The Pahiatua Museum did a floral display in the grotto, in honour of Jadwiga Cooper, who passed away last month. Jadwiga (nee Janek) was one of more than 700 children who came from Poland to live at Pahiatua camp during World War II.
Jadwiga Cooper (nee Jarka) was known for her generosity.
So it seemed fitting that she would gift a costume to Pahiatua Museum, for its display on the history of the Pahiatua Camp where Jadwiga would spend the latter part of her childhood.
Jadwiga, aged 96, passed away last month at a rest home in Albany where she had been living since moving from her home in Orewa.
She was one of more than 700 children who came to New Zealand as a Polish refugee in 1944.
Her brother, Janek, gave a talk in 2002, detailing some of the history of how the children came to live in New Zealand.
Jadwiga (also known as Jadzia) was born on September 6, 1927, in Czarnowo, Poland and spent her childhood in Bialystok, a small Polish village.
Her mother, Rozalia, died in 1933 and her father remarried. He was later killed by Soviet officers.
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and Russia (then the USSR) later that month and many people were deported to regions within the USSR, including Siberia.
Janek (who came to be known as John) and Jadwiga were deported to the Pavlodar region in Kazahkstan.
Then in 1941, Germany attacked Russia, which led to the latter joining the allied countries.
The Polish people in exile were granted amnesty, or the freedom to leave, but without the means to do so.
Some made their way to Persia (Iran) and from there they were sent to friendly countries.
Jadwiga and Janek left for New Zealand in September 1944, arriving on a ship in Wellington harbour on November 1, 1944.
They were transported by train to Pahiatua. In the eulogy, her son-in-law Richard talked of her memories of seeing Wellington harbour for the first time after five years in war-torn countries.
“[It] was the first sign of freedom, a country so open and clean, houses scattered on the green hills.”
Richard talked of another recollection of the train ride from Wellington to Pahiatua, where people lined the railway tracks, cheering and waving to the children.
“This was a defining moment in her life,” he said. “In her words, she never forgot the love and friendship that New Zealanders extended to her and her brother, along with all the other survivors.”
Janek recalled in a chapter of the book New Zealand’s First Refugees that they had few material possessions when they arrived, but expected their stay would be short, enabling them to join their surviving relatives in Poland.
In the same book, Jadwiga recalled meeting a farmer and asking for permission to play on his property, but at the time her English wasn’t the best, and she had to convey her question using gestures.
Jadwiga married and had three children, but her marriage later ended and she brought the children up in Manurewa.
She lived close to her brother and his wife and was surrounded by “wonderful neighbours and friends.
“[She] had her anchor and support network … along with her Catholic church and worked hard to maintain a balance between work and raising a family alone.”
In 2006, Jadwiga moved to Orewa.
When she could no longer drive, she would zip around on a motorised scooter, where she placed a Polish flag.
“There were many adventures on that scooter,” Richard said. “She loved stopping and chatting with people.”
She also became known for her bright colours, matching lipstick and jewellery.
“[She was] always well-groomed and was fondly known as ‘The Duchess’.”
The Polish Association in Auckland posted a tribute saying Jadwiga “was a beacon of light and love to all who knew her”.
Jadwiga also received the Siberian Exiles Cross awarded by the President of Poland, which recognised the sufferings of Polish citizens deported between 1939 and 1956.
