Hungarian New Zealanders
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Hungarian New Zealanders ( hu, új-zélandi magyarok) are people who have migrated from
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
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 ...
, and their descendants, if they choose to identify as such. Hungarian New Zealanders constitute a small minority of New Zealand's population. In the 2001 census in New Zealand, when asked to indicate their ethnic identity, 894 New Zealanders described themselves as "Hungarian", altogether 1,191 spoke Hungarian and 987 stated they were born in Hungary. In 2006 1476 people spoke Hungarian.


History


19th century

Hungarians began to emigrate to New Zealand in the middle of the 19th century, but this was not a permanent settling. After the Hungarian Revolution in 1848 small groups arrived from Hungary, but also they travelled forward. In the 1860s there was a
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
in
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, again small groups arrived in New Zealand. One of them, Zsigmond Vékey, a lawyer became the journalist of ''
Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...
''. Later he went back to Hungary. The first permanent settlers came between 1872 and 1876, and some people later in the 19th century.


20th century

In 1909 a certain man, named István Rácz arrived in Tuatapere, Southland. He wrote letters to his home in
Csongrád Csongrád ( ro, Ciongrad; tr, Conğrad sr, Чонград, Čongrad, archaically also ''Црноград/Crnograd'') is a town in Csongrád County in southern Hungary. History At the time of the Hungarian Conquest (the end of 9th century) the ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. Because of this, in 1911 three other families (the Szivák, Kollát and Kókay families) joined him from the city. During the next two decades still some families followed them, altogether approximately 100 families. Some of their descendants became famous: in 1970 István Kókay's son, Stephen Kokay was chosen as the representative of the Waiau district on the Wallace County Council. One of his daughters is a biologist, named Dr. Ilona Kokay, who teaches at the Otago University. His son Les Kokay is internationally recognised in music circles for his writings on Bob Dylan in ISIS magazine and other writings on Bob Dylan. He invented the ‘LesK’ cube (a 3x3x3 cube puzzle) and was the first to solve a ‘fairly hard’ tetra-cube puzzle. Mike Racz became a Guinness recorder as the fastest oyster opener. In the beginning of the Second World War 55 Hungarians arrived, right after the war still 62. In the beginning of the 1950s another 136 Hungarians arrived in New Zealand. The largest group of refugees from Hungary, 1099 people, arrived after the
1956 Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
. Most of them was settled in the main centres of
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. One of them was
Anna Porter Anna Maria Porter, is a Canadian publisher and novelist. Life and career Born Anna Szigethy in Budapest, she emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. She received a bachelor's degree and Master of Arts degree from the University of Canterbury. She star ...
(born ''Anna Szigethy''), the novelist, who later moved to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The fathers of
Marton Csokas Marton Paul Csokas (, hu, Csókás Márton Pál; born 30 June 1966) is a Hungarian-New Zealand actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Toi Whakaari drama school, he has worked extensively in Australia and Hollywood, along with ...
and
Nándor Tánczos Nándor Steven Tánczos (, hu, Tánczos Nándor; born 29 May 1966) is a New Zealand social ecologist, researcher, educator, activist and political commentator. He is currently a councillor in the Whakatāne District Council. He is also co-direc ...
both were 1956-refugees. Tom Paulay, also a 1956-refugee, taught at the
University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
. Until 1970 still 290 Hungarians settled down in New Zealand.


Hungarian culture in New Zealand

In the 1980s there was movement to create cultural associations. In 2006 such societies exist in four cities:
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
,
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
and
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
. On 20 August 2006, Magyar Millennium Park was opened in Wellington, featuring an original
Székely Székely may refer to: *Székelys, Hungarian people from the historical region of Transylvania, Romania **Székely Land, historic and ethnographic area in Transylvania, Romania * Székely (village), a village in northeastern Hungary *Székely (sur ...
gate. There is a quarterly newspaper for the Hungarians, the ''Magyar Szó'' ("Hungarian Word").


Famous Hungarian New Zealanders

*
Marton Csokas Marton Paul Csokas (, hu, Csókás Márton Pál; born 30 June 1966) is a Hungarian-New Zealand actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Toi Whakaari drama school, he has worked extensively in Australia and Hollywood, along with ...
- actor, played in ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' and in the ''
Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven may refer to: Religious * Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew) **Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels * Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...
''. *
Nándor Tánczos Nándor Steven Tánczos (, hu, Tánczos Nándor; born 29 May 1966) is a New Zealand social ecologist, researcher, educator, activist and political commentator. He is currently a councillor in the Whakatāne District Council. He is also co-direc ...
- cannabis advocate and former MP of the Parliament of New Zealand *
George Baloghy George Baloghy ( hu, Baloghy György, born 20 April 1950) is a prominent New Zealand artist. He is a painter, preferring to paint with oil on canvas. Biography He was born in 1950 in Budapest, Hungary and emigrated to New Zealand in 1956 as a ...
- artist, painter * Imre Vallyon - writer *
Nick Horvath Nick Horvath (born February 18, 1981) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). In 2010, he became the first person to win an NCA ...
- naturalized basketball player *
Louis Fenton Louis Ferenc Puskas Fenton (born 3 April 1993) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for National Premier Leagues Queensland club Lions FC. Early life Fenton, whose mother is Hungarian and whose father is a postman, is named afte ...
- New Zealand national football team player * Sandor Earl - rugby player *
Claire Szabó Claire Szabó is a New Zealand chief executive officer and was president of the New Zealand Labour Party from 2019 to 2022. Biography Her father came to New Zealand as a refugee from Hungary in 1956 following the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Hun ...
- politician, president of the
New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
There was a Hungarian football club, called ''
Hungaria Hungaria or Hungária may refer to: *Latin for Hungary, a European country **For historical entities (from 895) see: Hungary (disambiguation) *Lady of Hungaria, the national personification of Hungary * ''Hungaria'' (Liszt), a symphonic poem by Fra ...
'', notable members were: * Imre Kiss * Julius Beck * Istvan Nemet


See also

* European New Zealanders * Europeans in Oceania *
Hungarian Australians Hungarian Australians ( hu, Ausztráliai magyarok) are Australian citizens of Hungarian descent. The constant influx of Hungarian immigrants was marked by several waves. Most of the Hungarian immigrants to Australia came after World War II and ...
*
Immigration to New Zealand Migration to New Zealand began with Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, then uninhabited, about 1250 to 1280. European migration provided a major influx following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Subsequent immigration has be ...
*
Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...


References


External links


Newspaper ''Magyar Szó''

Home page of the Hungarian consulate in New Zealand




{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 New Zealanders * European New Zealander