Poland in New Zealand

This year, the event was organized in the CUE Heaven nature reserve, managed by Thomas Stazyk, a descendant of Polish migrants. The event, apart from the Polish Ambassador to New Zealand, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand (MFAT), the corps of honorary consuls in Auckland, leaders of Polish organizations from all over New Zealand, Pahiatua Children with their families, and representatives and management of the Rodney District Board, NZ Institute of International Affairs, World Affairs Forum, NZ Europe Business Council and Polish Heritage Museum Trust. Representatives of Ukrainian organizations in New Zealand were also invited to join the celebrations.

During the celebration, there was a tree planting ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and New Zealand. As emphasized by the MFAT representative, Liam Finnigan, the tree not only indicates the existing excellent relations between the two countries, but also symbolizes a bright future. In his speech the ambassador Kowal emphasized the strength of historical relations between the two countries based, among others, on the joint fight during World War II and the impact of the heritage of Pahiatua Children on the history of bilateral relations between Poland and New Zealand.