by James Veitch and Dalia Tinawi
The most numerous of New Zealand’s Middle Eastern immigrants were the Lebanese. They were called ‘the quiet immigrants’, because they worked hard to establish themselves. Businesses such as Farry’s menswear and Corbans wines carry the names of their 19th-century founders. These pioneers were distinctive – the women wore bright clothes and jewellery, while their men walked farm roads selling goods. About a century later, New Zealand’s Middle Eastern community grew as Iraqi and Iranian refugees arrived to start a new life.
Main image: A group of Assyrian women smiling
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