to mark a historical bond of friendship between Poland and New Zealand. In August, President of Poland Andrzej Duda inaugurated a new place on the map of Wellington, Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square and unveiled a plaque in memory of the arrival of the group of 733 children and 105 caregivers upon the invitation of the New Zealand Government in 1944. The Square and plaque are located near the former St Patrick’s College, where a number of the Polish children were pupils. The plaque symbolises the Poland – New Zealand friendship and partnership in the centenary of Poland’s regained Independence.

Polish – Jewish Relations The Embassy of Poland in New Zealand draws special attention to the ties Poland shares with the Jewish people and institutions, represented in particular by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. For many years, the Polish ambassadors have actively participated in the commemorations of 45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

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the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

In January 2016, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski spoke at Parliament Buildings about the Polish heroes who saved numerous children during World War II, recalling the Ulma family from Markowa, among others. The Embassy often holds and supports screenings of movies on the Holocaust and World War II. 2018 was the Year of Irena Sendler, one of the Righteous Among the Nations. On her birthday on 15 February 2018, Ambassador Gniatkowski visited the New Zealand Holocaust Centre to lay flowers at the plaque dedicated to this Polish social worker and head of the children’s section of the Council of Aid to Jews Żegota.

Also in Wellington, on 4 May 2018, at St Andrew’s on The Terrace, celebrations of the Centenary of Poland’s regained Independence were combined with the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel as well as the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and marked by a memorable performance by the Polish pianist Raphael A Lustchevsky. The concert, featuring Gershwin’s Blue Rhapsody, accentuated historically interwoven Polish – Jewish relations.

Also in 2018, the Polish Embassy was one of the partners of the educational travelling exhibition Anne Frank – Let Me Be Myself that has been shown around New Zealand. In June 2018, the New Zealand Holocaust Centre hosted commemorations of the Warsaw Uprising with the Ambassadors of Poland and Israel, Members of the New Zealand Parliament and representatives of the Polish and Jewish communities, Polish Ex-Servicemen Association and the Wellington Regional Jewish Council in attendance. Among the speakers were Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Professor Roberto Rabel, who presented a personal testimony to his late father, Jerzy, who fought in the Warsaw sewers during the Uprising for which he was awarded the Virtuti Militari cross. The event was organised jointly by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand and the Polish Embassy in Wellington.

In November 2018, the Polish Embassy in partnership wth the Holocaust Centre held a seminar From Totalitarianism through Hope to a New Life in New Zealand: Women’s Perspectives at the National Library of New Zealand.

The panellists – Polish and Jewish women – spoke about their experiences of deportation to Siberia in Soviet Russia and the Holocaust and the Nazi German camps, and reflected on how their often painful childhood shaped their life choices in New Zealand. Accompanying the seminar was the

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Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski among the members of the Board of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, February 2018

At the performance by Raphael Lustchevsky, from left: Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Inge Woolf, Director of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, Raphael Lustchevsky, Israeli Ambassador to New Zealand Dr Itzhak Gerberg, St Andrew’s on The Terrace, May 2018

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Warsaw Uprising commemorations, Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, June 2018

Seminar with women panelists, National Library of New Zealand, November 2018

opening of an exhibition Women of Independence. To compliment those events, a screening of The Zookeeper’s Wife, by a New Zealand director Niki Caro, was held at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. The above events were organised to highlight the Centenary of Poland’s Independence as well as 100 years of Polish women gaining voting rights, coinciding with the New Zealand Suffrage 125 commemorations.

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Guests From Poland Over the years, numerous guests from Poland have visited New Zealand to lecture, share their views or participate in international events.

In 2009, Professor Adam Daniel Rotfeld, former Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs and expert on international security, paid a visit to New Zealand.

Professor Rotfeld delivered a lecture on the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Paweł Świeboda, Director of Demos Europa, came to New Zealand to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Polish membership in the EU. In 2010, Professor Adam Budnikowski, Rector of the Warsaw School of Economics, together with journalist Andrzej Lubowski, held a panel discussion on the international financial crisis. Jacek Kastelaniec, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum Foundation, came here to raise funds for this historical site. In 2011, Róża Thun, a member of the European Parliament, came to New Zealand for meetings with local Parliamentarians and the Polish diaspora. She held a lecture for students at Victoria University of Wellington.

Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska, former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Chancellor Dr John Wood, University of Canterbury, Ambassador of France Francis Etienne, Christchurch, March 2012

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Visiting New Zealand Professor Mariusz Ziółkowski (centre) with Professor Warwick Murray from Victoria University of Wellington (right) and the Polish Ambassador, April 2016

In 2012, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the former President of the Republic of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski (19952005) came to New Zealand. The President gave a series of lectures around the country.

Professor Norman Davies, a respected historian, visited New Zealand in May 2012. In May 2013, American-born journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum presented a lecture on totalitarian regimes referring to her book Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956. She also met with the readers at a Wellington bookstore and met with a group of the Pahiatua Polish Children.

In April 2014, the President of the National Bank of Poland, Professor Marek Belka, delivered lectures on economy and monetary policy. In 2015 Cyryl Klimowicz, bishop of Irkutsk, visited New Zealand to meet with Poles who had been forcibly taken to Siberia during World War II. The same year, Mirosław Wróblewski of the Jagiellonian University and the Polish Ombudsman’s Office came to Wellington on a research project concerning ombudsman institutions.

In April 2016, Professor Mariusz Ziółkowski from the University of Warsaw held a series of meetings with his counterparts as well as the Polish diaspora.

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Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska speaking in a panel discussion on the crisis in Ukraine, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, March 2014

Professor Ziółkowski presented an exhibition on Polish archaeological excavations in Peru.

Many academics and researchers from Poland come to New Zealand to attend international conferences and conduct research projects. Similarly, Polish artists visit New Zealand to undertake various artistic activities.

Additional information can be found in other chapters of this book.

Talks About Poland in New Zealand To popularise and promote Poland in New Zealand, Polish ambassadors have presented numerous lectures around the country. In December 2011, at the Waikato University in Hamilton, Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska took part in the New Zealand European Union Centres Network Conference European Dilemmas: Internal and External issues facing the European Union, where she talked about the functioning of the EU diplomatic service after the Lisbon Treaty. In 2013, at the University of Auckland, the Ambassador presented a lecture on the Eastern Partnership project – Poland’s initiative towards six countries of Eastern Europe, which aims at bringing them closer to the EU through deepened cooperation and integration.

That same subject matter and the situation in Eastern Ukraine were the topic of a panel discussion organised by the Diplosphere think-tank, with the

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participation of the Polish Ambassador, at Parliament Buildings in March 2014. Poland is a great supporter of Ukraine in the Asia and Pacific region and another opportunity to advocate for Ukraine came in May 2016, at a seminar organised by Canterbury University in the series called Solutions to Europe’s Critical Issues. Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski spoke about Ukraine, its reforms and EU aspirations.

In January 2018, members of the Nelson Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs met with the Polish Ambassador, who presented a lecture on the modern history of Poland and Europe.

Recognition of Support Events, seminars and study visits of guests from Poland are hosted by or organised in cooperation with various New Zealand institutions.

While on his official visit to New Zealand in May 2013, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski presented awards to members of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and the National Centre for Research on Europe, in gratitude for their cooperation and personal and institutional commitment to strengthening Poland’s position in the international arena.

Bene Merito distinctions were received by Sir Douglas Kidd, Professor Roberto Rabel, Russell Marshall, Brian Lynch and Professor Martin Holland.

In 2015, Polish Honorary Consul Winsome Dormer was awarded with Gold Cross of Merit for her long-term efforts in promoting Poland in Christchurch and the wider South Island, and active involvement in the economic, public and cultural diplomacy as well as with the Polish community.

In December 2017, Gregory Thwaite, honorary solicitor of the Polish-New Zealand Business Association, Chairman of the Auckland Branch of New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, was decorated with Bene Merito for his efforts in promotion of Poland in Auckland.

The Polish Ambassador to New Zealand takes part in Waitangi Day, Anzac Day and many other commemorative events organised by the New Zealand Government and institutions. Likewise, one of the most important commemorative events observed by the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw each year is Anzac Day, organised together with the Australian Embassy in Warsaw. The commemorations include a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square and a reception. Among

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Presented with Bene Merito, from right: Prof. Rob Rabel, Sir Douglas Kidd, Dr Brian Lynch, Russell Marshall, 3 May 2013, Wellington

Gregory Thwaite (left) after being presented with Bene Merito award; standing next to him are Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Honorary Consul Bogusław Nowak, Auckland, December 2017

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Commemorating Anzac Day with Polish World War II veterans, April 2018

the invited guests are representatives of the Polish Government and armed forces, as well as veterans’ organisations and veterans who fought side by side with New Zealanders on the fronts of World War II. In November 2015 the Embassy helped to organise a lecture by New Zealand professor Glyn Harper titled New Zealand and the First World War in Photographs. In 2016 alongside the commemorations, the Embassy hosted an exhibition of photographs taken in New Zealand by a Polish photographer Jan Sobczak.

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6 1989 – PRESENT EDUCATION

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Cooperation between Polish and New Zealand educational institutions is expanding. The past few years have seen the signing of new cooperation agreements and an increase in the exchange of study visits.

A student exchange programme, successfully developed between Poland’s leading and oldest business school, the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) and Victoria University of Wellington (VUW), is based on a bilateral agreement of providing for a semester of study at a partner university. The principle of the programme is recognising of study abroad as part of the studies at the home institution. The Young Design Management project, developed between the two universities, funded by the European Union, aims to increase the flexibility of education at the undergraduate level of the management field of study, taking into account the requirements of current global job markets.

The Warsaw School of Economics and the University of Otago exchange their students within the frame of the Partnership in International Management (PIM) network. PIM is a consortium of top business schools from around the world that exchange select graduate students for one academic term.

Victoria OE Student Fair, Victoria University of Wellington, March 2013. Polish Embassy participates in this yearly event representing the Warsaw School of Economics

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Additionally, since 2013, Warsaw-based Kozminski University has been linked through an international student exchange agreement with the Waikato Institute of Technology in Hamilton. All schools participate in the ERASMUS+ programme.

There are scholarships and extra funds available for selected students to help with the exchange programme through the Warsaw School of Economics as well as VUW. Additionally, the Valerie & John Roy-Wojciechowski Award is available each year for Victoria University’s students with Polish roots who plan to study at Warsaw’s SGH. In 2014 Poland joined the New Zealand-led Global Research Alliance on the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases initiative. The alliance is focused on research, development and extension of technologies and practices that help deliver ways to grow more food and more climate-resilient food systems without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Both countries exchange official and study visits that focus on greater cooperation opportunities. In June 2013, Steven Joyce, Minister of Science and Innovation and Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, visited Poland where he met with the authorities of the Kraków University of Science and Technology and the Jagiellonian University. As a result of the discussions, a delegation from the University led by Professor Kazimierz Strzałka, Head of the Małopolska Centre for Biotechnology, visited New Zealand in March/April 2014 on a tour organised by Education New Zealand.

In September 2014 the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Reverend Professor Antoni Dębiński, met with the authorities of Victoria University of Wellington to discuss prospects of cooperation.

In 2015, Professor Ewa Kaliszuk from the Institute for Market, Consumption and Business Cycles Research in Warsaw (IBRKK), participated in a research project run under the EU grant by the National Centre for Research on Europe at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, on the proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand. Professor Kaliszuk worked on a policy paper on potential disputes that may arise during the negotiations on agriculture. In July 2017, Dr Paweł Frankowski from the Jagiellonian University of Kraków, Institute of Political Science and International Relations, visited New Zealand to research the issues of trade agreements.

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Poland and New Zealand are focused on building relationships between their think-tanks and NGOs. In July 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Both parties have agreed to hold joint conferences and seminars, mutual consultations and exchange of experts, implementation of joint research projects as well as exchange of research results and publications.

Emeritus Professor Roberto Rabel, a Professorial Fellow at the Centre of Strategic Studies, Vice-President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, and former Pro Vice-Chancellor for International Engagement at Victoria University of Wellington, visited Poland again in June 2017 and September 2018 to develop new connections for the Centre of Strategic Studies (VUW) and the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, with academic institutions from Warsaw and Kraków.

As a result of this visit, in February 2018, a delegation from the Institute of International Relations at the University of Warsaw led by Professor Jakub Zajączkowski paid a reciprocial visit to New Zealand, presenting lectures and seminars at universities in Wellington and Auckland.

In October 2017, the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, hosted a video seminar with the Łódź University of Technology on urban regeneration. The event was attended by students and academics on both sides.

During his visit to New Zealand, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda together with the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern witnessed the signing of two other partnership agreements, such as the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of National Security, Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University of Kraków and the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University of New Zealand; and the Academic Cooperation Agreement between the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw and the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

Representatives of the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw regularly engage with students from local schools and universities to address their topics of interest and answer questions. In particular, the Embassy annually meets with the Warsaw School of Economics International Relations Club.

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Professor Rob Rabel, President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the academic agreement signing ceremony, Auckland, 22 August 2018

Ambassador Mary Thurston addressing students of international economic relations from the Warsaw School of Economics, March 2018

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Ambassadors also give lectures outside of Warsaw.

In March 2017, Ambassador Wendy Hinton spoke to students in Poznań University on the role of Anzac Day in building New Zealand’s national identity. The New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw regularly works together with NGOs to promote social awareness and address the needs of vulnerable groups.

Embassy staff have also been regular contributors to the “Clean Up the World” activities organised by the Nasza Ziemia Foundation.

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As one of few New Zealanders whose father was a Warsaw Uprising veteran, I have always had a connection with Poland and its history. However, it is only thanks to the energetic support of Polish Consul Agnieszka Kacperska that I was able to become a Polish citizen last year. While this formal reconnection with my Polish heritage has been powerfully meaningful for me in personal terms, it is also representative of some of the more enduring links between New Zealand and Poland.

After forty-five years of official diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand, the relationship is in good heart politically, economically and culturally, as well as through people-to-people links. This publication admirably covers the history of all those dimensions of bilateral relations.

My own contribution seeks to highlight some living legacies of that history.

In particular, it illustrates how one Polish New Zealander’s experience personifies the ongoing importance of historic, academic and people-topeople links between our two countries.

While involved in academically focused activities with the Polish Embassy over time, I have had the opportunity to lift these to a new level over the past two years. A key stimulus in this respect was a study tour to Warsaw and Kraków in June 2017, generously funded by the Polish Government.

The study tour reinforced for me both the uplifting and tragic aspects of Polish history, while confirming what a vibrant and confident society Poland has become. The visit also enabled me to engage with universities and think tanks, whose top-notch analysts shared insights on international security, political and economic issues. I was impressed not only by their expertise relating to the challenges and opportunities facing Poland and its European neighbours but also by the great interest in Asia-Pacific developments.

I hoped at the time that the connections made during my visit would lead to more links between Polish universities and think tanks with the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and Victoria University’s Centre of Strategic Studies. Fortuitously, the personal and the professional intertwined during the visit. It was a thrill to meet two men of my generation whose fathers, like mine, had fought in Warsaw’s sewers in 1944. I also met a professor from the University of Poznań, whose Master’s student was doing research

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at my own university and whom I subsequently met in Wellington, with the consequence that she now plans to undertake doctoral studies on PolishNew Zealand historical connections.

Since that trip, my hopes for closer academic cooperation have been very much realised. In February of this year, our Centre of Strategic Studies hosted a reciprocal visit by the Director of the University of Warsaw’s Institute of International Relations and a former Polish Ambassador to India. As well as meeting with NewZealand universities, the visitors participated in roundtable discussions and delivered a public address to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.

This link between our universities has since been formalised through an Academic Cooperation Agreement that I counter-signed in the presence of President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in August of this year. Within a month of that signing, I was back in Warsaw where we began putting the agreement into action through my participation in a roundtable, publication of a scholarly article in the journal of the Institute of International Relations and plans for joint research collaboration. We are already arranging another reciprocal visit to Wellington by University of Warsaw professors in 2019, which I hope to follow up with a visiting professorship in Warsaw, as well as through possible collaboration with Jagiellonian University researchers in Kraków.

During my most recent trip to Warsaw, my wife and I also visited the impressive Polin Museum, which offers multifaceted perspectives on the history of Polish Jews, including sensitive coverage of the most harrowing moments in that history. Given the significant role played in Polish history by its Jewish citizens, it is pleasing to see the Polish Embassy’s concerted outreach to New Zealand’s Jewish communities, especially through cooperation with the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. In that context, one of the most memorable and touching events of the year for my family was our participation at a commemoration of the Warsaw Uprising at the Holocaust Centre, where I was able to talk about my father’s experiences during that grim period in Polish history.

It is critical to remember the many tragically shared aspects of Polish and Jewish suffering historically, which is why I am honoured to be chairing another forthcoming collaborative event this year between the Polish

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Embassy and the Holocaust Centre that will feature speakers who are Jewish Holocaust survivors and Polish Siberian survivors.

As highlighted in this publication and in the case of my own family, many Poles came to this country in the twentieth century because they were fleeing the traumas of war and subsequent communist repression. Their stories, their memories and their legacies are a critical part of Polish-New Zealand relations. They must be remembered and serve as a foundation for the continued relationship. Happily, however, the relationship between our two countries has broadened beyond New Zealand being a haven for unintended Polish migration. Just as the Poles who came in the 1940s, 1950s and 1980s seized the opportunities that this society offered and made new lives here, current generations of Polish New Zealanders need to build on their legacies in new ways.

It is vital to preserve the historic achievements of the founding generations of New Zealand’s Polish communities but current generations must also forge new connections with today’s Poland—something which was so difficult until the 1990s. That is why educational links involving exchanges of young people in both directions are so important, along with interaction between researchers to exchange perspectives on a wide range of academic issues.

Ultimately, as I have learned through my own experience in recent years, these and other people-to-people links are what will sustain and deepen the relationship between Poland and New Zealand in the coming years.

Professor Roberto Rabel Emeritus Professor Roberto Rabel, Professorial Fellow, Centre of Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington and National Vice-President, New Zealand Institute of International Affairs

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7 CULTURE Early Cultural Links Music Theatre Literature Film Photography and Design Acknowledgement of Support Sport

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Early Cultural Links Poland and New Zealand have been culturally linked long before the establishment of official diplomatic relations. Some of the greatest names of the Polish music scene performed in New Zealand from the beginning of the 20th Century.

Edward Parlovitz (1904), Leopold Premyslav (1907), Andre Skalski (1923), Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1904, 1927), and Ignacy Friedman (1940s) attracted full-house audiences at their concerts during numerous tours. In the 1950s through to the 1960s, famous Polish pianists such as Stanisław Niedzielski and Witold Małcużynski visited New Zealand on several occasions leaving audiences astounded with their performances of Chopin.

The Polish pianist Stanisław Niedzielski checking that his piano has arrived safely. Negatives of The Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1958/3650-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand

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In 1973 director Jerzy Grotowski and his innovative experimental Laboratory Theatre visited New Zealand as part of their international tour. In 1979 Jerzy Maksymiuk, a brilliant conductor, composer and pianist directed the Polish Chamber Orchestra in New York’s Carnegie Hall and in 1981 brought the orchestra on a grand concert tour that included New Zealand.

Music In 1997 Jerzy Maksymiuk returned to conduct the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in a series of concerts in Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch. Dame Kiri TeKanawa, New Zealand’s most notable soprano diva, performed in Warsaw in 2000 and in 2006.

In 2010, as part of the Chopin Year celebrations, a series of concerts of Chopin’s music were held in several New Zealand cities. Diedre Irons, the acclaimed New Zealand pianist, performed Chopin’s best-loved Piano Concerto Number 2 under the baton of Poland’s Jacek Kaspszyk, and the

Anna Kijanowska, Olga Gryniewicz and Adrianna Lis perform a concert inaugurating the Polish Presidency in the EU Council, Auckland, June 2011

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Artur Dutkiewicz playing jazz recital at Te Papa Museum, May 2016

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra presented pieces by Szymanowski and Lutosławski in the Polish Pride concert. The event was held under the patronage of the New Zealand Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage and the Polish Ambassador. The guest of honour was the Governor-General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand. In June 2011, at the Auckland Museum, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council, the concert Polish Pride – European Tradition – New Zealand Beauty was organised. The artists of Polish origin: Anna Kijanowska (piano), Adrianna Lis (flute) and Olga Gryniewicz (soprano) performed pieces by Polish and New Zealand composers. In May 2011, Polish world-famous conductor, Antoni Wit, led the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Eroica concerts all around the country. In 2006 Antoni Wit recorded album Symphonic Poems with the NZSO performing music by Mieczysław Karłowicz. In October 2010 and November 2012 a Polish organ player Gedymin Grubba toured New Zealand. On his second visit, the musician recorded a live album at St Peter’s Anglican Church on Willis Street in Wellington.

Warsaw-born pianist Maciej Grzybowski performed works by Wolfgang A

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Marcin Bronikowski, Sarah Castle and John Tessier in La Cenerentola, New Zealand Opera production, 2015

Mozart, Johannes Brahms and Fryderyk Chopin at the concert in Wellington and presented an exclusive performance during Poland’s Constitution Day reception on 3 May 2015. That same year, a world-class Polish baritone Marcin Bronikowski played part of Dandini in the New Zealand Opera production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella).

Standing ovations culminated the performance of Artur Dutkiewicz Trio at the Wellington Jazz Festival 2015. Artur Dutkiewicz (piano), Michał Barański (bass) and Grzegorz Grzyb (drums) played compositions from their most recent album Prana and famous classics by Czesław Niemen and Jimmy Hendrix. Artur Dutkiewicz came back to New Zealand a year later to perform a series of solo concerts Mazurkas.

Greatly received recitals took place at the Whittaker’s Music Museum on Waiheke Island, where artist performed on the grand Bechstein that once belonged to Ignacy Jan Paderewski, in Hamilton, together with Banda de la Casa, featuring a Polish-born jazz guitarist Maciek Hrybowicz and an Uruguayan bassist, Carlos Pla, as well as in Auckland and Tauranga. Above

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Professor Marcin Murawski (far right) performing with other international artists during the 44th International Viola Congress in Wellington, September 2017

Dr Marek Pasieczny performing together with Dr Jane Curry at the New Zealand School of Music, September 2016

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all, the pianist played at the National Museum Te Papa in Wellington during a special reception celebrating the Polish National Day. Award-winning Polish classical guitarist and composer Marek Pasieczny held his New Zealand – Australian concert tour in September 2016, when he performed with a New Zealand guitarist and lecturer Jane Curry. The duo performed world classics, as well as Polish impressions and Pasieczny’s own compositions. Polish musician also conducted workshops for students of the New Zealand School of Music. And so did Raphael Alexandre Lustchevsky, who held his New Zealand tour in October 2016, also having performed in Waiheke Island, Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.

In March 2017, at the 13th WOMAD festival in New Plymouth, alongside artists from Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, the Warsaw Village Band (Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa) performed music that combines traditional Polish folk tunes with modern elements.

A Polish Professor of viola at the Academy of Music in Poznań, Marcin Murawski, participated in the 44th International Viola Congress in Wellington in September 2017. Murawski, playing viola, together with Professor Donald Maurice (New Zealand School of Music) on viola d’amore, recorded a CD of the Vivaldi-Graupner set of baroque concertos with a Poznań-based orchestra. The CD was recorded in June 2016 in Poland.

Following the success of the live cinematic concert composed by Professor John Psathas and produced by Jasmine Millet No Man’s Land and its 2016 live shows that premiered as a centrepiece of New Zealand’s World War I commemorations, one of the musicians, Polish-born Jolanta Kossakowska came back to continue the cooperation with New Zealand musicians.

Supported by John Psathas, Jolanta completed a residency at the New Zealand School of Music in October 2017. During that time, she worked with the school’s composition students adapting Polish folk songs and ran several master classes. Accompanied by all-star Wellington musicians, Jolanta performed a concert of ancient, traditional Slavic songs and ethnojazz featuring her own compositions and traditional Polish songs. She also performed as a guest artist at the celebrations of the 145th anniversary of Polish settlement in New Zealand, which were held in Christchurch and Wellington.

In November 2017, Witold Zalewski, the first organist of the Wawel Royal

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Jolanta Kossakowska performing with Wellington musicians at Meow, Wellington, October 2017

Cathedral in Kraków, the church close to the heart of the Polish Pope St John Paul II, performed an organ concert with compositions of J Bach, C Franck and M Surzynski to highlight the 99th anniversary of Poland’s Independence, that was celebrated at St Mary of the Angels in Wellington. The Polish folk band Tekla Klebetnica, combining traditional Polish, Slovakian, Hungarian, Romanian and Gypsy melodies in their own arrangements, toured New Zealand in December 2017. The trio performed in Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga and held a workshop for children and family Christmas carol singing event in Auckland.

In 2013, the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw organised two concerts by the New Zealand Trio ensemble. The musicians played a selection of cutting edge modern pieces by top composers from New Zealand and other Asia Pacific countries, including Jack Body, Gao Ping, Sam Holloway, Claire Cowan and Karlo Margetic. The concerts took place in Warsaw and Kraków.

A third classical concert that year was given in Warsaw by professor of music Donald Maurice. Professor Maurice returned to Poland again in 2016,

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leading the small ensemble Archi d’Amore Zelanda. The embassy organised a concert for the group in Warsaw’s Wilanów district.

Theatre At the invitation of the New Zealand International Arts Festival in February/ March 2010, TR Warszawa theatre presented TEOREMAT, directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna, with the main roles played by Jan Englert, Danuta Stenka and Sebastian Pawlak.

In January 2013, at TR Warszawa, New Zealand Minister for Arts and Culture, Chris Finlayson was an honorary guest of a read rehearsal and Two Oceans book launch. Two Oceans is the first collection of New Zealand contemporary dramas published in Poland. The book was prepared in collaboration with the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw. The anthology presents the literary works of some of New Zealand’s most famous writers: Michelanne Forster, Toa Fraser, Greg McGee, Vivienne Plumb and Tom Scott.

The year 2015 was a very significant year in the history of Polish theatre, as two great anniversaries were observed: 250 years of the National Theatre in Warsaw; and 250 years of public theatre in Poland. To highlight that milestone, in October 2015, the Polish Embassy in Wellington invited Leszek

Performance of Furrow II (Masks) by Visual Stage Theatre in Christchurch, October 2015

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Visual Stage (Scena Plastyczna) Theatre of Leszek Mądzik (third from left), Christchurch, October 2015

Mądzik’s Visual Stage (Scena Plastyczna) of the Catholic University of Lublin, a Polish alternative theatre phenomenon to perform the premiere of Furrow II (Masks) at The Body Festival in Christchurch.

Literature A selection of contemporary Polish literature, available in English, with works by Olga Tokarczuk, Jerzy Pilch, Michał Witkowski and Paweł Huelle, was presented by acclaimed translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones in 2010 in Wellington.

The Polish Embassy often supports local writers and poets of Polish origins and authors of books about Poland. In 2013, the launch of Alone by Alina Suchanski was organised in Wellington. The Polish Ambassador also attended the launch of Winter’s Day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik.

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Helping to launch a book by New Zealander Louise Williams about one of the fascinating stories from the Great Escape, March 2016

Aleksandra Mizielińska signing MAPS during the event at the Writers Week of the New Zealand Festival, February 2014

Julian Tuwim’s Mr Miniscule and the Whale (Pan Maluśkiewicz i wieloryb) published by Book Island was launched in Wellington in March 2014

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The Polish Embassy supported publication of an English translation of Edward Sakowski’s anti-war Wojna.com/War.com poems on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of World War II. Recent years also saw the launch of memoirs and poems by Polish authors, who came to New Zealand during World War II, such as My Colourful Life by Wanda Ellis, Głos Serca Na Drogach Życia by Malwina (Wisia) Schwieters and Chmielów: Our Paradise Lost by Czesia Panek.

Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński, authors and illustrators of HOUSE and DESIGN, and world-famous MAPS, published by Wellington’s Gecko Press, participated in the Writers Week at the New Zealand Festival in 2014.

To celebrate the Year of Henryk Sienkiewicz (2016), the Polish Embassy organised a drawing competition among children and youth from the Polish Schools in New Zealand, with a finale with prizegiving and reading of In Desert and Wilderness.

In March 2016, the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw organised a book launch promoting the newly released A True Story of the Great Escape by New Zealander Louise Williams. In May 2016 the Embassy supported a talented young New Zealand artist, Daniel Malone, who had an exhibition at Tarnów’s BWA Gallery titled All the time at work.

Ambassador of Poland Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Maggie Barry signing the Joint Statement on the PL-NZ Film Co-Production Agreement, Wellington, November 2015

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Logo of the Wellington Polish Film Festival 2016

Film Polish films of different genres are often screened in New Zealand as part of locally held festivals, both large and small. Titles such as Little Moscow, City of the Sea and an American movie based on the book by Sławomir Rawicz The Way Back have been screened around New Zealand.

In 2012, at the New Zealand International Arts Festival, Peter and the Wolf, produced by SEMAFOR (Łódź) was screened with a live accompaniment by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The well-respected and everpopular New Zealand International Film Festival in 2012 presented several Polish productions, including The Mill and the Cross, directed by Jerzy Majewski, In Darkness, by Agnieszka Holland (also screened as the opening film of the Seit 1945/Since 1945 Image, Memory and Testimony festival showing films on Holocaust and post-war history in the European cinema in October 2015), a short animation The Lumberjack by Paweł Dębski and a series of 3D animations by Platige Image, a leading Polish post-production studio. In 2014, NZIFF’s programme included the Polish documentary Everything is Possible, while in 2016 All These Sleepless Nights directed by Michał Marczak, The Innocents by Anne Fontaine and The Lure by Agnieszka Smoczyńska were also presented. The 2018 edition of the NZIFF featured the highly acclaimed Cold War by Paweł Pawlikowski, with the picture screened all around the country.

The Polish Embassy in Wellington also organises screenings of titles from Poland. In 2012, the Year of Janusz Korczak, a film directed by Andrzej Wajda Korczak was screened. In 2013, to commemorate the heroic actions of

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Irena Sendler, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler featuring New Zealand actress Anna Paquin was shown. In February 2015 a screening of a highly anticipated film by Paweł Pawlikowski Ida was held in Wellington, just a few weeks before it won an Academy Award for the best foreign language film.

New opportunities have been created for Poland – New Zealand cooperation in film by an intergovernmental agreement that was signed in Warsaw on 21 October 2015. The agreement standardises coproduction projects between filmmakers from Poland and New Zealand.

The first-ever Wellington Polish Film Festival was held in September/ October 2016 at the iconic Paramount Cinema. The idea behind the festival was to present a rich selection of Poland’s latest cinematographic productions, as well as classic artworks by well-known and respected Polish directors. The first edition was inaugurated with a reception and screening of 11 Minutes directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The festival’s programme, which was presented by Director Wanda Lepionka, included cutting edge, contemporary, award-winning works from renowned and up-andcoming Polish directors. There was a special focus on Krzysztof Kieślowski, whose 20th death anniversary was remembered that year. WPFF showed his Three Colours Trilogy: White, The Double Life of Veronique and some early documentaries.

Following the first successful edition, the 2017 WPFF screened new productions and Polish co-productions with the opening screening of Spoor directed by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik. Held in Miramar’s Roxy Cinema, the second edition of the festival was dedicated to Andrzej Wajda, one of Poland’s most outstanding artists in the history of the world cinema and an Oscar winner for lifetime achievement. WPFF presented Afterimage as well as a special screening of Man of Iron on 11 November, Poland’s Independence Day. The 2017 WPFF hosted guests from Poland: Kuba Czekaj, director of The Earlprince, Anna Kot of Munk Studio and Aneta Hickinbotham of Aurum Film (The Last Family), who took part in the film industry symposium. Among the main partners of the WPFF are the Polish Filmmakers Association, the Polish Film Institute, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and local institutions.

The New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw is keen to promote New Zealand’s cinematic achievements and supported a local distributor in organising

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consecutive premieres of The Hobbit film series. In 2016, the Embassy collaborated with the organisers of the Summer in Warsaw festival to bring to the big screen some of the most iconic New Zealand productions: The World’s Fastest Indian and Eagle vs Shark, during a series of open-air screenings.

Photography and Design The life and works of Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski were showcased in Dunedin (2008) and Wellington (2011) in the Twixt Land and Sea exhibition.

On the occasion of the Year of Czesław Miłosz (2011) a banner display Czesław Miłosz, The 100th Anniversary of his Birth was shown in Wellington and Auckland. In 2012 and 2013 abstract photo exhibitions of a young Polish artist Magdalena Podbielkowska Bisley were shown in Wellington.

The festival Celebrating Everything Polish was held at the Wellington Museum in 2014 as the launch of the 70th reunion of the Polish Children from Pahiatua. The launch included the photo exhibition From Poland to Pahiatua: New Zealand’s First Invited Refugees curated by Adam Manterys, a descendant of the Pahiatua Children. At the same time the New Zealand Embassy in Warsaw translated and showcased the exhibition. The resulting exhibition, titled Journey of Hope. The Polish Children of Pahiatua: 1944-2014 was inaugurated at the Polish Parliament on 21 October 2014. The opening was attended by the Marshal of the Sejm Radosław Sikorski and daughter of General Anders, Anna Maria Anders, as well as many parliamentarians and officials. The exhibition was later shown at Warsaw’s district of Ursynów, which a few years before had named one of its streets after New Zealand’s wartime Prime Minister, Peter Fraser. From May to June 2018 the same exhibition was launched in Miechów on Poland’s Consitution Day of 3 May as part of a programme of events developed to promote the Children’s plight and its happier outcome in New Zealand.

In September 2015, Polish fashion designer Ewelina Kosmal became the First Time Entrant Award winner of one of New Zealand’s most spectacular events – the World of Wearable Arts Awards Competition. From among 107 entries by 123 designers from New Zealand and abroad, the Polish designer won her prize for the nylon and pearl creation called Brave New World. Ewelina Kosmal personally attended the WOW awards ceremony in Wellington. At the Auckland University of Technology, she was a guest of Professor Andreas Mikellis, Head of the Department of Fashion and Textile

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Launch of Czesław Miłosz exhibition and trilingual edition; from left: Dr Marco Sonzogni VUW, Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska, Prof. Rob Rabel VUW, Prof Bill Manhire, November 2011

Opening of Paper Blaze exhibition by Magdalena Podbielkowska Bisley; Toi Poneke Gallery, Wellington, April 2013

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Nika Danielska’s Earnst Haeckel’s Bride project awarded at WOW in Wellington, September 2018

N Danielska being awarded at the WOW competition, Wellington, September 2018

Brave New World project by Ewelina Kosmal awarded the Best New Entrant prize at WOW competition, September 2015

E Kosmal as a guest of Prof A Mikellis at the AUT, Auckland, September 2015

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A title poster of the Polish Theatre Poster exhibition in Wellington in 2015 designed by Ryszard Kaja, one of Poland’s bestselling contemporary poster designers

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Selection of Polish theatre posters shown at the New Zealand Drama School, Wellington, October 2015

Design. She also met top designers and stylists from the Trelise Cooper Group, one of New Zealand’s leading fashion houses.

In 2018, yet another Polish designer Nika Danielska was among the winners of the World of Wearable Arts Awards Competition. Her garment Ernst Haeckel’s Bride was awarded in two sections: Supreme WOW Award Runner-up and Under the Microscope Section. Also in 2018, Artur Stec from the Cracow School of Arts and Fashion Design was among 44 international emerging designers finalists invited from around the world to the annual iD Dunedin Fashion Week.

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of Polish public theatre, a great selection of theatre posters made by some of the finest Polish artists was shown at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in Wellington in October 2015. The exhibited posters were created within the past three decades for more than 12 theatres across Poland, bringing together a wide array of well-known spectacles and their visual interpretation by leading Polish poster artists. Playwrights such as Shakespeare, Brecht, Strindberg, Marlowe and Gogol appeared alongside those of celebrated Polish authors, such as Słowacki, Fredro, Wyspiański, Gombrowicz, Mrożek, Witkiewicz and Różewicz. The posters belonged to the collection of Krzysztof Dydo, leading collector and authority of the genre. Present at the exhibition opening

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NeSpoon’s art at 97 Moray Place in Dunedin

Opening of the exhibition 1956 Poland - Hungary. History and Remembrance, Victoria University of Wellington, May 2017

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was Natalia Dydo, Krzysztof’s daughter. Since then, the Polish posters were also shown in Dunedin, Tauranga and Christchurch.

In February/March 2016, Elżbieta Dymna, aka NeSpoon, creator of a form of street art and hand-worked craft, was in New Zealand and left her artistic footprints in Auckland and Dunedin. Her works reflect the prints of traditional Polish handmade laces, made in clay or painted on walls.

NeSpoon was invited to New Zealand as one of the featuring artists of the White Night in Remuera project, a part of the Auckland Arts Festival. She painted lace patterns on a commercial building at 97 Moray Place, Dunedin and in Auckland’s Remuera commercial precinct.

In May 2017, a photo exhibition 1956: Poland – Hungary. History and Remembrance was opened jointly by the Ambassadors of Poland and Hungary. The exhibition was prepared by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the Hungarian National Remembrance Committee and the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw. The event also featured a seminar on historical events of 1956 in Poland and Hungary, presented by Dr Alexander Maxwell, Senior Lecturer of History at Victoria University. The exhibition aimed to recount the events of 1956 in both countries and to show the universal desire for freedom of people living in the Communist system.

Acknowledgment of Support In gratitude for their involvement in promoting Polish culture in New Zealand, numerous New Zealanders have been awarded with high Polish distinctions.

In 2011 Peter Walls, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Executive, was presented with the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. Peter Walls was involved in the promotion of Polish music across New Zealand, particularly during the Chopin Year. In 2013 the Polish Ambassador presented Jennifer Shennan, New Zealand dance teacher, journalist and author, who for years has supported Polish cultural events, with the Gloria Artis medal. In 2014 Dr Marco Sonzogni, an academic, writer and literary translator from Victoria University of Wellington, who for years have been representing the New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation and the School of Languages and Cultures, received the Badge of Honour for Merit to Polish Culture. Dr Sonzogni has been instrumental in one of the

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From left: Italian Ambassador Carmelo Barbarello, Dr Marco Sonzogni, Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and Prof Roberto Rabel, November 2014

Peter Walls with his family and Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska

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Polish Embassy’s most recurring projects of translation of Polish poems into English and Māori languages and then publishing them as special limited edition keepsakes. Marco Sonzogni is the author of This Way, a book based on Tadeusz Borowski’s This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Sport Sport is a common worldwide platform for creating a universal language between nations. Polish teams and individuals have represented their homeland in New Zealand on many occasions. In March 2011, at the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships in Wellington, a Polish team won a total of 29 medals. Sport journalists of TVP Sport followed the route of a Polish sailor Zbigniew Gutek Gutkowski on his journey around the world.

While in New Zealand, a Polish television crew interviewed the New Zealand Minister of Sport, Murray McCully ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, hosted by New Zealand. Since 2012, New Zealand has hosted the Speedway Grand Prix. Polish riders take part in this popular event, gaining top spots.

Polish representation at the 2011 ITF Taekwon-Do World Championship visit the Polish Embassy, March 2011

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In January 2013, Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwańska won the ASB Classic tournament in Auckland.

In January 2014, Michał Listkiewicz, a member of the FIFA Referees’ Committee, held a workshop with top New Zealand football referees in Auckland, met with Wynton Rufer, a now retired New Zealand footballer who played for German Werder Bremen. Polish sailors and other sportspeople take part in tournaments across New Zealand. In 2018, two Polish football players opened a new chapter when they started playing for the Wellington Phoenix team.

New Zealanders also participate in sport events organised in Poland. Nearly every year New Zealand representatives in canoeing and rowing take part in regattas.

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8 SPECIAL AND RECURRING EVENTS Polish Trails in New Zealand Trilingual Publications Polish Days

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Polish Trails in New Zealand Polish Trails in New Zealand is the name of the project commenced on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Polish – New Zealand diplomatic relations establishment, where a range of commemorative plaques were issued in memory of remarkable Polish people or groups of people significant in the history of bilateral ties, and then placed around New Zealand.

The first Polish point on the map of New Zealand was pinned in Christchurch, with the plaque dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz, a great Polish poet, author of the national epic poem Pan Tadeusz, being offered to the Peterborough Street Public Library at the newly opened Polish collections.

Among other trails are plaques dedicated to: Irena Sendler, a nurse and social worker who served in the Polish Underground and saved thousands of Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, placed at the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand in Wellington; Ignacy Jan Paderewski, prominent pianist and composer, politician, diplomat and statesman, one of the “Fathers of Poland’s Independence”, with a plaque located at the Whittaker’s Music Museum on Waiheke Island, where his piano is still in regular use; Maria Skłodowska-Curie, a great physicist and chemist, a pioneer of radioactivity and the very first woman to win a Nobel Prize in multiple sciences, whose plaque was unveiled at the Europe Institute, University of Auckland.

In 2014, a plaque dedicated to the great Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin was unveiled at the Baycourt Community and Arts Centre in Tauranga.

A plaque in memory of Pope St John Paul II was unveiled at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington on the day of his canonisation. Also in 2014, plaques dedicated to Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski, a Polish noble, writer and sailor, was unveiled at Toitu Otago Settlers Museum in Dunedin and to Lech Wałęsa, a co-founder and leader of Solidarity movement, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Poland (1990-95) at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

In November 2017, in the Pahiatua town centre, in the company of nearly 40 of the original Polish Children of Pahiatua, their families and friends as well as local authorities and school children, a plaque was unveiled in memory of the Polish and New Zealand governments and people, as well as General Władysław Anders, Prime Minister Peter Fraser and his wife Janet, Consul-General Kazimierz Wodzicki and his wife Maria, the people of

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Marshal of the Senate Bogdan Borusewicz viewing the exhibition The Polish Way to Freedom following the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to Lech Wałęsa, Christchurch, June 2014

Chairperson Peter Robertson and wife Marion, Lloyd and Joan Whittaker, the owners of the Whittaker’s Music Museum, Ambassador Beata Stoczyńska following the unveiling of the plaque dedicated to I Paderewski

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Saint John Paul II’s plaque being unveiled and blessed by the Archbishop of Wellington, John Dew and Archbishop Martin Krebs, Apostolic Nuncio, at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wellington, 27 April 2014

Plaque dedicated to the New Zealand government, Polish contributors as well as local Pahiatua citizens who helped the Polish children feel at home, Pahiatua, November 2017

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Unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the work of Jan and Jerzy Forsters, pioneering Polish scientists, Manapouri, December 2017

Unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the Polish Army League members, Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History in Palmerston North, May 2018

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Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square inauguration in Wellington, August 2018

Pahiatua, camp personnel, caregivers and all those who helped the Children find shelter in New Zealand during World War II. The ceremony marked 73 years since the Polish Children arrived in New Zealand.

In December 2017, the work of Polish-born pioneering scientists, Johann (Jan) and Georg (Jerzy) Forsters, was commemorated with a plaque unveiling at Pearl Harbour, Manapouri, in South Island. Early botanists, who accompanied Captain James Cook during his 1772 expedition, they discovered nearly 120 plants and 40 bird species in Dusky Sound, Fiordland, and Queen Charlotte Sound in the Marlborough Sounds. In May 2018, in Te Manawa Museum in Palmerston North, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski and CEO Andrew Lowe unveiled a commemorative plaque and opened an exhibition on the Polish Army League and the special bond of friendship between New Zealand and Poland.

Finally, in August 2018, the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, in the

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presence of Justin Lester, the Mayor of Wellington, and the original Pahiatua Children, inaugurated a new place on the map of Wellington, ‘Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square’ and unveiled a commemorative plaque in memory of the arrival of the group of 733 children and 105 of their caregivers upon the invitation of the New Zealand Government in 1944 (see more on page 75).

Trilingual Publications Thanks to continued cooperation with the New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation and the Wai-te-ata Press, both based at Victoria University of Wellington, limited edition keepsakes have been produced over the years, featuring Polish poems and their English and first-ever Māori language translations.

In 2011, as part of the Czesław Miłosz Year, the poem After (Po) was published as a part of a wider diplomatic edition. This special issue includes an English interpretation by the respected and award-winning New Zealand poet, Bill Manhire. In 2013, as part of the Polish Days in New Zealand, a similar trilingual edition of Zbigniew Herbert’s poem O Tłumaczeniu Wierszy was launched, following its translation by Robert Sullivan and Rapata Wiri.

This keepsake also includes an English version by Murray Edmond and Joan Forsberg.

In March 2015, to highlight International Women’s Day, Halina Poświatowska’s poem Jestem Julią was launched. This work has been translated into English by Loveday Kempthorne, into Māori by Dr Arini Loader, History Programme, Victoria University of Wellington, with a creative response by the Samoan writer Courtney Sina Meredith, and a New Zealand Sign Language version added.

To commemorate the 99th anniversary of Poland’s Independence in November 2017, and to honour the heritage of Pope St John Paul II, excerpts of his piece Myśląc Ojczyzna (Thinking My Country) were issued with original translation into English by Jerzy Peterkiewicz and for the first time into Māori by Dr Mike Ross of Victoria University of Wellington. The launch was organised by the Polish Embassy in Wellington at Saint Mary of the Angels church. It included addresses by parish priest Father Barry Scannell and Zdzisław Lepionka, one of the Polish Children of Pahiatua.

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Opening night of the Polish Days, from the left: W Wocław, M Sobula, Ambassador B Stoczyńska, Minister C Finlayson, B Borowicz, A Miernik-Sobula, Wellington, September 2013

Art workshop for children on the occasion of the Year of Tadeusz Kościuszko, Te Papa National Museum, Wellington, October 2017

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Polish Ambassador Z Gniatkowski and the Polish Community members gathered at the Polish Settlers Place in Christchurch, December 2017

Polish Days As part of the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Poland – New Zealand diplomatic relations in September 2013, Polish Days were organised under the joint patronage of the Polish Ambassador and the New Zealand Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage. Concerts were performed by Marian Sobula (piano), with compositions by Fryderyk Chopin, Ignacy Paderewski and Karol Szymanowski, Sound Art Duo (clarinet and piano) with works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Feliks Dobrzyński and Witold Lutosławski. A photo exhibition Distant by Perspective, presenting people and places photographed in Poland and New Zealand from a similar perspective by Krzysztof Pfeiffer and Artur Nosiadek, was displayed at Massey University. A trilingual limited edition of a poem by Zbigniew Herbert was also launched. The programme concluded with a concert of classical guitarist Marek Pasieczny.

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Throughout October/December 2017 a series of events under the umbrella of Polish Heritage Days were held in New Zealand, organised and partnered with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. Among them were commemorations of the 145th anniversary of the Polish Settlement in Canterbury; an art workshop for children celebrating the Year of Tadeusz Kościuszko; the Wellington Polish Film Festival; 73rd anniversary of the arrival of the Polish Children of Pahiatua with a plaque unveiling in Pahiatua; the launch of excerpts of Karol Wojtyła’s poem in Polish, English and Māori; an organ concert by Witold Zalewski; and a screening of Secret Sharer directed by Peter Fudakowski in Dunedin in commemoration of the Year of Joseph Conrad.

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9 CHRONICLE OF EVENTS AND DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIONS

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 26-29 March 1990

Minister of Foreign Affairs Mike Moore visits Poland

14-20 August 1990

Representatives and the Deputy Marshal of the Senate Teresa Dobielińska-Eliszewska visit New Zealand

17 November – 3 December 1990

Delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Economy led by Undersecretary Mieczysław Stelmach visit New Zealand

9-11 May 1991

Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits New Zealand

6-16 October 1992

Polish trade mission led by the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Economic Cooperation, Zbigniew W Okoński visits New Zealand

16-17 March 1993

Prime Minister Jim Bolger visits Poland

15-17 April 1998

House of Representatives delegation led by the Speaker, Douglas Lorimer Kidd visits Poland

March 2000

Bernard Błaszczyk, Secretary of State for Economy and Krzysztof Ners, Undersecretary of State for Finance visit New Zealand

25-29 June 2000

Pete Hodgson, Minister of Energy visits Poland

7-8 May 2002

Phil Goff, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Poland

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 24 August 2002

Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Richard Grant visits Poland

6-9 March 2003

WĹ‚odzimierz Cimoszewicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits New Zealand

May 2003

Jim Sutton, Trade Negotiations Minister visits Poland on a trade mission

23 October 2003

Trevor Mallard, Education Minister visits Poland

13-16 October 2004

Polish delegation led by Bogusław Zaleski, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs visits New Zealand

21-23 May 2005

Helen Clark, Prime Minister, visits Poland

4-6 July 2006

Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Poland

20-24 March 2007

Bogdan Borusewicz, Marshal of the Senate, Janusz Dobrosz, Deputy Marshal of the Sejm and representatives of the Polish Parliament visit New Zealand

20-23 April 2008

Margaret Wilson, Speaker of the House of Representatives and delegation visits Poland

11-12 December 2008

Tim Groser, Minister of Trade and Climate Change Issues, participates in the COP 14 in Poznan

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 30 August – 2 September 2009

Judith Collins, Minister of Police, Corrections and Veterans’ Affairs visits Poland

22-25 September 2009

Professor Adam Rotfeld, former Minister of Foreign Affairs visits New Zealand

June 2010

Simon Bridges, MP from New Zealand Parliament visits Poland

24 June 2010

Peter Hamilton, Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs visits Poland for political consultations

20 February – 6 March 2011

Róża Thun, Polish Member of the European Parliament visits New Zealand

3 October 2011

John McKinnon, Secretary of Defence visits Poland

26 March – 2 April 2012

Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former President of the Republic of Poland visits New Zealand

9 October 2012

Ian Hill, Divisional Manager Europe Division, MFAT visits Poland

9-15 January 2013

Chris Finlayson, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Attorney-General visits Poland

2-5 May 2013

Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits New Zealand

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 27-29 May 2013

Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Gerard van Bohemen visits Poland to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative Meeting

17-18 June 2013

Steven Joyce, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment visits Poland

15-19 July 2013

Tim Groser, Minister of Trade, Minister for Climate Change Issues visits Poland

19-22 November 2013

Tim Groser, Minister of Trade and Climate Change Issues, visits Poland for COP19 in Warsaw

20 March 2014

Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs visits Poland

15-18 April 2014

Marek Belka, President of the National Bank of Poland, visits New Zealand

21-26 June 2014

Bogdan Borusewicz, Marshal of the Senate and delegation visits New Zealand

24 October 2014

Bede Corry, Undersecretary of State, MFAT visits Poland

25 October – 3 November 2014

Maria Pańczyk-Pozdziej, Deputy Marshal of the Senate visits New Zealand

31 October – 3 November 2014

Jan S Ciechanowski, Head of The Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression visits New Zealand

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 31 October – 3 November 2014

Poland–New Zealand Parliamentary Friendship Group representatives visit New Zealand

27 January 2015

Chris Finlayson, Minister in Charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service and Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Attorney General, Annette King, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and Gael Keren representing the Jewish Community of New Zealand visit Poland

16-18 April 2015

David Carter, Speaker of New Zealand Parliament visits Poland

17-20 April 2015

GreenEvo trade mission with 15 Polish companies from the green technology sector and Ministry of Environment visit New Zealand

June 2015

Nathan Guy, Minister for Primary Industries visits Poland

26-28 June 2016

Polish meat producers, Union of Producers and Employers of Meat Industry and market experts visit New Zealand on a trade mission

16-17 November 2016

Michał Kołodziejski, Director of AsiaPacific Department and Mateusz Stąsiek, Director of Department for Cooperation with Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, MFA visit New Zealand

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CHRONICLE OF EVENTS 24 November 2016

Zbigniew Czech, Director of Department of United Nations and Human Rights, MFA visits New Zealand

1-2 December 2016

Todd McClay, Minister of Trade visits Poland

20 December 2016

Jeff Langley, Deputy Secretary for Foreign Affairs, MFAT visits Poland

February & October 2017

Mike Petersen, New Zealand Special Agriculture Trade Envoy visits Poland

4-8 October 2017

Maria Koc, Deputy Marshal of the Senate visits New Zealand

5-6 December 2017

Krzysztof Szczerski, Secretary of State and the Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland visits New Zealand

19 April 2018

Jeff Langley, Deputy Secretary for Foreign Affairs, MFAT visits Poland

22-23 August 2018

President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda visit New Zealand

8 November 2018

Rob Taylor, Divisional Manager, Europe Division, MFAT visits Poland

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DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION Polish Heads of Mission to NZ Name

Rank

Date of Appointment

Jerzy Bogdanowicz

Chargé d’affaires

18 July 1973

Eugeniusz Wiśniewski

Ambassador

26 April 1974

Edmund Młynarz

Chargé d’affaires

11 August 1976

Ryszard Frąckiewicz

Ambassador

13 December 1978

Jan Kościński

Chargé d’affaires

December 1980

Ireneusz Kossakowski

Ambassador

13 June 1984

Stanisław Amanowicz

Chargé d’affaires Commercial counsellor

12 June 1991

Agnieszka Morawińska

Ambassador

16 December 1993

Tadeusz Szumowski

Ambassador

14 December 1998

Andrzej Sołtysiński

Chargé d’affaires

1 December 1999

Jerzy Więcław

Ambassador

27 March 2003

Lech Mastalerz

Ambassador

8 December 2004

Beata Stoczyńska

Ambassador

25 February 2010

Zbigniew Gniatkowski

Ambassador

17 September 2014

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DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION NZ Heads of Mission to Poland Name

Rank

Date of Appointment

Balfour Douglas Zohrab

Ambassador

4 October 1973

Basil Franklin Bolt

Ambassador

7 March 1975

Francis Anthony Small

Ambassador

15 June 1978

Neville Hugo Sale Judd

Ambassador

13 July 1982

Donald James Walker

Ambassador

19 December 1985

Barry Hewitt Brookes

Ambassador

17 July 1990

Richard Sturge Grant

Ambassador

25 March 1992

Gerard Francis Thompson

Ambassador

12 February 1994

Winston Alexander Cochrane

Ambassador

20 August 1998

Peter William Hamilton

Ambassador

14 February 2003

Philip Wallace Griffiths

Ambassador

13 December 2004

Penelope Jane Ridings

Ambassador

26 June 2008

Wendy Hinton

Ambassador

19 June 2013

Mary Thurston

Ambassador

13 September 2017

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10 POLISH DIASPORA Polish Community in New Zealand Organised Community Selected Literature on the Polish Diaspora in New Zealand

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Polish Community in New Zealand The settlement of Poles in New Zealand began in the 1840s, with more Polish families arriving in the 1870s, mainly from the Pomerania region, under Prussian (Germany) domination. Those Poles were able to take advantage of New Zealand Prime Minister Julius Vogel’s offer of assisted passages, to encourage agricultural labourers and others to come to New Zealand.

As a result, small Polish settlements developed predominantly in the South Island at Marshlands near Christchurch, Waihola, Otago as well as in the North Island around Inglewood and Midhurst. Many of these early pioneers worked in building New Zealand’s basic infrastructure, clearing bush, draining swamps and putting railway tracks. Ultimately acquiring their own land, they turned to farming.

The next group came to New Zealand as wartime migrants, refugees and displaced persons. The majority of those who immigrated in the 1920s and 1930s were Polish Jews. In 1944, a group of 733 Polish children, mostly orphans and half-orphans with their adult caregivers, was invited by the New Zealand Government. The group of post-war immigrants also included 200 ex-servicemen, mostly men, fathers and relatives of the Pahiatua Children, who fought with the western Allies until the end of the war. There were also more than 700 displaced persons, who had spent the war years in concentration, prisoner-of-war and forced-labour camps in Germany.

After the war, when Poland was under Soviet influence, small groups of Poles and individuals came to New Zealand to be reunited with their families. The most significant group of post-war immigrants, however, was a group of nearly 300 citizens of the Polish People’s Republic who left their country as a result of a political and economic crisis. This group came as refugees from transit camps in Italy and Austria to New Zealand, after the Communist regime imposed the martial law in response to the rise of Solidarity movement.

The latest emigration from Poland to New Zealand is occurring today.

These are mainly young professionals and families, who move for economic and personal reasons. They are immigrants by choice, often looking for a different lifestyle. Poles come to New Zealand to work on contracts (IT specialists, veterinarians, physicians). A number of them lost their jobs in Europe because of the economic crisis.

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Polish Pahiatua Children with the Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis and Wendy Hinton, former New Zealand Ambassador in Warsaw at the plaque unveiling, Pahiatua, November 2017

Commemorative plaque dedicated to the first Polish settlers in Marshlands unveiled in October 2017

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Wellington, August 2018

Polish School camp at Waikanae, February 2018

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According to unofficial estimates, the Polish community in New Zealand counts up to 7,000 people. The largest populations of Polish descent are located in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Organised Community The Polish Association in New Zealand was formed in Wellington on 1 March 1948, with almost 300 members. Its establishment was a response to a general need among the Poles who had found themselves in a new country far away from home. Many of them had been through the war, lost their loved ones and therefore often needed moral support, comfort or companionship.

The Polish Association was registered by New Zealand authorities in 1951.

That same year the association bought its first Dom Polski (Polish House).

In 1965, new facilities were opened at the current location at 257 Riddiford Street in Newtown.

The Auckland branch of the Polish Association in New Zealand with headquarters in Wellington operated through the 1950s. In 1959 a separate organisation was established under the name of the Polish Association in Auckland, and as such was officially registered in March 1960. In 1963 it purchased a large wooden block of flats at 1 McDonald Street in the Morningside area. Eventually a new Polish House was built in 1976 on the site of an old wooden villa and serves the association to this day.

The Polish Association in Christchurch has existed since the early 1950s. It was formally registered in New Zealand as an Incorporated Society in July 2001. Over the years, Poles from other regions formed associations, trusts and less-formal groups around New Zealand. Besides Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, Polish organisations operate in Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin. The Polish Genealogical Society of New Zealand, based in New Plymouth, focuses on family history research. Regional Polish organisations are part of the Federation of the Polish Organisations in New Zealand, formed in 2013.

Following the celebrations in 2017 of 145 years of Polish Settlement in Canterbury and New Zealand, a new Charitable Trust was established in 2018. Between the Waters – Polish Legacy in New Zealand, based in Christchurch, aims to bring awareness, encourage individuals and communities in New Zealand and Australia to get involved in relation to heritage matters.

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Meeting of the Polish President with the Community hosted in the Dom Polski in Auckland, August 2018

Artur Dutkiewicz (right), Polish Ambassador (centre), Polish Consul (far right) and the Polish Community members during Poland’s National Day, Wellington, May 2016

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Wincentyna Watkins meeting Pope John Paul II at the Government House in Wellington, November 1986

The Polish Church, to which a majority of Poles belong to, has always been a vital part of Polish identity, culture and traditions. The Primate of Poland, Cardinal August Hlond, understanding the need of Polish emigrants, in 1932 established a new religious order dedicated to ministry among Poles living abroad. It is called the Society of Christ for Polish Emigrants. Though there is no exclusively Polish parish, currently two priests from the Society of Christ work in Wellington and Auckland. Polish Catholics meet on Sundays at St Joachim’s Church in Berhampore in Wellington and St Martin de Porres in Avalon, Lower Hutt, as well as at St Bernadette’s Parish in Auckland. The visit of the Polish Pope John Paul II to New Zealand in 1986 was of great importance to the community.

In 1952 a Polish Ex-Servicemen’s Association (SPK) was established in New Zealand following the world-wide trend initiated by General Władysław Anders in England. It comprised Poles who came to New Zealand to join their families, in most cases children, who lived in the Pahiatua camp. The main objective of the SPK was to organise opposition to the communist regime forced on Poland. Over the years the SPK played an important role as guardian of the historical truth. In 1977, at St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington, the organisation was instrumental in installing a commemorative plaque dedicated to the Katyń Massacre. The plaque was 45 Years of Diplomatic Relations I Poland and New Zealand

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Opening of the Celebrating Everything Polish Festival, from left: Wellington Mayor Celia WadeBrown, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Minister Chris Finlayson, Tereska Lepionka-Carroll, Festival Director, Wellington, October 2014

rededicated in 2017. Today their goal is to honour and remember those who fought for Poland’s independence in World War II, promote understanding and friendship between Poland and New Zealand and help Polish invalids, widows and orphans.

The Polish Parents’ Committee was formed in Wellington in May 1953, giving rise to the country’s Polish School for children. After the closing of the camp in Pahiatua, there was a need to continue to teach Polish culture and traditions, language and history. To this day, Polish School weekend classes are run in Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch. In 2018 the Wellington Polish School celebrated its 65th anniversary, which was also a celebration of 65 years of Polish Schooling in the country. The event included a book launch of Polish Schools in New Zealand by Adam Manterys, which documented the history of Polish education in New Zealand since the first school was established in the Polish Children’s Camp in Pahiatua in 1944.

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Polish President and the First Lady with the recipients of the state decorations (from right) Zdzisław Lepionka, Krystyna Tomaszyk and Józef Zawada, Wellington, August 2018

Polish Ambassador Z Gniatkowski (centre) and Honorary Consul W Dormer (left) attending the meeting of the Federation of the Polish Organisations in New Zealand, November 2015

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President of the Polish Ex-Servicemen Association in New Zealand, Marian Ceregra, presented the President with the Polish flag from Monte Cassino battle, where Polish and New Zealand troops fought as brothers in arms. The pennant was brought to New Zealand by AE Curry, a member of the divisional postal unit attached to the 5th Army. He gifted the flag to the Polish SPK in 1969. The flag is to be displayed in the Belweder Palace in Warsaw. Wellington, August 2018

Katyń memorial plaque being blessed and rededicated 40 years after it was originally installed and unveiled thanks to the Polish Community in New Zealand, St Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington, August 2017

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The First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda meeting with teachers from Polish schools in New Zealand, Polish Heritage Trust Museum, Auckland, August 2018

Polish Consul A Kacperska, pianist A Dutkiewicz and A Gołębicka-Buchanan of the Polish Embassy in Wellington, May 2016

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Performance of Polish traditional dances during the 70th Reunion of the Polish Children of Pahiatua, Wellington, November 2014

Celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Polish children to New Zealand, Wellington, November 2014

The Lublin Song and Dance Ensemble was established in 1981 by Jacek Śliwiński and his wife Anna, both professional dancers. In its first seven years Lublin performed 135 times. Today’s goal of the Lublin Dance Company is to demonstrate Polish folk dances and songs to the Polish and the wider community in New Zealand and to enable people to get together to learn and perform Polish dances.

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Similar aims were behind the establishment of the Polonus Polish Folk Dance Group in Christchurch in March 2014. The Orlęta Polish Dance Group is an ensemble of young people aged 3-16, founded in Lower Hutt in 1994 by Ela Rombel and a committee of Polish School parents. The aim of the Orlęta is to introduce young people to the music, traditions and folkloric dances of Poland and to promote among young Polish New Zealanders a sense of identification with their Polish heritage.

Selected Literature on the Polish Diaspora in New Zealand Socio-Political Characteristics of Polish Post World War II Immigrants and their Assimilation to NZ, TM Krystman-Ostrowska, Department of Sociology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 1957.

The Invited, The Story of 733 Polish Children, Who Grew Up In New Zealand, Krystyna Skwarko, Millwood Press, Wellington, New Zealand, 1974.

Polish settlers in Taranaki 1876-1976, Jerzy Włodzimierz Pobóg-Jaworowski, Wellington, New Zealand 1976.

The Poles, Stewart Steven, Collins-Harvill, London, England, 1982.

Isfahan – City of Polish Children, Association of Former Pupils of Polish Schools, Isfahan and Lebanon, Sussex, England, 1989.

History of the Polish settlers in New Zealand 1776-1987, Jerzy Włodzimierz PobógJaworowski, CHZ ArsPolona, Warsaw, Poland, 1990 A Bouquet of Thoughts and Reminiscences, The Polish Women’s League, Wellington, New Zealand, 1991.

An Unforgettable Journey, Maria van der Linden, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 1992.

Journey Without a Ticket, Zdzisława Krystyna Kawecka, Nottingham, England, 1994.

Exiled Children, Exiles Photographic Archives Foundation, Warsaw, Poland, 1995.

Orphans of the Empire, The Shocking Story of Child Migration to Australia, Alan Gill, Random House Australia, NSW, Australia, 1998.

Stalin’s Ethnic Cleansing In Eastern Poland, Tales of the Deported, 1940-1946, Association of Families of the Borderland Settlers, London, England, 2000.

Stolen Childhood: A Saga of Polish War Children, Łucjan Królikowski, Authors Choice Press, Buffalo, New York, USA, 2001.

New Zealand’s First Refugees – Pahiatua’s Polish Children, written and published

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by The Polish Children’s Reunion Committee, 1st edition Wellington 2004 (1st revised edition 2004, 3rd edition 2013, 4th edition 2016).

Dwie ojczyzny: Polskie Dzieci w Nowej Zelandii: Tułacze wspomnienia, 1st edition Poland, Oficyna Wydawnicza Rytm 2006; 2nd edition Poland, Muzeum Emigracji w Gdyni 2016.

A Strange Outcome – The Remarkable Survival Story of a Polish Child, John RoyWojciechowski and Allan Parker, Penguin Books, Auckland, New Zealand, 2004, Polski Nowozelandczyk – Nadzwyczajna Historia Życia Dziecka z Polesia, Wydawnictwo Naukowe Gabriel Borowski, Lublin, Poland, 2006.

Essence, Krystine Tomaszyk, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 2004.

Polish Kiwis, Pictures from an Exhibition, Alina Suchanski, Christchurch, 2006.

Polacy w Nowej Zelandii, Marian Kałuski, Oficyna Wydawnicza Kucharski, Poland, 2006.

Stefania’s dancing slippers, Jennifer Beck (Text), Lindy Fisher (Illustrations), Scholastic, New Zealand, 2007.

Polskie Osadnictwo w Nowej Zelandii 1872-1983, Leszek Wątróbski, Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Katedra Badan nad Konfliktami i Pokojem, Szczecin, Poland, 2011.

A New Tomorrow. The story of a Polish – Kiwi family, Witold (Vic) Domanski, Tararua Publishing, Masterton, 2011.

Kapłańska Odyseja ks. Michała Wilniewczyca – Sybiraka, kapelana Armii Gen. Andersa, opiekuna duchowego polskich sierot w Persji i Nowej Zelandii, Dr Andrzej Chibowski, Drukarnia Apostolicum, Ząbki, Poland, 2012.

A Priest’s Odyssey, Dr Andrzej Chibowski, Future Publishing, New Zealand, 2013.

Alone, An Inspiring Story of Survival and Determination, Alina Suchanski, Christchurch, 2013.

A Winter’s Day in 1939, Melinda Szymanik, Scholastic, New Zealand, 2013.

Migracje Polaków – przeszłość i teraźniejszość: zagadnienia teoretyczne oraz diaspora polska w Hiszpanii, Chorwacji, Francji, na Węgrzech, w Palestynie i Nowej Zelandii, Jacek Leoński, Leszek Wątróbski, Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Przedsiębiorstwo Produkcyjno – Handlowe ZAPOL, Dmochowski, Sobczyk, Szczecin, Poland, 2013.

Give us a day: a memoir of family and exile, Helena Wiśniewska Brow, 1010 Printing International, China, 2014.

Polish Schools in New Zealand, Adam Manterys, Future Publishing, New Zealand, 2018.

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11 SELECTED POLISH PLACES IN NEW ZEALAND NEW ZEALAND PLACES IN POLAND

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Grave of the late Consul-General Kazimierz Wodzicki and his wife Maria at Karori Cemetery, Wellington

Katyń plaque at the St Mary of the Angels Church, Wellington

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Exhibition dedicated to the Polish Children of Pahiatua at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington

Plaque commemorating the 60th anniversary of the arrival of the Polish Children to New Zealand at Wellington Harbour. The plaque was founded by the Polish Honorary Consul John RoyWojciechowski and his wife Valerie and unveiled by the Mayor of Wellington Kerry Prendergast on 25 October 2004

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Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square, near Basin Reserve in Wellington

Commemorative plaque at the Polish Children – Polskie Dzieci Square unveiled by the Polish President Andrzej Duda, Wellington

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Catholic Church of St Joachim in Berhampore, Wellington, where Polish mass is held on Sundays

Dom Polski, Riddiford Street, Wellington

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Pahiatua Children’s Memorial in Pahiatua, located near the former camp

The Polish Room at the newly restored Pahiatua Museum, Pahiatua

Restaurant “Topor” offering Polish cuisine, Plimmerton

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Katyń plaque at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland

Pope St John Paul II’s statue and the Black Madonna of Częstochowa icon at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland

Memorial dedicated to the first Polish settlers, Inglewood, Taranaki

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Polish Heritage Museum in Howick, Auckland

Dom Polski, McDonald Street, Auckland

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Plaque dedicated to the first Polish settlers by the Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust, Dunedin

Polish Church of Mary Queen of Peace in Broad Bay, Otago

Bell from the Church of Mary Queen of Peace built by the Polish settlers

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Commemorative plaque dedicated to the first climber of the highest peak on Earth, Sir Edmund Hillary, unveiled the day before the 60th anniversary of his reaching the Mount Everest summit. The famous New Zealand mountaineer was a guest of Poland in 2004. In the mountain hut at Morskie Oko, Sir Hillary was officially appointed a Highlander (gรณral), May 2013

Rakowicki Cemetery, Krakรณw

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Street named after New Zealand Prime Minister Peter Fraser, Warsaw, Poland

Pahiatua Square in Lublin named after the group of 733 Polish Children of Pahiatua

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12 POLAND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC

New Relations in the Pacific Region Republic of Kiribati Independent State of Samoa Kingdom of Tonga Tuvalu Cooperation and Development Aid

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New Relations in the Pacific Region In 2015/16, Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski visited four Pacific island states as a special envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. He met with the president of Kiribati and prime ministers of Tonga, Samoa and Tuvalu.

In 2017, Ambassador Gniatkowski, as the first Ambassador of the Republic of Poland, presented the Letters of Credence in Tuvalu, Republic of Kiribati, Independent State of Samoa and Kingdom of Tonga. Poland is therefore officially represented in those countries by the Polish Ambassador residing in Wellington.

Republic of Kiribati Kiribati is a sovereign state in Micronesia in the central Pacific Ocean. The population is just over 114,000 people, with more than half living on Tarawa Atoll. The country comprises 32 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island. The total land area is 811 square kilometres. Kiribati became

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski presenting the Letters of Credence to the President of the Republic of Kiribati Taneti Maamau, March 2017

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Kiribati dancers’ performance

Kiribati pilgrims who took part in the World Youth Day in KrakĂłw 2016

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Primary school in Poland village, Kiritimati, Kiribati

independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. It has been a full member of the United Nations since 1999.

One of the four villages on Kiritimati Island (Christmas Island) is called Poland. It is believed that the name comes after the Polish explorer and engineer Stanisław Pełczyński, who about 100 years ago aided the villagers in solving the problem of watering palm trees in the dry season by suggesting a modified irrigation system. A local church and bay in the lagoon are named after Saint Stanislaus.

26 pilgrims from Kiribati travelled to Poland in 2016 to participate in the World Youth Day in Kraków. They were accompanied by Przemysław, a Polish seminarian from Boston, who at the time was a missionary in Kiribati.

Independent State of Samoa Samoa (until 1997 known as Western Samoa) is a parliamentary democracy in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. With a population of over 195,000 people and a total land area of 2,831 square kilometres, the country consists of two large islands of Upolu and Savai’i and eight small islets. The country achieved independence from New Zealand on 1 January 1962. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1976.

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Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski presenting the Letters of Credence to the Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Tuaefu, July 2017

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski meeting with Tuilaepa Malielegaoi, Samoan Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Apia, August 2016

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Saint Faustyna Kowalska is worshipped by Samoan Catholics

In June 2017, the Parliament of Samoa established an amendment to the Samoan Constitution, thereby making Christianity a state religion. Saint Faustyna Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament, a Polish nun and mystic, is uniquely worshipped by Samoan Roman Catholics.

Kingdom of Tonga Tonga is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The total land area is 747 square kilometres. It has a population of 106,000 people, of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu. The country never relinquished its sovereignty to any foreign power and is the only monarchy in the South Pacific. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive path towards becoming a constitutional monarchy. It has been a member of the United Nations since 1999.

Tonga became known in the West as the “friendly islands� during Captain

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Polish Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski at the presentation of the Letters of Credence to His Majesty King Tupou VI at the Royal Palace in Nuku’alofa, November 2017

Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga ‘Akilisi Pohiva, November 2015

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James Cook’s first visit in 1773. Together with Captain Cook came the first known Polish traces on Tongan archipelago. They were of Johann (Jan) and Georg (Jerzy) Forsters – father and son pioneering Polish-born botanical scientists who accompanied the British explorer on board of HMS Resolution on his second southern expedition. They returned to Tonga in 1774.

In 1939, after the German invasion of Poland, the Kingdom of Tonga was among the first to declare war against Germany. Subsequently, in a public fundraiser, the people of Tonga funded two Spitfire fighter aircrafts to support the fight of the Royal Air Force. The Kingdom was ruled at that time

by Queen Sālote Tupou III. More recently, Tongan soldiers fought alongside Polish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tuvalu Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation in the Pacific Ocean comprising three reef islands and six atolls. Tuvalu’s population is 11,000 people and the land area 26 square kilometres. Tuvalu became fully independent in 1978 and since 2000 has been a member of the United Nations.

In 2017, a Polish engineer, Dr Piotr Grzybowski of the Warsaw University of Technology, who was at the time a visitor at the Knowledge Engineering & Discovery Research Institute at the Auckland University of Technology, accompanied the Polish Ambassador in a technical mission to Tuvalu. Dr Grzybowski’s goal was to assess the current situation and further needs in waste management, sanitation and water management in Tuvalu.

Country

Date of establishment of diplomatic relations

Date of presentation of Letters of Credence

Kiribati

2 March 2015

27 March 2017

Samoa

8 March 2012

18 July 2017

Tonga

29 August 2016

4 November 2017

Tuvalu

4 May 2015

1 February 2017

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Ambassador Zbigniew Gniatkowski presenting the Letters of Credence to the Governor-General of Tuvalu Sir Iakoba Taeia Italeli, February 2017

Ambassador Z Gniatkowski visits a local school in Funafuti, Tuvalu, February 2017

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Technical mission with Dr Piotr Grzybowski to assess the situation in waste management, Tuvalu, February 2017

Cooperation and Development Aid The Pacific island states are particularly exposed to the negative effects of climate change. The European Union, together with New Zealand and Australia, are the most significant partners in the Pacific region. The EU implements development projects, including in the field of renewable energy, drinking water sourcing and sanitary installations.

Poland’s involvement is also on the rise. Similarly to November 2013, when Poland hosted COP19 , in December 2018 it is organising the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP24.

By 2020, under the European Development Fund EDF11, Poland will have supported the South Pacific island countries to the amount of over PLN 50 million (EUR 12.3 million). Almost PLN 20 million will support the projects implemented in Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu.

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The 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand is a good opportunity to reflect on the relationship between the two countries. Our nations, however, have ties that have lasted for nearly 150 years.

This publication describes the beginnings of the Polish presence in Aotearoa/New Zealand and outlines common experience during World War II. It is also a chronicle of our latest activities and achievements – it presents an overview of visits, trade statistics, commemorations and cultural events organised over the past years.

Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Wellington