Visit New Zealand

EDGAR ASHER ISRANET

Long, long before a white man ever set eyes on New Zealand, the country was inhabited by Maori tribes. They had landed on its shores after perilous long voyages in canoes from various Polynesian islands in the Pacific Ocean.

They called their new country Aotearoa – the Land of the Long White Cloud. That is how the northern part of New Zealand appeared to them on their land fall, with its low-lying coastline, deeply indented bays and mangrove-choked harbors, sometimes obscured in smoke and steam from prodigious thermal activity. The whole landscape was covered by an unending ribbon of long white clouds among azure blue skies.

The first record of Jews in New Zealand goes back to the 1820s, when they started trading with the Maoris. In the years leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, several Jewish families came over with the early European settlers. By 1840, the first Orthodox congregation, called Beth Israel, was established in Auckland by David Nathan.

Although by 1900, the total number of Jews was only just over 1,000, the community had become well-established, contributing fully as a minority group and becoming active in politics, business and the professions. In the 1870s, New Zealand had already seen Sir Julius Vogel become the country's first Jewish prime minister.

Names such as Myers, Nathan, Fisher, Paykel and Hallenstein became and remained household names in industry and commerce. The New Zealand government policy against racial minorities before and during the Second World War resulted in only 1,300 Jews being permitted to enter the country during that time. Even after the conclusion of the war, immigrants, including Jews, were regarded as unsuitable on racial, national and economic grounds.

Today, the Jewish community numbers about 5,000. The biggest community – of about 2,500 Jews – is in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The country's capital, Wellington, which is also the spiritual centre of the community, has about 1,500 Jews. The balance of the community can be found mostly in Christchurch and Dunedin on the South Island. In the past few years, there has been a small but steady flow of Jewish families coming to settle from South Africa.

New Zealand Jewry is represented by a Wellington-based organization called the New Zealand Jewish Council. It is from this general forum that community matters such as the availability of kosher food and Jewish education are arranged. In recent years, the influence of Wellington has waned, as the Auckland community has become more independent, due in no small part to the fact that it is numerically the biggest community.

Both Auckland and Wellington have Jewish day schools and there are also very active welfare, social, youth and Zionist activities. The synagogue complexes in these two cities also contain a shop where supplies of religious items and kosher food can be purchased.

Severe restrictions, due to agricultural considerations only, on the importation of meat to New Zealand, makes the supply and cost of kosher meat very problematic. Poultry, which has to be ritually slaughtered on Sundays when the slaughterhouse is not busy, is also very expensive. Due to this, and the fact that the communities, although close-knit and Zionist-minded, are not on the whole very Orthodox, demand for kosher products is low.

The Orthodox synagogue on Auckland's Greys Avenue has British-born Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence as its spiritual leader. Young shlichim (emissaries) from Israel help organize the youth groups and Zionist activities. The synagogue complex has a Jewish day school, a kosher shop, two synagogues and communal halls. At present, the synagogue is situated near the centre of the city. However, the Jewish population has moved away from the city centre to the expanding suburbs and Jewish businesses have also moved to the suburbs, where costs are lower. Serious consideration is being given to moving the whole complex to a different location in the suburbs, so that the community might find it easier to get to the synagogue, particularly on Shabbat.

New Zealand is made up of two main islands, the North and South islands, plus a variety of very small, sparsely populated islands such as Stewart and Chatham islands. Two-thirds of the country's inhabitants live on North Island, which also offers the most variety of landscape. South Island has a much more majestic landscape, with the rugged Southern Alps stretching nearly its entire length.

On North Island, about 50 kilometres inland from the central Bay of Plenty, is New Zealand's famous thermal wonderland of Rotorua. Here in the northern part of Lake Rotorua, visitors can walk through the national park of Whakarewarewa and see pools of boiling mud, hissing and roaring fumaroles and the wonder of a variety of geysers.

A few hours drive northwest of Rotorua is Auckland, New Zealand's most populated city. A third of New Zealand's population lives in the greater Auckland area and, within that region, are some of the finest beaches and vineyards. The city itself is built around the remains of 60 extinct volcanoes and many of the lush, grass-covered volcanic mounds offer spectacular views across the city and the various harbors. Mount Eden and One Tree Hill are two good examples of these popular vantage points.

Auckland offers many fine shops, arcades and restaurants. There are several interesting markets, such as Victoria Park Market and the China Oriental Market. The city is also very proud of its zoo, which is regarded as one of the leading zoos in Australasia, devoted to conservation and research.

South Island can be reached by air or sea. It is here that the sport-and outdoor-loving New Zealander can best be seen – kayaking on the sea or inland waterways, walking in the mountains or along the famous Milford Track, deep-sea fishing, paragliding, jet boating or bungee jumping. For the less energetic, there are the cities and towns of Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Queenstown and Invercargill, where tours can be arranged in modern, comfortable buses to beauty spots in the area. From a scenic point of view, South Island is regarded as the jewel in the New Zealand crown.

New Zealand is like an open-air museum of natural history, a showroom of the varied and wonderful world of nature, a reminder of her huge forces. Like Captain Cook, visitors will be in awe of its beauty and proportion and, also like Captain Cook, they will return to continue to explore the Land of the Long White Cloud.

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