While the frontispiece picture of Sri Lankan New Zealanders is as captvating as striking, the brief summary provided in The Encyclopedia of New Zealand on web is skimpy and demands elaboration. It also has two glaring historical errors. The Portuguese replaced the Dutch in colonizing parts of CSihale aka Ceilao; while the island of Ceylon secured independence from British rue in 1948 [not 1972].
About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) is a large and beautiful island which lies off the south-east tip of India. It has an ancient civilisation, and from the 16th century was ruled by the Dutch, then the Portuguese and finally the British. Sri Lanka became independent in 1972. ... [!!!! ….**!@!# …. some awesome errors here]
The largest ethnic group are the Sinhalese. Tamils form a smaller group. In 1983, civil war broke out between them.
Early days
Very few people came to New Zealand from Ceylon in the 1800s, but in the 1860s some gold seekers arrived. At the start of the 20th century there were only 106 Ceylon-born residents.
Immigration waves
From the late 1960s immigrant numbers increased with New Zealand’s need for skilled workers. In 1972, after Sri Lanka became independent, there were racial and economic troubles which caused many people to emigrate. In 1983, fleeing civil war, both Sinhalese and Tamil people arrived. Their numbers increased after 1987, when the conflict became more severe.
Community
In 2013 there were over 9,500 Sri Lankan residents. Many are well-educated professional workers who live mostly in Auckland and Wellington. With strong ties to their war-torn homeland, the community has several ethnic associations.
Seeking peace and safety in New Zealand, Sri Lankans are of many faiths: Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian. Having left so much behind, they keep a sense of identity through their religion.
