Меморіальна дошка на честь польських дітей Пахіатуа у Веллінгтоні, Нова Зеландія. 31 жовтня 1944 року 733 польських дітей разом зі 105 опікунами прибули до порту Веллінгтона. Життя підопічних було позначене трагічними подіями Другої світової війни. Під час неї вони втратили батьків і близьких родичів, а потім були депортовані до Росії. Після 1941 року діти залишили Росію разом з армією Андерса і вирушили до Ірану. Провівши там два роки, вони вирушили до Нової Зеландії. Там, після війни, уряд запропонував їм громадянство. Меморіальна дошка висловлює подяку уряду та армії Нової Зеландії, католицькій церкві, опікунам, вчителям і всім, хто надавав допомогу.

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POLISH CHILDREN / OF PAHIATUA / 1944 - 2004 / On 31 October 1944, 733 Polish refugee / children and 105 adult caregivers sailed into / Wellington Harbour on the USS / General Randall. On 1 November, they / settled in the Polish Children's Camp / in Pahiatua. / They had been invited by Rt. / Hon. Peter Fraser, Prime / Minister of New Zealand, for / the remainder of World War / II. They had lost their homes / and family members following / the 1939 German invasion of / Poland, the occupation of Eastern Poland by / the USSR and subsequent deportations of / 1,700,000 Polish people to the USSR. / In 1941, after being attacked by Germany, the / USSR joined the Allies, granted “amnesty” to / Polish deportees, allowed the formation of the / Polish Army in the USSR and agreed to its / subsequent evacuation to Iran (Persia) to fight / the common enemy. However, only 120,000 / soldiers and civilians were evacuated, before / mass graves of thousands of Polish officers, / murdered by Soviet Secret Police, were / discovered in the Katyn Forest. The USSR / denied responsibility, but halted the amnesty. / After two years in Iran, the 733 children who / had been part of the evacuation from the USSR / arrived in New Zealand. At the end of the war / they were to return to Poland. However, the / Yalta Agreement ruled this out. / Eastern Poland was annexed by / the USSR and the rest of the / country was under communist / domination. It was unsafe for / the children to return to their / homeland, so most accepted / the Government's offer to stay / in New Zealand. / They became self-sufficient, / hard-working loyal citizens and 60 / years later, together with their families, / they say thank you to the New Zealand / Government, New Zealand Army, / Catholic Church, caregivers, teachers and all who / extended a helping hand. / THANK YOU ALL AND / GOD BLESS / “BÓG ZAPŁAĆ” / This plaque was unveiled on 25 October 2004 / by Her Worship the Mayor of Wellington, / Kerry L. Prendergast. / The Honorary Consul for Poland / Mr John Roy-Wojciechowski, one of the children, and his wife Valerie / in cooperation with the Polish Children's 60th Anniversary Reunion Committee / made this plaque possible //.