The Croatian Cultural Society in Auckland (New Zealand) and the Croatian Embassy in Canberra organized a celebration of Croatian Statehood Day with a rich cultural program on Saturday, June 9th, marking also an impressive anniversary - 160 years from the arrival of the first Croatians in New Zealand.
The Statehood Day celebration was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of New Zealand and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rt Hon Winston Peters with his wife, Minister for Economic and Regional Development Hon Shane Jones with his wife, leader of the opposition and President of the National Party Hon Simon Bridges with his wife, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Vice-President of the National Party Rt Hon Paula Bennett, Lady Naida Glavish, the Maouri Leader, and Honorary Consuls of Croatia Mr Leo Panzic with his wife and Sir Peter Talijancic with his wife, as well as numerous representatives of the Croatian community.
According to the official data of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, there are about 100,000 people living in the country who declare the Croatian origin.
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