Speeches 

Croatian settlement in New Zealand

Speech notes for address reception celebrating 150 years of settlement by Croatians in New Zealand. Banquet Hall, Parliament, Wellington

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Tena Koutou Katoa / Dobra Vecher / Good Evening

Welcome to Parliament this evening for what is a very special occasion for all New Zealanders of Croatian and Dalmatian origin or descent.

We open our doors to you today in acknowledgement of the role that your community has played in our country since its earliest days of settlement.

It is not so long ago that we celebrated our sesquicentennial as a nation, 150 years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The first settlers from the Dalmatian coast, of what was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, arrived in 1858 - fewer than twenty years after the treaty was signed.

Life for the settlers was tough. Daily back-breaking work on the gum-fields was compounded by the discrimination that they faced from society at large and also from the restrictive and oppressive laws of the time.

The kauri towns of Northland and the Kaipara Harbour were built in large part by the sweat and muscle of those settlers, and their legacy remains very much a part of that region of the country. Visitors to Kaitaia are still greeted with a hearty Dobrodošli alongside Maori and English as they enter the town; a nod to the pioneering men and women who left their families and travelled thousands of kilometres to make this part of the world their home.

The special relationship which developed between the settlers and Northern Maori tribes, including Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Kurī, must also be mentioned here. A shortage of young women among the settler communities resulted in a significant degree of intermarriage and the emergence of new identities; the ‘Tarara', who remain proud of their lineage to this day.

Shane Jones, who will speak later this evening, and Dame Mira Szászy, former President of the Maori Women's Welfare League, are just some of the prominent New Zealanders of Tarara ancestry.

I know that some of you have come here from all over New Zealand to be part of this occasion. Many of you will have had the memories of these early days passed down to you by parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents. This evening we acknowledge their work, their sacrifice, and their dreams of forging a better life for themselves, and for you, their descendants.

Looking around the room this evening I can say with certainty that their dreams have been realised. The foresight and tenacity of the community is evident in the many household names we have come to know. From the giants of primary industries, to giants of the sports field and television screen, New Zealanders of Croatian descent are successful in many areas.

Our government works to build a cohesive New Zealand which draws on the strengths of the many communities which make up New Zealand. Every year in this Banquet Hall we celebrate the festivals of Chinese New Year, of Diwali, of Eid, and of other occasions of significance to New Zealand's many communities.

By doing so, we send a strong message out to all New Zealanders that across cultures and beliefs, we are all in the same waka.

We all want the best for ourselves and our children, to live peacefully alongside each other, and to work for the common good. At the same time, each of our communities want to be acknowledged for its uniqueness, drawn from its rich and diverse cultural heritage.

Respecting and valuing Croatian New Zealanders also means working to ensure that connections back to Croatia are made as accessible as possible. Recently announced changes will reduce the time and work required for many visa applications in order to make the process faster and simpler. We hope that this work will continue to move forward.

My congratulations go to this community - marking 150 years of settlement in New Zealand is a very significant occasion.

I now propose a toast to the memory of all Croatian and Dalmatian settlers in New Zealand, and to the continued success and wellbeing of their many descendants.

To 150 years of settlement

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