About New Zealand

New Zealand is composed of two main islands, the North Island and the South Island. There are also various small off-shore islands. The total land area is 268,000sq km.

The original inhabitants of New Zealand were the Maori people who form 9.4% of the total population of 3,434,952, according to the figures of the 1991 census. Increasingly, the Maori name for the country, ‘Aotearoa’, is now being used, as well as the European Name, ‘New Zealand’. There is also an increasing awareness that within the New Zealand Society, there needs to be recognition of the special place held by the Maori people as the ‘tangata whenua’, the original inhabitants of the land.

The large majority of the present population is decendants of the English, Irish and Scottish settlers who migrated to New Zealand in large numbers during the nineteenth century. There is also significant numbers whose ancestors came from other European countries, or Asia. The latter half of the twentieth century has seen the arrival of large numbers of migrants from the Pacific Islands. Currently, there are 134,000 Pacific Islanders in New Zealand, most of whom live in Auckland or Wellington. Auckland is said to be the largest Polynesian city in the world. The most recent wave of new migration is from Asia, and this is substantially altering the character of some New Zealand cities.

The Cluny Sisters in New Zealand are in 3 locations:

• Remuera
• Mangere East
• Tauranga Bay of Plenty

They serve in 2 Dioceses Auckland and Hamilton.

The Cluny Sisters are involved in:

• Kindergarten Administration
• Parish Sacramental Programs
• Parish Pastoral Work
• Nursing
• Parish Administration
• Spiritual Direction