Croatian New Zealanders refers to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

citizens of Croatian descent. It is estimated that over 100,000 New Zealanders have Croatian ancestry. There are 2,550 people who declared their nationality as

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

in the

2006 New Zealand census The New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings ( mi, Te Tatauranga o ngā Tāngata Huri Noa i Aotearoa me ō rātou Whare Noho) is a national population and housing census conducted by government department Statistics New Zealand every five y ...

. The majority of these are located primarily in and around

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and Northland with small numbers in and around

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

. 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. The term has been wholeheartedly adopted by Croatian New Zealanders, among them the Auckland-based Dalmatian Cultural Society.Dalmatian Cultural Society
official website 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 Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

heritage.

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 Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

. The first person born in New Zealand of Croatian descent was Leander Thomas Pavletich in 1864. After the gold rush many moved to Northland attracted by

kauri gum Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees (''Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, bef ...

-digging, then a major source of income for Northland

and settlers. These early Dalmatian settlers were also responsible in large part for establishing the

New Zealand wine New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation fr ...

industry. Forced off the kauri gumfields many moved into viticulture and winemaking instead, mainly in West Auckland around Kumeu, and in the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

region. 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 Brancott Estate is the brand adopted since 2010 by Pernod Ricard for New Zealand's largest wine producer, formerly Montana Wines, which now operates as the New Zealand division of Pernod Ricard Winemakers. The name comes from its Brancott winery ...

) and

Villa Maria Estates Villa Maria Estate is one of New Zealand's largest wine companies. Their vineyards are located throughout New Zealand, with production bases in Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough and Auckland.David Hayward The University of Auckland: The Larg ...

, were established in the mid-20th century respectively by Croatian New Zealanders Ivan Yukich and Sir George Fistonich. Croatian settlers have arrived in five main waves: *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 Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

in former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. In July 2008, 800 people attended a celebration of 150 years of Croatian settlement in New Zealand hosted by Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter.

Notable Croatian New Zealanders

Academics

* Jadranka Travaš-Sejdić * James Belich - Historian

Arts

Architecture

* Stephen Jelicich - Founder of Jasmax/ JASMaD *

Ivan Mercep Ivan Mercep (22 February 1930 – 8 April 2014) was a New Zealand architect. Early life and family Born in Taumarunui in 1930 to a Croatian family, Mercep was educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland and Auckland University College, from wh ...

- Founder of Jasmax/ JASMaD

Artists

Billy Apple Billy Apple (born Barrie Bates; 31 December 19356 September 2021) was a New Zealand/USA artist, whose work is associated with the British and New York schools of pop art in the 1960s and NY's Conceptual Art movement in the 1970s. He worked alo ...

* Milan Mrkusich

Comedians

Rose Matafeo Rose Catherine Lettitia Matafeo (; born 25 February 1992) is a New Zealand comedian, actress, and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show '' Funny Girls''. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Come ...

* Nick Rado

Literature

Amelia Batistich Amelia Batistich (née Barbarich; 11 March 1915 – 21 August 2004) was a New Zealand fiction writer of Croatian descent. Life Batistich was born in Dargaville to John Barbarich and Milka Matutinovich, settlers from Dalmatia. Her parents ran a ...

- Author *

Sonja Yelich Sonja Yelich (; born 1965) is a New Zealand poet. She is the mother of pop singer Lorde. Early life Sonja Yelich () was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1965, into an immigrant family from the region of Dalmatia. She studied literature at th ...

- Poet

Musicians

* Nick Afoa *

Kevin Borich Kevin Nicholas Borich (born 27 October 1948, Huapai, North Island, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of The La De Das, the leader of Kevin Borich Express, and a founding mem ...

*Milan Borich ( Pluto (New Zealand band)) * Tina Cross * Maria Dallas *Brad Devcich (

Fast Crew Fast Crew (or fastCREW) were a New Zealand hip hop group consisting of five members – Dane Rumble (aka Kid Deft), Jeremy Kent-Johnston (Jerome Fortune), Diablo Deville (Brad Devcich), Gemma Copas and DJ Alias (Josh Thorne). Fast Crew have su ...

) * Lorde (Ella Yelich-O’Connor) *

Peter Posa Peter Paul Posa (8 August 1941 – 3 February 2019) was a New Zealand guitarist most famous for his instrumental "The White Rabbit", which was released in 1963. The song is a guitar instrumental that sold 100,000 copies. Career Posa was bor ...

* Mike Perjanik * Desna Sisarich *

Peter Urlich Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Margaret Urlich Margaret Mary Urlich (24 January 1965 – 22 August 2022) was a New Zealand singer who lived in Australia for most of her career. Urlich's 1989 debut solo album, ''Safety in Numbers'', won " Breakthrough Artist – Album" at the 1991 ARIA Awa ...

Business

Michael Erceg Michael Anthony Erceg (26 March 1956 – 4 November 2005) was an Auckland, New Zealand businessman who founded Independent Liquor. Independent Liquor was New Zealand’s largest independently owned liquor distributor, known for its Ready to Drink ...

- Founder of Independent Liquor, now known as Asahi Beverages (NZ) Ltd. * Huljich family - Food manufacturing, property, new business startups, finance and movie-making. *Sir George Fistonich - Founder of

. *Nobilo family -

Nikola Nobilo Nikola "Nick" Nobilo, (23 August 1913 – 28 August 2007), was a New Zealand winemaker and founder of Nobilo Wines. He was originally from Austria-Hungary. Early life Nobilo was born in present-day Croatia in 1913. His family's home vill ...

the founder of Nobilo wines. * Talley family, owners of the Talley's Group. * Dr. Kevin Glucina (founder Matakana Super Foods)

Fashion

* Deanna Didovich - Designer * Jessica Grubisa - Designer * Adrienne Winkelmann - Designer/ Fashion label

Journalism

* Tony Ciprian - radio and television presenter * Simon Mercep - radio and television presenter *Goran Paladin - radio and television presenter

Law

* Brian Dickey - Crown Solicitor Auckland * Dame

Helen Winkelmann Dame Helen Diana Winkelmann (born 1962) is the 13th and current Chief Justice of New Zealand, having been sworn in on 14 March 2019. She is the second woman to hold the position, following her immediate predecessor, Sian Elias. Early life and ...

- Chief Justice of New Zealand

Politics

*Sir James Belich - Former Mayor of Wellington *

Camilla Belich Camilla Vera Feslier Belich is a New Zealand lawyer and politician who became a Member of Parliament, representing the New Zealand Labour Party, in 2020. Biography Early life and career As a law student Belich became involved in student polit ...

- Member of Parliament * Frana Cardno - Former Mayor of Southland District * Fred Gerbic - Former Member of Parliament *

Shane Jones Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

- Former Member of Parliament and cabinet minister *

Clem Simich Clement Rudolph "Clem" Simich or Šimić (born 2 June 1939) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. Early life Simich was born in Te Kōpuru, Northland in 1939. Member of Parliament He was first elected to Parliament in ...

– Former Member of Parliament *Dame Mira Szaszy - Maori Leader * Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish - Maori Leader

Religion

* Denis Devcich - Director of the Mother of God Brothers * Antony Sumich (born 1964) – priest of Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter;

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

international (for Croatia)

Sports

Cricket

Anton Devcich Anton Paul Devcich (born 28 September 1985) is a New Zealand former international cricketer, who played in limited over internationals. A left-handed batsman who occasionally bowls left-arm orthodox spin, at the domestic level he plays for Nor ...

- BLACKCAPS representative * Joseph Yovich * Ben Lister *

Dusan Hakaraia Dusan Hakaraia (born 30 May 1983) is a New Zealand former cricketer and coach. He played five first-class, six List A, and five Twenty20 matches for Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city i ...

- also Croatia rugby representative *Quinn Sunde *Daniel Marsic - Croatia cricket representative *John Vujnovich - Croatia cricket representative *Anthony Govorko - Croatia cricket representative *Anton Vujcich - Croatia cricket representative *Paul Vujnovich - Croatia cricket representative

Football

Abby Erceg Abby May Erceg (born 20 November 1989) is a professional New Zealand footballer who plays as a defender. She is the captain of the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League. She has previously played for Chicago Red Stars ...

– NZ Football Ferns football player *

Tony Laus Tony Laus is a former association football player who represented New Zealand at international level. Laus played three official full internationals for New Zealand, making his debut in a 4–1 win over Vanuatu on 27 June and scoring a hat-tric ...

- All Whites football player * Stefan Marinovic - All Whites football player *

Paul Urlovic Paul-Mark Urlovic (born 21 November 1978) is a New Zealand former professional footballer who played as striker for Central United FC in the NRFL Premier Division. Urlovic previously played for Auckland City in the ASB Premiership and Oceania ...

- All Whites football player *

Ivan Vicelich Ivan Robert Vicelich ( hr, Vicelić, ; ; born 3 September 1976) is a former New Zealand professional footballer who is currently assistant coach at Auckland City FC in the ASB Premiership. He is his country and Oceania's most-capped interna ...

- All Whites football player * Chris Zoricich – All Whites football player

Motor sport

Robbie Francevic Robert James Frančević, (born on 18 September 1941 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired racing driver who featured prominently in New Zealand and Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest wins were the inaugural Wellington 500 street r ...

- motor racing driver *

Paul Radisich Paul Radisich (born 9 October 1962, in Auckland) is a retired New Zealand racing driver and businessman of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years — both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New ...

– world touring car champion

Rugby

Anthony Boric Anthony Frank Boric (born 27 December 1983 in Auckland) is a former rugby union footballer who represented the New Zealand in international rugby, and was a member of the 2011 Rugby World Cup winning All Blacks squad. He played as a lock. Early ...

– All Blacks player * Kevin Boroevich – All Blacks player *

Frano Botica Frano Michael Botica (born 3 August 1963) is a New Zealand-Croatian rugby union and rugby league coach and former player in both codes, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He is the head coach of the Philippines sevens team. He represented New ...

– All Blacks / NZ rugby league/ Croatia Rugby * Matt Cooper – All Blacks / Croatia Rugby *

Percy Erceg Charles Percy Erceg (28 November 1928 – 26 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A wing three-quarter, Erceg represented North Auckland and at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, ...

– All Blacks player *

Sean Fitzpatrick Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1963) is a former rugby union player who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. Early life and family Fitzpatrick was born in Auc ...

- All Blacks player *

Wayne Pivac Wayne Pivac (born 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach. In November 2019 he replaced Warren Gatland as the Wales national team coach. A former sworn officer in the New Zealand Police, he was a constable at the Takapuna police station on A ...

- Rugby Union coach * Ron Urlich – All Blacks player * Ivan Vodanovich – All Blacks player / coach

Rugby League

– All Black/ NZ rugby league/ Croatian Rugby * Tony Kriletich - NZ rugby league

Tennis

Marina Erakovic Marina Erakovic ( ; hr, Marina Eraković ; born 6 March 1988) is a retired tennis player from New Zealand. She achieved career-high rankings of 39 in singles and 25 in doubles, and won one singles title, at Memphis in February 2013, and eigh ...

* Onny Parun

Other

Frank Nobilo Frank Ivan Joseph Nobilo (born on 14 May 1960) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Nobilo had a successful playing career, winning 14 pro tournaments around the world. He was at his peak during the mid-1990s when he also produced strong ...

- golf player * John Radovonich – NZ hockey player *

Anna Simcic Anna Katrina Simcic (born 8 November 1971), married name Anna Forrest, is a female former New Zealand swimming representative. In August 2021, it was announced that she would feature in the 2021 Season of Celebrity Treasure Island 2021. Swimm ...

- swimmer * Nick Unkovich - lawn bowls player * Michaela Sokolich-Beatson - netball player for the

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

and

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

Greg Yelavich Gregory Thomas Yelavich (born 8 March 1957) is a competitive pistol shooter from Auckland, New Zealand. As well as winning numerous national pistol titles, Yelavich has the distinction of having won more Commonwealth Games medals than any oth ...

- shooter

Winemakers

* Babich
Brajkovich - Kumeu River Wines

Delegat

Fistonich - Villa Maria Wines

Mazuran

Nobilo
* Selak * Soljan
Vuletic - Providence Wines

Yukich - founder of Montana Wines now known as Brancott Estate

Fictional Croatian New Zealanders

*Fisher Brankovic — '' Filthy Rich'' (television) *Darijo Doslic — '' Westside'' (television) * Draska Doslic — '' Outrageous Fortune'' (television) * Mila Jizovich - ''

bro'Town ''bro'Town'' is a New Zealand adult animated comedy television series and sitcom that ran from 2004 to 2009. It starred David Fane, Mario Gaoa, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley. Overview The main characters in the series are five 14 yea ...

'' (television) *

Johnny Marinovich The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' in 1994, by order of first appearance. Marilyn Bluck Marilyn Bluck (previously Harrison) was the overbearing sister in law to Jenny Ha ...

— ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' (television) *Nina — '' Broken English'' (film)

Literature

*Trupinić, Damir. (2009) ''New Zealand Croatian Immigrant Press 1899-1916'',

LAP Lambert Academic Publishing Omniscriptum Publishing Group, formerly known as VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, is a German publishing group headquartered in Riga, Latvia. Founded in 2002 in Düsseldorf, its book production is based on print-to-order technology. The company publis ...

, . *Božić-Vrbančić, Senka. (2008) ''Tarara: Croats and Maori in New Zealand : memory, belonging, identity'', Otago University Press, .

References

{{Croatian diaspora

European New Zealander

History

Notable Croatian New Zealanders

Academics

Arts

Architecture

Artists

Comedians

Literature

Musicians

Business

Fashion

Journalism

Law

Politics

Religion

Sports

Cricket

Football

Motor sport

Rugby

Rugby League

Tennis

Other

Winemakers

Fictional Croatian New Zealanders

See also

Literature

References