Poland in New Zealand

Last year saw the commemoration of the arrival 80 years ago of 733 Polish children and their mainly female caregivers, forcefully deported from Eastern Poland to Siberia during World War II, who were invited by the New Zealand government to stay in Pahīatua. Many of these children, most of them war orphans, remained in New Zealand when they could not return to Poland.

In recognition of the hospitality and generosity of the people of New Zealand and in honour of this Polish group, a new scholarship has been generously established by Nina Tomaszyk, President of the Auckland Polish Association, with Kate Edger Foundation, a charitable trust named after Kate Edger, the first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree in 1877.

Ms Tomaszyk, who is granddaughter of Krystyna Skwarko, one of the Polish caregivers of Pahīatua (>> read her story), but also General Manager of Kate Edger Foundation, decided a scholarship was one of the ways to commemorate the arrival of the Polish group in New Zealand in 1944.

The scholarship is intended to assist a female student currently in Year 12 or 13, who will be enrolling full-time for a degree or diploma at an approved tertiary institute in the Auckland or Northland region in 2026. The payment of $2,000 is available to contribute towards the payment of fees or living costs associated with tertiary study.

Applications will close on 18 October 2025.

For more information and application form, please visit The Kate Edger Foundation website.

 

Donations towards this scholarship are most appreciated.