Polish New Zealanders

The 2018 census counted 2,871 New Zealanders who claim Polish ancestry.

Small numbers of Polish people began to arrive to New Zealand throughout the 19th century.

Among these, many were among the "Brogdenites" employed to build stretches of New Zealand's main railway lines.

Many of these settled in small towns close to the rail line such as Greytown (now Allanton) in Otago.

[citation needed] During World War I and World War II, many Polish people became refugees and were relocated to other countries such as New Zealand.