Croatian Archives of Australia

After the initial meeting in September 2022, the Croatian Archive of Australia from Sydney promoted its website. The aim of the Archive is to preserve records of the history of the Croatian community in Australia, and the web pages already offer important information about publications as well as some digitized material, for example photographs related to the history of Croats in Australia. The website launch took place on December 1, 2023. The news is published on the CroatiaWeek portal and in Hrvatski vjesnik (Croatian Herald).

Research in Sydney

Meetings were held in Sydney on November 28, 29 and 30 with representatives of the Croatian community. Research was conducted in several public and private libraries and information on ephemeral materials and gray literature related to Croats in Australia was found (which is in the focus of this year’s research as part of the Croatian Emigrant Press project). Based on this, a bibliography of manuals and instructions for Croatian immigrants to Australia will be created by the end of 2023 (about 150 records).

 

Croatian Cultural Society Wellington

The exhibition They wrote in Glagolitic Script… was presented on November 25, 2023 at the Croatian Cultural Society in Wellington. Ivana Hebrang Grgić, the author of the exhibition, also held workshops with children and adults. Then the book Their faraway home was presented by Ivana Hebrang Grgić and Ana Barbarić. In the conversation with the members of the society, information was gathered about publications that are essential for the further upgrading of bibliographies as part of the Croatian Emigrant Press project.

 

War Memorial Museum Library

The library of the War Memorial Museum in Auckland was searched on 21 and 22 November 2023. The publication Dom i svijet (Home and the World) was found, which was published in two issues in 1932 in Perth, Australia. Until now, it was not known where the copies were kept. This copy (issue 1) is available in the library only recently because it arrived as part of a legacy from a private collection. The publication is significant for research into the history of publishing activities of Croats in Australia, but its discovery confirms the assumption of the Croatian Emigrant Press project that some of the lost publications are in private collections. Digitization of this and another publication has been agreed. Digitization will be carried out during 2024, and the publications will be available in the Croatian Emigrant Press repository.

 

 

 

 

 

Club meetings – Kaitaia and Dargaville

In Kaitaia and Dargaville on November 19 and 20, meetings were held with members of Dalmatian clubs. The book Their faraway home was presented to them, and in the conversation parts of the research related to these towns were highlighted. In particular, they discussed the possibilities of researching and finding lost publications – for example, the newspaper Glas istine, which is known to have been published in Dargaville at the beginning of the 20th century, but not a single copy has been found to date. In addition to the talks, a visit to the Gumdiggers Park was also organized, where there is a reconstruction of the settlements where the first settlers from Croatia lived in New Zealand. In the museum shop, publications and semi-publications related to Croats were found. The semi-publication The Gumfield Collection: 100 years on: looking back 1898-1940 from 2015 is particularly interesting, on the basis of which a book of the same title was published in 2018, and later (2018 and 2023) the book The Gumfields: Northern Wairoa to the Far North: 120 years on: looking back.

 

  

Whangarei, Kaitaia, Awanui

Meetings with representatives of Croatian clubs were held in Whangarei, Kaitaia and Awanui on November 17, 18 and 19, 2023. Several private collections were researched and new publications and semi-publications (mainly so-called family books) were found. Digitization of one author’s book and one manuscript was agreed upon. Digitization is planned for 2024, and both items will be available in the Croatian Emigrant Press repository.

Awanui

Te Ahu Museum

Kaitaia Dalmatian Club

Dalmatian Cultural Society – presentation and exhibition

In the Dalmatian Cultural Society in Auckland on November 16, 2023, the exhibition They Wrote in Glagolitic Script… was presented. After the lecture on Glagolitic script, the presentation of the book Their faraway home was held. The exhibition and lecture were attended by members of the society, with whom the collaborators on the Croatian Emigrant Press project discussed the possibilities of further research and the digitization of publications, especially the Zora newspaper, copies of which are available in the Society’s archives.

 

University of Auckland

At the University of Auckland, research was conducted in the library on November 15, 2023. Based on the research and meeting with prof Tatjana Buklijaš, more publications related to Croats in New Zealand were found. All these publications will be added to the bibliographies created as part of the Croatian Emigrant Press project. An old printing press from 1863 is on display in the library. The first Croatian newspapers in New Zealand were most likely printed using a similar model.