Poles-A-Part - Banner

Making a new home

In the post Second World War era, Australia offered a new beginning to many Polish ex-servicemen, prisoners of war and Displaced Persons. The new refugees brought with them very few personal effects. They were however, linked as a group by language, national and religious identity. They shared their experiences of war, immigration and Poland's cultural heritage.

For them, family ties, home, spirituality, preservation of Polish language and culture were and are very important. To preserve their own cultural identity they established clubs, schools, dance groups, choirs and scouts.

Polish heritage and traditions can be seen in the traditional cooking of pierogi (dumplings), traditional arts and crafts such as kilim rugs, egg decoration (pisanki) or colour paper cutting (wycinanki).

Polish people love to celebrate. They celebrate name days instead of birthdays, first Holy Communion and Confirmation, Corpus Christi, the blessing of Easter food, Christmas with traditional cooked dishes.

Here we look at a snapshot of the Polish community in Canberra and Queanbeyan.