Ruth DeSouza » Migration & Culture » Asians

Asians in New Zealand

Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in New Zealand, increasing by around 140% over the last ten years. The 2006 Census found that European New Zealander’s make up 67.6% of the population of people in New Zealand, 14.6 % of people as Māori. Pacific Peoples make up 6.9% of the population, Asians 9.2% and Middle Eastern, Latin American & African people 0.9%. The Census also found that 11.1% of people identified themselves as New Zealanders (Statistics New Zealand, 2006). By 2016 Asians are expected to make up 9% of New Zealand’s and 20% of the Auckland Region’s total population.

There is debate about the utility of the term "Asian" (see Rasanathan et al., work), which is strategic on one hand and disguises difference on the other. This page has links to "Asian" websites both in New Zealand and the rest of the world. 'Asian' is a term that has differing definitions depending on the geographical context in which it is used. In New Zealand "Asian" tends to refer to people from South East Asia (but South Asians are often subsumed into this category).Prior to the mid-1980's, migrants to New Zealand were of European origin and New Zealand was one of the last countries in the world to remove discrimination against Asian immigrants.

The increase in Asian migration was related to the encouragement of foreign investment in New Zealand; refugee flows from Cambodia and Vietnam and migration from Hong Kong related to the cessation of the colony to China . "Black Peter", whose real name is believed to be Edward Peters arrived in New Zealand in 1853. Peters is believed to have been Goan and was the one of the first Indians to arrive in New Zealand. He was a pioneer gold prospector who helped Gabriel Reed discover gold at Tuapeka in Otago (Leckie, 1995) .

Blogs

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) written on a website where you write frequently and share with others.

Community Organisations

I was in the process of collating a list of all the ethnic community organisations, but two organisations have begun doing this comprehensive work, see the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Office of Ethnic Affairs Community Directory both are electronic and updated regularly. Another way to connect with ethnic community organisations is through the Aotearoa Ethnic Network.

Demographics

Within the broad category of 'Asian ', there are many individual ethnic groups with distinct characteristics. In the 2001 Census, 44 percent identified with the Chinese ethnic group, 26 percent with the Indian ethnic group, 8 percent Korean, 5 percent Filipino, 4 percent Japanese, 3 percent Sri Lankan, 2 percent Cambodian, 2 percent Thai, and 8 percent with other Asian ethnic groups. (Note that people could give more than one response; therefore, these percentages do not add to 100).

Health

Asians are a relatively young population, who are generally in good health (Asian Public Health Project Team, 2003). Only 5 percent of the Asian population in the Auckland region are aged 65 years or older, while half of Asian people in the Auckland region are between the ages of 25 to 65 years, 20 percent are 15 to 24 years and another 20 percent are 0 to 14 years (Asian Public Health Project team, 2003) . Asian people have a similar age-distribution to Māori and Pacific, but are younger (on average) than Europeans. Other survey data considers Asians as a homogenous group and notes some worrying findings:

• Asian people were less likely to have visited a health practitioner (or service) when they were first unwell than other New Zealanders, Māori and Pacific people.
• Asian people were less likely than Europeans to visit a health practitioner about a chronic disease (Doctor, specialist, nurse or complementary healer) in the previous 12 months.
• Asian women were less likely to have had a mammography or cervical screening test in the last three years than other New Zealand women.
• Asians were less likely to use any type of telephone helpline in the last 12 months than all New Zealanders (Plunketline).
• Asians also only wanted to see their GP for a short term illness or a routine check up rather than visiting their family doctor for injury or poisoning, or for mental or emotional health reasons, than other New Zealanders.

In the survey South Asians have some worrying attributes. Women especially had the lowest rate of physical activity and the highest rates of obesity. They were also more likely to be overweight and obese than other Asians. South Asians have the highest rates by far of diabetes, greater than other Asians and Māori and Pacific Islanders, a higher prevalence of treated high cholesterol (12%) and diabetes (14%) compared with other Asians. With physical activity thought to be one of the main protective factors against a wide range of diseases including cardiovascular, diabetes and some cancers this makes for sobering reading. South Asians have a higher prevalence of asthma (16%) than other Asian people. In terms of housing South Asians (38%) were more likely to live in the most deprived areas than other Asian people (Scragg & Maitra, 2005) .

Education

Social services

Engagement and participation

Media

Asian links (world)

South Asian/Indian Links

This is a group designation with multiple and disparate meanings, it is a term used pre-independence to refer to people from Bangladesh AND Pakistan . In the Western Hemisphere people from India are known as East Indians whereas in the United Kingdom and Africa they are known as Asians . In New Zealand however, South Asian is a more commonly used term, however, as [Leckie (1995) asserts "such regional constructions are questionable both in terms of who makes the construction and whether communities and individuals find such categories meaningful." I am aware that referring to Indians as a homogenous group is a misnomer as they are fragmented into a multiplicity of religious, linguistic and caste groups

History links

Port Cities website (has narratives on ethnic minorities in the Port of London including Goans, Portuguese, Swahili-speakers, Somalis, Bengalis and Chinese.

South Asian Migration Histories

South Asian History

South Asian Heritage Foundation Ontario

Aainaa: Reflections through Indian weddings, an exhibition and resources held at Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand)

Chinese Links

The arrival of the first Chinese migrants in 1866 was greeted with fear over the impact of foreigners, leading to the restrictive Acts of Parliament being introduced between 1870 and 1899, including the Asiatic Restriction Act.

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Copyright © 2003-2007 Ruth DeSouza. All rights reserved. Contact: ruth[at]ruthdesouza.com.