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New Zealand's First Refugees: Pahiatua's Polish Children

How's your English?

How's your English?

While I was staying in Dunedin in 1947, Prime Minister Peter Fraser visited the city. Among other business, he wanted to meet the "little Polish girls" from Catholic schools in Dunedin.

The Dominican Sister who was teaching us English discovered an English translation of the Polish national hymn Nie Rzucim Ziemi (Never We'll Leave The Land Where We Were Born) and thought it would be interesting for New Zealanders to hear us sing it in English at the concert which was given in honour of the distinguished visitor. So we learnt it and sang it, and were very proud of ourselves, until after the concert when one of the ladies from the Prime Minister's party asked: "Your song was very nice. What does it mean in English?" Pffft! went our ego.