Croatian New Zealanders

[1] The majority of these are located primarily in and around Auckland and Northland with small numbers in and around Canterbury and Southland.

The first person born in New Zealand of Croatian descent was Leander Thomas Pavletich in 1864.

[8] These early Dalmatian settlers were also responsible in large part for establishing the New Zealand wine industry.

[9] Forced off the kauri gumfields many moved into viticulture and winemaking instead, mainly in West Auckland around Kumeu, and in the Hawke's Bay region.

[10][11] 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) and Villa Maria Estates, were established in the mid-20th century respectively by Croatian New Zealanders Ivan Yukich and Sir George Fistonich.