Author: HIT

The Central City Library in Auckland is home to some copies of Napredak (Progress), 1906-1909.

The copies are available in the Research Centre in print and on microfilm.

The Dalmatian Cultural Society in Auckland has a museum, an archive and a library. Some copies (or photocopies) of newspapers published by Croats in New Zealand are available at the Society. One of the titles is Zora (The Dawn), a newspaper that had been published in Croatian, in the period 1913-1917. The legacy of S. Jelicich, that include unique copies of some newspapers, is also available.

Figure 1. Title page of Zora, no. 15 from 1914

Figure 2. Karen Dobrić, Albin Dobrić, Linda Tolich, Ivana Hebrang Grgić, Sylvia Sokolich and Slavko Žarnić

The newspaper Brotherly Unity (Bratska sloga) is a newspaper that was published in only four issues in 1899. All the four issues can be found in Alexandar Turnbull Library that is a part of National Library of New Zealand in Wellington. In the same library some issues of The United Front (1942-1943) are available.

Our project collaborator Maja Krtalić arranged some meetings in Wellingtonu – with members of the Croatian Cultural Society, Ester Slee and Lyn Bareta (Figure 1) and with Janet Toland, the dean of the School of Information Management at Victoria University of Wellington (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Ester Slee, Lyn Bareta and Ivana Hebrang Grigć

Figure 2. Janet Toland and Ivana Hebrang Grgić

The first meeting of the team members from all the three countries was held in Sydney – Maja Krtalić (New Zealand), Jasna Novak Milić (Australia) and Ivana Hebrang Grgić (Croatia).

An interview was recorded for Radio SBS, explaining the aim of the project. The interview is in Croatian and it calls for all the Croats in Australia to collaborate in gathering data about publications that are of interest. The interview will be broadcast by the end of November and shared on social media afterwards.

The Croatian Studies Foundation published posts about the visits to Macquarie University and to the Croatian Archives of Australia on their Facebook page and on Instagram.

 

At Macquarie University a meeting was held with  Dr Walter Vori Lalich, a scientist who also participated in some important events regarding Croatian immigrants and who knows some important facts about Croatian newspapers in Australia.

 

Interesting materials were found in the Croatian Archives of Australia in Sydney. New data about newspapers was gathered through interviews with members of the Archives – Fabijan Lovoković (president and former editor-in-chief of the newspaper Spremnost that was published in the period of 1957-2007), Ante Glavor (co-president of the Archives and president of Croatian-Australian Literary and Artistic Society), Ana Watson, Bože Žuro, Zora Marušić and  reverend Petar Horvat. Interviews were made by  project team members Jasna Novak Milić and Ivana Hebrang Grgić.  On the portal Domovina a text about the meeting was published.

There were three meetings at the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Canberra – with Betty Bernardica Pavelich Sirois, Croatian Ambassador to Australia(Figure 1), first secretary Sandra Tvrtković (Figure 2), Mario Dešpoja (Figure 3) and Vanda Boras Podravac (Figure 4). New meetings have been arranged as well as cooperation with Zoran Šangut, Consul General of Croatia in Perth.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.