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Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust (POHOS),

Welcome! Witamy!

Joining the Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust (POHOS) means that you become part of a community of early Polish settlers, more recent Polish immigrants, and a network of citizens primarily in Otago and Southland – brought together through a shared curiosity and passion for Polish language, culture, ethnicity and family heritage.

The Polish Trust offers enjoyable opportunities to discover, learn about and, support the Trust’s events and undertakings.

Our events provide welcoming places – locally and occasionally nationally – to hear excellent lectures, participate in events including special church services and Christmas celebrations, assist in the fostering and encouragement of Polish customs, revisit your Polish heritage and share with like minds, while exchanging your ideas and knowledge about local and national kinships alongside the efforts and goals of the Polish Heritage Trust.

Our Trust was formed in 1998 at the time when Otago was celebrating 150 years of existence and when little was known, in New Zealand, of the early Polish pioneers. It was with the coming together, at that time, of recent immigrants and the descendants of those early settlers of 1872 that brought about the beginnings of the Polish Heritage of Otago and Southland Charitable Trust. Our aims then, as they are today, were to bring to the people of Dunedin and New Zealand awareness of our heritage and in the longer term to extend that awareness to the peoples of Poland.

POHOS Objectives:

• 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.