Poles apart? An ingenerational study of selected samples of postwar Polish immigants in South

606 Pages·2015·30.48 MB·English

by  Roger Harris

\
P II_-
3tr"L
))
'-, +/
z ÊO Li ',{.''l
í-'if 'f
-',;(
\, .' , r,\r#' L' t-'i íti \
{
,"V'
)" POLES APART?
Àü
An Intergenerational StudyofS elected Samples of Postwar
lish Irnmi ant s in th Australia
('
i.
llt I, a':.:.'
!1
t"j
ROGER McL. HARRIS
B.A. (Honours ), nip.la.
Thesi.s subr¡itted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree
of Doctor oí Philosophy at the university of Adelaicle,
Departments of History
and
Edrrcat i.on,
Tt¡e Lrniversi.ty of Acielaide.
Sepbember L976.
11.
?REFACE
"Poles Apart?" is the result of six years of contact with
first and second generation Pole*s in south At¡str a!ía. From this
contact Ï know that I have been the beneficiary, for in this microcosm
of Anglo-Australian and Polish interaction, I have been considerably
integrated into their way of thinking anc tiving through reading of
Polish history and literature, experience of ethnic cultural and
religious events, and participation in formal and informal social
activitíes.
The Polish second generation respondents in this study I
knorv have been patiently waiting to peruse what has been researched
about then. r sincerely hope that out of this research, they nay
learn something of themselves which has been pieced together by one
who is not, in the ethnic sense, one of "the¡n't.
Although care has been taken throughout this study to analyse
in detail types and not individuaLs so as to maintain the pledge of
confidentiality rvhich researchers must make, nevertheless I feel sure
that those individuals who actually participated in this sociologica]-
research rr'iil be able to read themselves into this work. rndeed, r
hope they will be able to do this. rt is in this way that the ideal
types and the voices of the Polish seconcl generation will conre alive
and continue to be part of, the everyday reality',,trich this thesis has
been able to ca.pture only in a narrow span of time. rt is in this
wayt too, that they may learn something of a wider first generation
than they may perhap-s have had the opportunity to meet, and above
all, of the fr.rture third generatíon to whom the subjects of this
study rvi11 represent the link back into the polish past that they
v¿i!.1 sornet j.rnes want to experience.
This thesis rvould not have been possible without the generous
assistance of so many people. To Dr. J.J. srnolicz (Department of
Education) r orve a tremendous debt, for it wa.s he l,¡Ìro guided me
with his flashes of insight and firrn enccuragement lvhenever r
faltered. To the late Dr. G.L. Buxton, rvho was tragica.rty killec
h'hile on study leave soon after ï began this research, r am gratefuj-
for initr'-al icleas in the fielci of Australian immigration. P¡ofessor
A. Gough (Department of History) also contributed helpful suggesti.ons
throughor-rt. Dr. J.M. Tregenza and others in the History Depa.rtment?s
postgradrrate .research group'actecl as a sourrding board for ideas put
forrr'ard in nry reseaËch papers delivered at five serninars during
7972--i9v4. Another different perspective came from staff ancl post-
gradua.tes in the rhpartment of Ecï-rcat-ion to whom r gave a sixtl¡
research seminar in 1973.
There are many others to v¡liom T oir'e acknorvleclgement for more
speciíi c ass jstant:e. À1r. H. Lenaniak rr'as tireless in his lvc¡rk of
translating mater:i.a1 from Polish into English onto cassette tapes
for me and in his reading cf a lev¡ chapter drafts; Iur, p, Lepparcl
(Sta+;istics Depzrr:tment ) gave very valuable assistalice, sonetimes
a1
short notice, in the corilplexities of ccrnputer programrnr'_ng; ancl
Ils. I{. Se cclmbe (Departrnent of Eclucat j-on ) off ered helpful -suggestions
or¡ overall structur:e a¡rd conL-ent- in the la.tter stages. Mr. R, Smith,
1t-1.
Mr. D. hrilton, md Mr. R. Birks r thank for their permission to
gain access to studentst records at rhe university of Adelaide.
on my research trip to canberra in August Lgr4, r consulted many
people to rv:hom I am grateful: Dr. E.F. Kunz, Dr. J.I. Martin,
Dr- c.A. Price and Professor J. zubxzyckJ-. ¡,tr. L. paszkowski
nailed me copies of some of his historical articles, æd
I\4r. M. szczepanolvski kindly granted me access to polish newspapers
and other material located in the Archives of the Polish Historical
society in Adelaide. visits to libraries ín canberra and London
also assisted me in the search for material; my thanks in particular
go to lvlrs. J. Nowak of the Polish Library at 9 princes Gardens,
London, and l'1r. J. Grundy of the Department of rrunigration Library
in Canberra. Recognition is also very sincerely given to
lvlrs. J. Tonkin and lvlrs. L. Barr for their excellent typing of
my
work over a number of years, and to ltrs. s. shinnick for her
production of the final dtaft.
My sincere thanks go to the polish subjects r,,tro appear in
the follorving pages, about w?rom this thesis is concerned and
without whom, of course, this thesis could not have been written.
Last, but not least, f am utterly indebted to my farnily
for their unending patience, moral- encouragement and time-saving
assistance rvith routine matters. This applies to rny mother and
to my late father, and especiarLy to my wife, vrho had. continual-ly
to endure a desk-ridden husband and who never, fortunately, ceased
to hope that he wouLd one day be able to spend rnore time with herself
and their baby daughter.
tv
TABLE OF CÐNTENTS
Preface
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures and Fhotographs vl11
Summary 1X
De clar ation xt-
CHAPTER 1 TFIE SE]TING FOR THE STUDY 1
Introdu ction
1
Previous research
2
3 Sources and methods of research
CHAPTER 2 POLISH SOCIETY BE.IWEEN TFIË I\¡ARS 47
CHAPTER 3 POLISH IVAV:ES TO AUSTRALIAN SHORES 73
1 The overview
The Polish-born population in
2
AustraLiaz I92L-I947
The Polish-born population in
3
Australia:
1948-1953
The Polish-born population in
4
Australia: 1954 to the
present
CHATTER 4 TTIE AUSTRALI.\N VIEW LLz
CHATTËR 5 TiIE POLISH VIEW 160
CHATTER 6 THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION SAMPLES
IN THIS STUDY 224
1. The sampling procedures
2. The parents of the Pc¡lish
'Iertiary and Non-Tertiary
Samples
3. The Polish Tertiary Sample
4. The Polish Non-Tertiary Sample
CTIAI1TER 7 IUODES OF ADAPTATION OF THE SECOND
263
GENERATTON
CHAPTER 8 ET¡INICiTY AND ASSIMITATION: IANGUAGE AI{D
290
CULTURE
;
CFIAPTER 9 ETTÍ{I CITY Á,ND ASSIIUIIATION STRÚCTURE
AND IDEOLO,GY 333
CHAYIER 10 TTIE 'IIDEAL TYPES'' OF THIS STUDY 395
L. Polish-Austra1ians
2. Hi glr Ethnic.s
3. Anglo-Assimi.lat es
4. Alienates
CË]APIER 11 SE(DND GENER.\TION BRÞIKTH(OUGH OR
BREAKDOI$,{ ? 445
CH/\I'IER 12 CO¡\CLUSIÛÌ'i 494
v
Page No.
APPENDICES
Appendix A An example of a covering letter
sent rvith questionnaire to the
tertiary students 515
Appendix B The questionnaires 516
Appendix C The ínterview schedules 530
Appendix D The measurement of ethnicity and
ass irni 1 at ion 542
Appendix E 1 The classification of suburbs 549
2 The classification of occupations 552
3 The measurement of educational
results
553
Appendix Source material on Polish education
F
in Australia (translated fron the
?olish language) 554
1. Statistics on Polish education
in Australia:
1956
2. "The integration of the
second generation of Polish
rnígrants":
L967
3. A survey of Polish Saturday
School children in Adelaide:
L967
4. "I have finished Polish high
'
school: rvhat for?" z L97L
5. Statistics on Polish Saturday
Schools ín Adelaicle: t975
Appendix Extracts frorn life histories of four
G
respondents of the Polish Tertiary
Sample s64
Appendix H Cross-tabulation of indicator questions
with overaLL xatings of high, medium
and 1ow for ethnicity and assimilation 573
BIBLIOGRCPTry 580
vJ-
LIST OF TABLES
Page Ng..
NationaLity of Permanent and Longterm Arrivals to
Australia, L947-8 to L972-3 4
2 Nationality of Permanent and Longterm Arrivals to
Australia in Selected Yea¡s - Po1es, Hungarians,
Cze chos lovaks 6
3 Types and Numbers of X,ducatíonal Institutions, and
Numbers of Students, in Poland in 1919 and 1939 57
4 Length of Residence in Australia of Polish-born
Persons at the l92L Census 79
5 Permanent and Longterm Arrivals - Polish Nationals:
1-937 -L973 80
6 Polish Displaced Persons by Nationality and Location:
30 Sepr'ember, 1945 82
7 Emigration from ?oland to Australia by Religion and
Occupation: t926-9 and 1931- 91
8 Emigration from Poland to Austr aIía by District of
Origin: L925-9 and 1931 92
9 Religious Ðenominations among Polish-born Displaced
Persons and Displaced Persons of Polish Nationality 99
10 Estirnated Educational Standard of Estonian, Latvian
and Polish Itales lrùo arrived under the Australian
Government - IRO Schemez 1947-54 r,00
11. Occupations of Polish and All Displaced Persons
(as given on shipping lists)
101
L2 Occupations of Polish and All }lale Displaced Persorrs
(as given on selection files)
102
13 Percentage Distribution of Polish-born and Australian-
born Persons Throughout Australian States:
L954-r97 t 104
L4 Highest Level of Qualification Obtained by Pol"ish-
born and Australian-born Persons; .'t97L Census 109
15 The ?o1ish Tertiary Sample by Tertiary Ëducation
fnstitution Atbended and Degree of Affiliation
wíth the Adelaide University Polish Club 229
16 Numbers of Second Generation Poles in South
Australia and Australia: 1971 Census 233
L7 Year of Arrival in Austra.lia of the I;athers of
Both Sarnples 237
18 Reasons r'lrhy Parents of the Tryo Sanples Chose to
Emigrate to Alrstralia in Particular 239
19 Age on ArrivaL of Parents of Both Samples 24L
20 nducatíonal Status of Parents of Both Samples 242
vr.L
Table
2L Occupational Status of Parents of Both Samples
22 Summary of Occupational Mobility of Fathers of Both
Samples from "Pre-migration Occupation'r' to
"Australian Occupat ion" 247
23 Knowledge of English on Arrival of Parents of Both
Sanples 249
24 English Courses Taken by Parents of Both Samples 250
25 Ways in l,lhich the Church had Helped the Parents of
Both Samples 25L
26 Course of Study being Undertaken at Tertiary
Education Institutions by the Polish Tertiary
Sample 256
27 Breakdolvn of goth Samples into the "3 x 3" Matrix
of Ethnicity and Assimilation 269
28 Distribution of Ethnicity ancl Assimilation Scores
for Both Samples 281,
29 Distribution of Scores on the Ethnicity and
Assimilation Components for Both Samples 284
30 l4ean Scores on Ethnicity and Assimilation for Both
Samples on Five Sample Cha¡acteristics 286
31 Mean Scores on the Components of Ethnicity and
Assimilation of Subjects in tsoth Samples who
Scored Fligh, Mediurn and Lorv on Each Dimension 288
Tables on the four components of ethnicity and
assimilation:
32-4t Lingui sti c 295-3LL
42-49 Cult ur al 3L4-329
50-58 Structu-'al 336-361
59-72 I deo logi ca1 3ó4-390
73 Breakdown of Both Sarnples into Ideal Type Categories 396
74 Scores of the Polish-Australians on the Four
Components of Ethnicity and Assimilation 399
75 Scores of the High Ethnics on the Four Components of
Ethnicity and Assimilation 407
76 Scores of the Anglo-Assimilates on the Four
Conponents of Ethnicit-y and Assimilation 419
77 Command of Polish of the Anglo-Assirnilates 420
78 Scores of the Alienates on the Four Components of
Ethnicity and Assimilation 434
79 lvlean Scores on Education of the Tertiary Subjects
in the Four Ideal Types 439
80 Comparison of the Percentage Scores for Each of the
Ideal Types on the Four Conrponents of Ethnicity
and Assimilation 440
val.a
Tab le Page No.
81-87 Tables comparing the first with the second
generation on various indicators of ethnicity
and assimilation 446-45L
88 Numbers of Tertiary Respondents and Non-Respondents
who have Taken Particular Subjects at the
Matriculation Level 452
89 Educational Records of Tertia"ry Respondents and
Non-Respondents 454
90 Distributiõn of Education Scores for the Tertiary
Respondents and Non-Respondents 456
91 Mean Education Scores for the Tertiary Sample on
Six acteristics
Sample Cha^r 457
92 Occupational Aims of the Tertiary Sanple 4s9
93 Categories of "Subrnerged Middle Class" Subjects in
Both Samples 465
94 Identification of the Parents of Subjects who Scored
"High" on Ethnicity 47L
95 Subjects in Both Sanples Engaged or Married, by Sex,
Birthplace of Parents, Ethnicity and Assimilation
Scores, and Ethnicity of Spouse 505
LIST OF FIGIJRES
Figure
1 The Composition of the Polish Tertiary SampLe 227
2 Modes of Adaptation of the Second Generation on the
Two Dimensions of Xthnicity anct Assirnilation \ 268
3 A rt3 x 3" Matrix of Second Generation Adaptation 268
4 Comparison Between the ldeal Types on Their Percentage
Scores on the Four Components of Ethnicity and
Assinilation
442
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Pholographs
1 St. Stanislaus Kostka Church: Sevenhill nast "l5a
2 Chaplet of Brother Ignatius Da.nielewicz: SevenhiLl 75a
3 Dom Pol"ski Centre, Angas Street, City 348a
4 St. Joseph?-s Church, Pirie Street¡ City íi48a
5 Poster advertising the first Adelaide University
PoLish Club 8a11, 27 August, l97L 477
1X
SUIvftIARY
A ful1 understanding of the nature of Australian society
demands a thorough kno¡vledge of the process of adaptatioir of the
first and second generations of inrmigrants. This research has
been an intergenerational study of selected samples of postwar
Polish irunigrants in South Australia, lvith its prime focus upon
the second generation. Using an historico-sociological approach,
the ethnicity and assimilation patterns of the second generation
have been examined against the background of the historical
fortunes of the enigré first generation and the "ttvo worlds" in
rúiich its children have been raised. Two central themes predom-
inated - one was the process of cultural transmission between the
first and second generations with its impLication for the future
third gerleration; and the other was the relative influence of the
t',vo socialisation processes of ethnicisation and assimilation in
the upbri:rgtttg of the second generation. The issues invclved in the
study were probed using four different research methods, namely
those of self-administered questionnaire, structttred interviewn
documentar"y source mat-er ia1-'-nd participant observation.
In'Cha.pters 2 and 3, there is an examination of the society
in which the first generation rvas raisecl, and an analysis of who,
when, r,ltry and how many Poles have arrived in Australia. Tlie
Australian and Polish cultural values in which the secor¡d generation
has been born and bred are interpreted in Chapters 4 and 5. Fol-lolving
the details of sampling procedure and samples, the theoretical frame-
work of ttre research is presented in Chapter 7 and the adaptation of
the seconC generation explained in terms of the degree of ethnicity-
mai.ntenance and Anglo-assimilation using a "3 x 3" matrix.
There follows ín Chapters 8 and 9 a detailed analysis of
the linguistic, cultura1, structural and ideological components
of et'hnicit;r zrnd assimilatio:r with reference to the tr,''o second
generation sarnples and their parents" The various modes of
adaptation outlineC ín Chapter 7 are further i¡rvestigatecl in
Chapter LO in the form of portraits of the four "ideal types"
isolated in this research: Polish-Aust-ralian, High Ethnic,
Anglo-Assimil-ate and Alienate. Their precl'.se proportions in
Austrai-ian society cannot be calculated; ratlier it is shot¡n that
these types, with certain personal characteristics and from
particular home'backgrounds, do actually exist in Australian
society. The interesting and signifícant variations in their
patterns of ethnicity and assinilation demonstrate the lirnitations
of such coJ-l.e ctive 1abe1s as 'rethnic-Australia.ns" or even as "second
generation Pol.es". Such blanket terms serve only to throw confrtsj,on
into cliscussíon on the process of cultural transmission and to l-ead
to misconceived a,nd i11--directed conclusions, in such important a.reas
as educafion and social welfare.
Chapter 11 explores rvhere the gains and l.osses 1ie in ttie
adaptation process of the s--cofld generat'ion -. gaí.ns and l-osses fcr
Australian society, for the Polish cornmunity and for the j.ndiviclual
himself . The gaírt in the case of the terti-ary stucients Lay in
tt:eir J.ingr,ristic, educati-ona1 and occupational breah'chro'ugh.
x
However, it has been achieved only at the expense of significant
damage to indivídual ethnic cultural (and particularly 1ínguistic)
systems. Thus the rather meagre knowledge, and often lukewarm
evaluation, of nany Polish cultural items on the part of the
second generation augurs ill for the chances of cuLtural trans-
nission to the third generation. ülhere the links of cultural
transmission are likely to remain the strongest will be in the
homes of High Ethnics and Polish-Australians, particularly if
their firm intentions, and those of their parents, to marry
fe1low Poles are realised.