Croatian New Zealanders refers to
New Zealand citizens of
Croatian descent. It is estimated that over 100,000 New Zealanders have Croatian ancestry.[2] There are 2,550 people who declared their nationality as
Croats in the
2006 New Zealand census.[1] The majority of these are located primarily in and around
Auckland and
Northland with small numbers in and around
Canterbury and
Southland.[3]
The (generally neutral but sometimes mildly derogatory) term Dally or Dallie (short for
Dalmatian) is often used in New Zealand to refer to people of Croatian descent.[4] The term has been wholeheartedly adopted by Croatian New Zealanders, among them the Auckland-based Dalmatian Cultural Society.[5] Founded in 1930, it is New Zealand's longest-surviving Croatian cultural organisation. A further neutral term, Tarara (literally, "fast talkers"), is used to refer to people of mixed Croatian–
Māori heritage.[6]
History
The earliest Croatian settlers in New Zealand date from the 1860s, largely arriving as sailors and pioneers, and as gold miners and prospectors during the
Otago Gold Rush. The first person born in New Zealand of Croatian descent was Leander Thomas Pavletich in 1864.[7] After the gold rush many moved to Northland attracted by
kauri gum-digging, then a major source of income for Northland
Māori and settlers.[8] These early Dalmatian settlers were also responsible in large part for establishing the
New Zealand wine industry.[9] Forced off the kauri gumfields many moved into viticulture and winemaking instead, mainly in
West Auckland around
Kumeu, and in the
Hawke's Bay region.[10][11] Croatian family names such as
Selak, Nobilo, Šoljan,
Babich and Delegat still feature amongst the names of New Zealand's notable wineries, and two of the largest in New Zealand, Montana Wines (now
Brancott Estate) and
Villa Maria Estates, were established in the mid-20th century respectively by Croatian New Zealanders Ivan Yukich and Sir George Fistonich.[11][4]
Croatian settlers have arrived in five main waves:[12]
5,000 between 1890 and 1914, prior to World War I.
1,600 during the 1920s before the onset of the
Great Depression.
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.[2]
^Jelicich, Stephen (2008). From distant villages: the lives and times of Croatian settlers in New Zealand, 1858-1958. Auckland: Pharos Publications.
ISBN9780473130299.
^Mabbett, Jason (April 1998). "The Dalmatian influence on the New Zealand wine industry: 1895–1946". Journal of Wine Research. 9 (1): 15–25.
doi:
10.1080/09571269808718130.
ISSN0957-1264.