German New Zealanders
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Auckland, Kirke, Wellington | |
| Languages | |
| New Zealand English, German | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germans, German Australians, German Americans, German Canadians, French Germans |
German New Zealanders (German: Deutsch-Neuseeländer) are New Zealand citizens of ethnic German ancestry. The German community constitute one of the largest European ethnic groups in New Zealand, numbering 12,810 in the 2013 Census.
Demography
The 2013 Census counted 12,810 New Zealand residents who had ancestry from Germany.[1] This number does not include people of German ancestry who selected their ancestry as simply "New Zealander". Today the number of New Zealanders with German ancestry is estimated to be approximately 200,000 (5% of the population). Many German New Zealanders anglicized their names during the 20th century due to the negative perception of Germans fostered by World War I and World War II.
In 2013, the German language was spoken at home by 36,642 persons in New Zealand. German is the ninth most widely spoken language in the country after English, Māori, Samoan, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, French, Cantonese, and Chinese (not further defined).
Tourism
New Zealand has long been a popular destination for German backpacker tourists and students.
German New Zealand culture
The Goethe-Institut is active in New Zealand and there is a branch in Wellington.[2]
Notable German New Zealanders
- Morton W. Coutts, inventor
- Russell Crowe, actor
- Christian Cullen, rugby union footballer
- Awen Guttenbeil, rugby league footballer
- Howard Kippenberger, major general
- Josh Kronfeld, TV presenter and rugby union footballer
- David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Oscar Natzka, operatic singer
- Arnold Nordmeyer, politician
- William Ott, mayor
- Victoria Schmidt, actress
- Karl Urban, actor
See also
- Forty-Eighters
- Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand
- History of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand
- Goethe-Institut
