Croats in New Zealand

There are around 2,700 Croats in New Zealand. The majority of these are located primarily in and around Auckland and Northland with small numbers in and around Canterbury and Southland.^[1]

History

The earliest Croatian settlers in New Zealand date from the 1860s, largely arriving as sailors, gold miners, prospectors and pioneers. Following this, five significant influxes of Croats have arrived:^[2]

5,000 between 1890 and 1914, prior to World War I.
1,600 during the 1920s before the onset of the Great Depression.
600 in the 1930s, prior to World War II.
3,200 between 1945 and 1970.
Arrivals during the 1990s, fleeing the conflict in former Yugoslavia

In July 2008, 800 people attended a celebration of 150 years of Croatian settlement in New Zealand hosted by Prime Minister; Helen Clark and Ethnic Affairs Minister; Chris Carter.^[3]

Literature

Trupinić, Damir. (2009) New Zealand Croatian Immigrant Press 1899-1916, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, ISBN 9783838307435.
Božić-Vrbančić, Senka. (2008) Tarara: Croats and Maori in New Zealand : memory, belonging, identity, Otago University Press, ISBN 9781877372094.

References

^ From Distant Villages: the lives and times of Croatian settlers in New Zealand, 1858-1958
^ "Book & Print in New Zealand : A Guide to Print Culture in Aotearoa". http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-GriBook-_div3-N13D3D.html. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
^ "NZ celebrates 150 years of Kiwi-Croatian culture". New Zealand Government. http://www.ethnicaffairs.govt.nz/oeawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Whats-Happening-Message-Board-Celebrating-150-years-of-Croatians-in-New-Zealand?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2009-08-13.