Croats and Māori in New Zealand:
Memory, belonging, identity
Senka Bozic-Vrbancic
THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT
At the turn of the twentieth century, Croatians were migrating from Dalmatia – then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – and Māori, having become part of the British Empire, were losing much of their land. All were looking for work. They came together on the gumfields of the far north, digging up kauri gum resin for export.
Many of the Croatians settled and married – some to mail-order brides from home, others to local Māori women – and a unique community was born. Drawing on a range of sources, from official historical narratives on the kauri gum industry, to oral histories, novels, letters, newspaper articles, marriage certificates, and much more, Bozic-Vrbancic examines Māori–Croatian relationships on the gumfields and beyond. This is a significant contribution to ideas about migration and displacement and an important discussion of the impact of different social models – colonialism, assimilation, biculturalism, and multiculturalism – on Māori and Croatian identity and memory. The book is illustrated with historical photographs.
The author
SENKA BOZIC-VRBANCIC is McArthur Research Fellow in the School of Social and Environmental Enquiry at the University of Melbourne. During the last decade she has worked in New Zealand, Ukraine, Croatia and Australia, completing her doctoral thesis on Māori–Croatian relationships at the University of Auckland in 2004. Her scholarly interests range widely, from indigenous and migrant identity formation, the politics of representation, visual culture and diaspora issues, to nationalisms and multiculturalisms. Her research addresses questions of globalisation, home, belonging, community and transnational connections.
Publication details
Hardback, 235 x 155 mm, 240 pages
B&W photographs and maps
ISBN 978 1 877372 09 4,
RRP $49.95
Published in 2008
OUT OF PRINT