The Solidarity Wave: Settlement Experiences and their Influence on the Identity of Polish Migrants Arriving in Australia During the 1980s

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.