Tarara: Croats and Maori in New Zealand : Memory, Belonging, Identity

At the turn of the 20th century, Croatians began migrating from Dalmatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to New Zealand. New Zealand's indigenous Maori called the Croats Tarara. With New Zealand having become part of the British Empire, the Maori were losing much of their land. Since both groups of peoples 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 Maori women - and a unique community was born. Drawing on a range of sources - including oral histories, novels, letters, newspaper articles, marriage certificates, and much more - author Senka Bozic-Vrbancic examines Maori-Croatian relationships on the gumfields and beyond. This book makes a significant contribution to ideas about migration and displacement and contains an important discussion of the impact of different social models - colonialism, assimilation, biculturalism, and multiculturalism - on Maori and Croatian identity and memory.