The Solidarity Wave: Settlement Experiences and their Influence on the Identity of Polish Migrants Arriving in Australia During the 1980s
Date
2021
Authors
Jocher, Jessica
Editors
Advisors
Sendziuk, Paul
Lockwood, David
Lockwood, David
Journal Title
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Thesis
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Abstract
This thesis examines the settlement experiences of the ‘Solidarity’ wave of Polish
migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1980s. In particular, it asks: How did the Solidarity
wave migrants negotiate the obstacles impeding their successful integration into the
Australian community? When they failed to do so, how did they account for this and what
was the result? What were the most important factors that facilitated integration? And how
did this process of settlement and integration affect their identities as people of Polish
background? In order to answer these questions, the thesis focuses on seven aspects of
the settlement experience: government and community support, employment, education,
family life, faith and the Church, continuing relationships with Poland and visits ‘home’,
and the relationship between the Solidarity wave migrants and the Polish ‘Displaced
Persons’ who settled in Australia in the decade after World War Two.
On the surface, circumstances were conducive for the successful integration of the
Solidarity wave Poles at the time of their migration to Australia. ‘Skilled’ migrants were
highly desired by Australia, and this group of Poles was well educated and qualified. The
government’s preferred model of ‘multiculturalism’ gave migrants the freedom to maintain
their cultural practices and language without the fear of being discriminated against
because of their race and culture. The policies surrounding multiculturalism also meant
that the Australian Government invested in education and provided the means for
migrants to learn the English language for free. The Catholic Church in Australia provided
Polish migrants a physical space where they could partake in church services in their
native tongue while at the same time mingle with other Poles who shared the same
beliefs and cultural practices. Moreover, the established Polish ethnic community
provided centres where the new Polish migrants were able to join groups and
organisations that celebrated and maintained Polish culture.
Each of these elements should have ensured that the Polish migrants had positive
experiences in settlement and given them the ability to settle on their own terms.
However, this was not always the case. The Solidarity wave Poles were well educated
and qualified, but they arrived in a decade punctuated by periods of high unemployment and high interest rates, and their qualifications were not always recognised by the
industries/sectors in which they sought work. Despite the promotion of ‘multiculturalism’,
and even though there were policies and legislation introduced to protect the rights of the
Polish migrants such as the Racial Discrimination Act, public attitudes took longer to
change. The Poles experienced instances of animosity and resentment that came from
three directions: Anglo-Australians, other migrants, and other Poles. The existing Polish
community and established cultural groups and organisations should have encouraged
the new arrivals to join and interact with the older Polish migrants. Instead,
misunderstandings and tensions developed and caused a divide between members of the
Displaced Persons and the Solidarity migrant groups.
This thesis focuses on the Solidarity wave migrants, a group relatively neglected by
scholars of migration in Australia. It engages with the literature on settlement experiences
of Polish migrants, confirming existing arguments put forth by researchers such as
Elizabeth Drozd, Adam Jamrozik and Beata Leuner, but ultimately goes further than
previous studies by studying a sample of Poles who settled in South Australia (a
previously ignored location) and by examining a much wider range of factors that affected
the settlement experience.
School/Discipline
School of History and Politics : History
Dissertation Note
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2021
Provenance
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