- Poland, Kiribati
Poland is one of four villages on the island of
Kiritimati (Christmas Island),Kiribati . The village was named after a Polish explorer who aided the villagers.Location
Poland is located on the westernmost part of the island, at
geographic coordinates : coord|1|51|52|N|157|33|07|W|type:city_region:KI-L_scale:25000|display=inline,title.Demographics
Poland's population is 235 people (
Census 2005), by far the smallest of the four inhabited villages on the island.Name
The village was named in honour of a Pole whose first name was Stanisław (Stanislaus). Having arrived with an American
merchant vessel that was plying thecopra trade at a time, when the local inhabitants were having difficulties irrigating their palm treeplantation s, Stanisław helped them solve the problem. Accordingly, the village was renamed to its present-day name in his honour. Also, a church was built there and dedicated under the auspices ofSaint Stanislaus , and a bay in thelagoon was namedSaint Stanislaus Bay . However, the last name of the Polish benefactor was not remembered.EducationIn Poland there is a primary school with three main teachers and 45 students.
Sources
*R. Antoszewski: [http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR5/C0505/29r-QZD06010_KiribatiPL.HTM "Pacyficzna Polska"] ( _en. Pacific Poland), "Kurioza naukowe/Scientific curiosities", ISSN 1176-7545; year VI; No 1033. April 2005, v.55. On the web: 2005-05-29. Titirangi, Auckland, Nowa Zelandia. Link accessed on 2007-10-04. pl icon
*http://www.travelbit.pl/relacje/relacje.php?tom=VI&id=31 - another webpage about the village of Poland: "Przez świat tom VI" ( _pl. Across the World volume VI). Link fails with a database error. However, id=30, id=32, etc. all work. The cited source appears to have been removed. Link accessed on 2007-10-04. pl icon
*Wojciech Dąbrowski: [http://travelbit.pl/relacje/relacje.php?tom=&id=504 "Od Kiribati do Nauru"] ( _pl. From Kiribati to Nauru). Link accessed on 2007-10-04. pl iconThe 5/6 class of the Poland Primary School and the head teacher at Poland Primary School.External links
*Wojciech Dąbrowski: [http://www.kontynenty.net/ Homepage of the Polish world traveller Wojciech Dąbrowski] . Link accessed on 2007-10-04. en icon pl icon
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