According to Immigration New Zealand data (2011), in the financial year of 2010/11 the number of Lebanese males between the ages of 20 – 29 who were granted a ‘Returning Resident’s Visa’ from Immigration New Zealand was four. This was out of a total of 12 Lebanese. I am one of these four Lebanese males. In contrast, in the same financial year 9,347 people were granted “returning resident’s visas’ from Great Britain, 7,039 people were from China and 3,781 were from South Africa.
In the 2006 Census, the proportion of Auckland’s population who were born overseas reached 37%. Statistics New Zealand (2006, 2) states that;
“Auckland was the most ethnically diverse region in New Zealand, with 56.5% of its population identifying with the European ethnic group, 18.9% with the Asian ethnic group, 14.4% with the Pacific peoples ethnic group, and 11.1% with the Māori ethnic group.”
In both colonial and contemporary history, Auckland has been the main entry and exit point for goods and people. Bedggood (2004, 25) argues that ‘without Auckland there would be no New Zealand as we know it’. Auckland is the gateway for New Zealand.
Statistics from the Auckland City Council (2002, 2) show that the Auckland population in Auckland Central, where I live, has a large proportion of residents who have lived here for less than 5 years. Auckland Central has a significant transient population with residents mostly living here for work or study and then moving to more settled parts of Auckland. Many new residents to New Zealand, like myself, begin their life in New Zealand as a resident of Auckland Central.
As a new resident to New Zealand I have become more aware of my cultural identity and how it is placed in the Auckland context. The Corban family are an Auckland family that is well known and well respected. They are the family behind the internationally renowned Corbans wine company. When I first arrived in New Zealand I met a granddaughter of Assid Abraham Corban at the Lebanese bakery on Dominion Road. I had heard of Corbans wine, a popular wine from New Zealand, before I arrived in the country. She explained to me that her Grandfather was the founder of the Corban Winery and that the family was Lebanese.
The ‘History of the Corban Winery’ can be found on the Corban Estate Arts Centre website. Before buying land out in West Auckland, Assid ran a shop on Queen Street in Auckland’s CBD selling ‘…fabrics, jewellery, drapery and other ‘fancy’ goods’ (CEAC, 2004, 1) In fact, Assid Corban’s story follows the story of Auckland in the late 1800s. He began as a trader, serving the miners in Waihi and Thames, earned enough to open a shop in Queen Street in the Auckland CBD and then went on to become a landowner on the fringes of Auckland. His life really was an authentic ‘Auckland’ biography intersecting with the history of place, albeit a very successful story.
In my research, I also discovered that the Corban family came from a village in Mt Lebanon and Mt Lebanon is where I am from. The Corban family are an example of Lebanese in New Zealand that assimilated well into New Zealand Society. The Corban family did this by becoming landowners in Auckland and developing a successful business. The Corban family show why the Lebanese were referred to as ‘…‘the quiet immigrants’ because they were easily assimilated into New Zealand society (Veitch & Tinawi, 2009, 2).’
Yet, even though the Lebanese were seen in such a positive light as immigrants, New Zealand has never been welcoming towards the Lebanese in its immigration policy. It took seven years for Assid to be able to bring his wife to New Zealand.
“In the 1890s there was a move to introduce legislation that would stop Lebanese migration and ban those already resident from peddling goods. It was partially successful. In 1900 Lebanese immigration became more difficult with the introduction of an English language test. Although those who had arrived could be naturalised as British citizens, Lebanese could not draw pensions or family allowances until the 1930s, as they were officially classified as Asiatics.” (Veitch & Tinawi, 2009. 2)
The data on current immigration show that the policies in New Zealand are no more welcoming to Lebanese than they were a hundred years ago. Although the policies are not specifically directed at Lebanese, very few Lebanese are able to meet the criteria. A total of 43,810 people were granted a ‘Returning Resident’s Visa’ from Immigration New Zealand in the 2010/11 financial year. Of these 43,810 people, only 12 people were Lebanese (Immigration New Zealand, 2011).
As a Lebanese immigrant, I am following the patterns of the Lebanese immigrants to New Zealand before me, by finding the best way to assimilate into my new home and using the opportunities available to me in the local environment to do this. In doing this, I have discovered that I am also following the demographic trends and patterns of Auckland Central in general.
References
Auckland City Council, 2002. Auckland Central CBD: Resident Population. Available at: http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/projects/cbdproject/docs/aucklandcbdresident.pdf [accessed 22 September 2012]
Bedggood, David. 2004. Auckland – Antipodean Portal of Empire. In Almighty Auckland? eds. Ian Carter, David Craig and Steve Matthewman. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
Carter, Ian. 2004. JAFFA/JAFA: A Personal Introduction. In Almighty Auckland? eds. Ian Carter, David Craig and Steve Matthewman. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
CEAC, 2004. A Brief History of the Corban Winery. Available at: http://www.ceac.org.nz/about_ceac/a_brief_history_of_the_corban_winery.aspx [accessed 21 September 2012]
Immigration New Zealand, 2010. RRV1 - Returning Residence Apps Decided by FY - 10-Sep-2012. Available at: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/statistics/ [accessed 22 September 2012]
Leigh, Jack. 1984, What will happen to our loved ones? New Zealand Women’s Weekly, (27 February): 4-6
Statistics New Zealand, 2006. QuickStats About Culture and Identity – 2006 Census. Available at: http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Census/2006-reports/quickstats-subject/Culture-Identity/qstats-about-culture-and-identity-2006-census.pdf [accessed 22 September 2012]
Veitch, James and Tinawi, Dalia. 2009. Middle Eastern peoples - Assimilation and recent arrivals. In Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Available at: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/middle-eastern-peoples/2 [accessed 22 September 2012]