We are Ōtepoti Dunedin
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The Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust (POHOS)
Who are we (e.g.What’s our Kaupapa and what do we do):
POHOS was formed by the descendants of Polish Settlers into NZ (the first substantial, in numbers, group arrived on “Palmerston” into Port Chalmers, Dunedin in 1872), descendants of 1st & 2nd World War refugees, Polish born emigrants arriving in NZ in 1970th and 1980th and Polish born young generation of people working and/or studying in Dunedin and Otago Region.
The Trust was registered 16/11/1998
Our Trust was formed with the following objectives in mind:
- To undertake a programme of cultural and historical education with the broader community and to provide educational resources on the cultural and spiritual issues related to Polish heritage in New Zealand.
- To develop and provide educational resources about Polish history and culture and make them available to the broader community in New Zealand.
- To enrich New Zealand society by promoting cultural and spiritual awareness of Polish heritage in New Zealand
- To support the maintenance of historical properties of Polish heritage in New Zealand for the benefit of New Zealand.
- To support Polish cultural, educational and historical research and publication in New Zealand or Poland.
- To co-operate with and support other historic organizations and ethnic communities in New Zealand.
- To co-operate with and support other Polish organizations and communities in New Zealand.
- To encourage and support cultural, educational and economic links and exchanges between Poland and New Zealand.
- To encourage involvement of the broader community in the activities of the Trust.
What Dunedin means to us:
Dunedin is our home and to some of us has been a home to several generations of our ancestors.
POHOS celebrated 120 years of the Historic Polish Church build, in Waihola in 1899.
The Church, originally named after St Hyacinth was consecrated on April16,1899. The original parishioners and builders of the church were Polish settlers. It was moved from Waihola to its present location in Broad Bay on the Otago Peninsula after a decision from the Catholic diocese, and renamed Mary Queen of Peace Church in 1948.
Easter Mass was followed not only by a traditional tea with Polish Easter “Mazurki”, but also an opportunity to celebrate with an appropriate cake that Trust would never miss.