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Samoan New Zealanders

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Samoan New Zealanders
Total population
182,721 (2018)
Languages
New Zealand English, Samoan
Religion
Christianity, No Religion

Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2018 census, 182,721 New Zealanders identified themselves as being of Samoan ethnicity with 55,512 stating that they were born in Samoa, and 861 stating that they were born in American Samoa.[1]

History

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Overview

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The country of Samoa (distinct from American Samoa) has a unique historical relationship with New Zealand, having been administered by New Zealand from 1914 to 1962.

Notable levels of Samoan migration to New Zealand began in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Samoan illegal immigrants were the targets of notorious "dawn raids" by the police, which led to accusations of ethnic bias in tackling illicit immigration. That same decade, some Samoan New Zealanders joined the newborn Polynesian Panthers, an organisation dedicated to supporting Pasifika New Zealanders, for example by providing information on their legal rights.[2] The number of Samoan-born residents in New Zealand doubled to over 24,000 during the 1970s.[2] In Auckland, Samoan communities developed in inner city suburbs, such as Ponsonby, Freemans Bay and Grey Lynn.[3] By the mid-1970s, gentrification caused Samoan communities to relocate to more distant suburbs, such as Māngere and Massey.[3][4] Grey Lynn continued to have a large Samoan population until the mid-1980s.[3]

In 1982, a number of Samoan-born residents were granted citizenship with the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act. Samoan immigration in New Zealand has subsequently been regulated by quotas. Since 2002, 1,100 Samoans are granted entry each year.[2]

In the 1980s, figures from the Samoan community became nationally recognised New Zealand celebrities, such as rugby union player Michael Jones, who grew up in Te Atatū South.[5][4] In 1993, Samoan-born Taito Phillip Field became the first Pasifika member of parliament (MP), when he was won the Otara electorate seat for Labour.[6]

Dame Cindy Kiro gives royal assent to the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Act, at Government House, Wellington, on 25 November 2024

In 2024, the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Act gave Samoans born in Samoa between 1924 and 1948, whose New Zealand citizenship was stripped in 1982 under the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act, a pathway to New Zealand citizenship. The measure was expected to affect up to 3,500 people.[7][8]

Samoan New Zealanders, compared to other groups such as Dutch New Zealanders who immigrated to New Zealand at the same time, retain a large number of Samoan language speakers.[4]

Demographics

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The 1874 census recorded 6 Samoans in New Zealand. Numbers have increased steadily ever since, to 279 in 1936, 1,336 in 1951, 19,711 in 1976, 24,141 in 1981, and 47,118 in 2001.[9]

There were 182,721 people identifying as being part of the Samoan ethnic group at the 2018 New Zealand census, making up 3.9% of New Zealand's population. This is an increase of 38,583 people (26.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 51,618 people (39.4%) since the 2006 census. Some of the increase between the 2013 and 2018 census was due to Statistics New Zealand adding ethnicity data from other sources (previous censuses, administrative data, and imputation) to the 2018 census data to reduce the number of non-responses.[10]

There were 91,443 males and 91,275 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.002 males per female. The median age was 22.8 years, compared to 37.4 years for New Zealand as a whole; 62,688 people (34.3%) were aged under 15 years, 50,229 (27.5%) were 15 to 29, 59,859 (32.8%) were 30 to 64, and 9,942 (5.4%) were 65 or older.[11]

In terms of population distribution, 64.9% of Samoan New Zealanders live in the Auckland region, 27.0% live in the North Island outside the Auckland region, and 8.1% live in the South Island. The Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board area of Auckland has the highest concentration of Samoan people at 26.8%, followed by the Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board area (24.2%) and the Manurewa local board area (19.7%). Porirua City has the highest concentration of Samoan peoples outside of Auckland at 16.1%. The Kaikōura District had the lowest concentration of Samoan people at 0.2%, followed by the Gore, Queenstown-Lakes, Southland and Waimate districts, all at 0.3%.[12]

A majority of New Zealanders of Samoan ethnicity today are New Zealand-born.[2] At the 2013 census, 62.7 percent of Samoan New Zealanders were born in New Zealand. Of the overseas-born population, 84 percent had been living in New Zealand for at least five years, and 48 percent had been living in New Zealand for at least 20 years.[13]

At the 2013 census, 63.8 percent of Samoan New Zealanders were in the labour force, of which 15.3 percent were unemployed. The large employment industries of Samoans were manufacturing (17.3 percent), health care and social assistance (9.1 percent), and retail trade (8.7 percent).[13]

Culture

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In 2013, 56% of ethnic Samoan New Zealanders were able to speak the Samoan language.[14] As of 2018, Samoan is the third most-spoken language in New Zealand, behind English and Māori.[15]

Samoan cultural values, the "Samoan way of life" (fa‘asamoa), are reportedly retained particularly by elderly members of the community, and include respect and mutual help within the extended family (‘aiga), as well as fa‘alavelave (ceremonial and family obligations), and attendance at a Christian church.[16] In 2013, 83.4 percent of Samoans affiliated with at least one religion, compared with 55.0 percent for all New Zealanders.[13]

Traditional tattooing (tatau) is embraced by some Samoan New Zealanders, both men and women, as an expression of cultural identity.[17]

Samoans have contributed significantly to New Zealand culture in the fields of art, music, literature and sport.[18]

Notable Samoan New Zealanders

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Arts

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Scribe

Sports

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Boxer Joseph Parker

All Blacks (past & present)

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Tana Umaga, of the All Blacks

General

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Politics

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Table 3. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Samoans: History and migration". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  3. ^ a b c Friesen, Wardlow (2009). "The Demographic Transformation of Inner City Auckland". Population Association of New Zealand. 35: 55–74.
  4. ^ a b c Stewart, Keith (2009). "Into the West". In Macdonald, Finlay; Kerr, Ruth (eds.). West: The History of Waitakere. Random House. pp. 115–116. ISBN 9781869790080.
  5. ^ Rattue, Chris (30 June 2000). "Rugby: Jones hopes it is not goodbye tonight". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Former Minister Taito Phillip Field has died aged 68". Radio New Zealand. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  7. ^ Strong, Khalia (26 November 2024). "Sāmoa citizenship bill becomes law". Pacific Media Network. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Royal assent of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Bill". Government House. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Samoans: Facts and Figures". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  10. ^ "New Zealand's population reflects growing diversity | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Ethnic group (detailed total response - level 3) by age and sex, for the census usually resident population count, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (RC, TA, SA2, DHB)". nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Ethnic group (detailed total response - level 3) by age and sex, for the census usually resident population count, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (RC, TA, SA2, DHB)". nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b c "Population and geography – 2013 Census ethnic group profiles: Samoan". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  14. ^ Misatauveve Melani Anae (1 March 2015). "Samoans: Culture and Identity". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  15. ^ "2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights (updated)". Statistics New Zealand. 30 April 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Samoans: Life in New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  17. ^ Susana Talagi (8 April 2008). "Sacred marks identify Samoans". Fairfax New Zealand. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012.
  18. ^ "Samoans: Contributions to New Zealand". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
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