How Polish children integrated into New Zealand life from Pahiatua camp

David, who lives in Pahiatua, says they asked his father if he had any vacancies on the farm.

They were taken on for six months and John was pleased with the efforts of the young men, who David said were confident and eager to adapt to the New Zealand way of life.

Before coming to New Zealand, they told horrific stories of their experiences, such as being transported on cattle trucks.

When one of the children fell ill, most likely with dysentery, they were thrown out of the truck into the snow and left there.

“They had to be tough to survive,” says David.

While at the Pahiatua camp, the young villagers hid their food – it is assumed that they were never sure what they would get next, so they kept some of it just in case.

Among the young people who came to work on the collective farm, David says, was Bolek (Boris) Zygadlo, an outstanding athlete who could flip a cart up to 50 meters and run across a collected haystack.

Boris went to St Patrick’s College, Silverstream and was selected for the college’s 1st XV rugby.

Stanislaw (Stan) Kundyski was introduced to the manager of the Bank of New Zealand Pahiatua and continued his career with the bank before retiring to Nelson.

David says he has fond memories of playing tennis against Joe Kosera, who was “mostly kind” with his answers.

“However, if I managed to defeat him with a good blow, he was known to shout a warning of ‘no mercy’ and fire off an explosive shot.”

David, who attended college in Silverstream, often saw Joe, who worked as a controller on Wellington trams.

David has also written about some of the kids’ introductions to rugby.

“The Polish children were lucky to have their introduction to rugby under the supervision of two very experienced players from the provinces who were teachers at the camp,” he writes.

“Frank Muller, a fast forward, played for both Wellington and Wellington B for a number of years, and represented Bush and Wairarapa-Bush in the game against Wellington, which was also an All Blacks test.

“Andy Nola, halfback, represented Marlborough in 1944, was selected by Bush and played in the All Blacks trial game against Wellington and later played for Hawke’s Bay.

“Both coaches said the Polish boys took to rugby like a duck takes to water, and when they first appeared on the big stage at the annual seven-on-seven King’s Birthday tournament in Pahiatua, they duly performed in the big divisions.

“Both finals were against Hamua-Newman combined. The Polish seniors won comfortably, but the midget match ended 3-3 in normal time, followed by two scoreless overtime periods, and in the next overtime the team was the first to force a turnover at 25. The Polish team won.

“Two weeks later, a rematch was arranged to raise the curtain on Konini’s senior game. The locals strengthened their team by adding John Webb, a standout athlete from Kakariki School (near Hamua). Result: 6-6.”