Poland in New Zealand

Apart from Malwina's family and friends, the funeral was attended by the Polish Ambassador to New Zealand, Grzegorz Kowal. Also present were numerous members of the Polish Association in Auckland, headed by the President, Dariusz Koper, and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Auckland, Bogusław Nowak.

In his eulogy, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland briefly presented the biography of Mrs Schwieters with an emphasis on her activities within the Polish diaspora. He also mentioned the moment of meeting Wisia in person: I had an opportunity and privilege to meet Wisia Schwieters in person in November 2020 during my first visit in Auckland. We were sitting next to each other during a ceremony of awarding Polish state distinctions. She was one of those people  whose meeting leaves an ever lasting impression on you. Although story of her life overwhelms us with events she encountered, what struck me the most was her kindness and warmth. We were talking to each other as we have known one another  for many years. I know that most of you knew her longer and better, and I can only envy that, but what I am grateful for is that she gave me a brief insight into her life, as I was one of her close friends.

Ambassador G. Kowal also read out a letter of condolence sent from Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk upon the passing of Mrs Schwieters.

Malwina Schwieters, née Rubisz, was born on February 15, 1931 in Sokołów, Rzeszów County (Lviv Province) and died in Auckland on February 6, 2022. She arrived in New Zealand in November 1944 with a group of the Polish Children of Pahiatua. Here she received all her education, including university degree. She was one of the co-founders of the Polish Association in Auckland. From the beginning of the Association's activities, her domain was to maintain and strengthen its Polish character - she organised meetings and events to commemorate important national anniversaries; she prepared and edited lectures, historical materials, and organised exhibitions. Due to this activity, in the Polish community in Auckland she was called the "guardian of national memory". A separate field of her activity was keeping the memory of the Katyn Massacre. She made a pilgrimage to Katyn, and brought a handful of soil sanctified by the blood of the murdered. Today it is kept at the worthy place, along with a plaque commemorating the victims of Katyn (she was the co-originator of this plaque) in the Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick in Auckland. Mrs Schwieters created the Polish library, collecting about 1000 issues on history, including the history of World War II, belles-lettres, as well as materials and archives documenting the life and activity of the Polish community in New Zealand. From the very beginning, she was involved in organising aid for "Solidarity" movement in Poland, which was particularly significant during the martial law period. She actively participated in organising aid for the interned Solidarity activists and their families, as well as money collections, also among native New Zealanders. In recent years, despite her advanced age, Mrs Schwieters was still very active in the Polish community. In 2016 she published a collection of poems "Voice of the Heart on the Paths of Life". In March 2017, by the decision of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, she was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

More detailed biography of Malwina Schwieters can be found on the website of the Polish Association in Auckland: https://poloniaauckland.co.nz/malwina-zofia-wisia-schwieters/