new zealand was settled by the british in 1831.
when was new zealand settled by the british?
1831
historically, both ireland and new zealand were joined as one when the united kingdom formally established the colony of new south wales in 1788 which included most of present-day new zealand. in 1840, new zealand formally joined the british empire after the signing of the treaty of waitangi. the first major contact between both nations was during first wave of irish immigration to new zealand. because the irish were considered to be "british", it is unknown who the first irish were to reach new zealand, however, the first irish migrants to reach new zealand would have occurred around 1840 when the new zealand company first began assisting would-be migrants to settle in new zealand. in comparison to irish immigration to north america and australia, very few irish people migrated to new zealand, mainly due to the cost of travel and the enormous distance between both nations. over the years, however, several waves of irish people would migrate to new zealand and as a result, approximately 18% of the population of new zealand today can claim irish descent.
ireland–new zealand relations
beyond controversies, the bahá'ís in new zealand have broadened their interests both through individual initiatives and collective action. in 1991 an assembly was elected in the kapiti coast district. in 2000 two bahá'í pioneers from new zealand settled in pitcairn islands, one of the few nations on earth that had no bahá'í presence. in 2006 bahá'ís helped dedicate the temporary spiritual centre at middlemore hospital. in 2007 dunedin bahá'ís had been granted access to a community center. the universal house of justice called for a regional conference for the bahá'ís from new zealand, the cook islands, fiji, hawaii, kiribati, new caledonia and the loyalty islands, samoa, tonga, tuvalu, and vanuatu to be held in auckland's manukau city, on the sacred grounds of their marae, in 2008 and it came to pass in february 2009. the "bahá'í on air" television show is broadcast weekly on auckland's triangle tv which also covers the cook islands, american samoa, and adelaide, australia. there has also been an independent documentary by a non-bahá'í new zealander exploring the religion in 2007. in 2011 bahá'ís participated in the community memorial for those who had died in the 2011 christchurch earthquake. it was mentioned in a review of spirituality in business in 2012. the community in tauranga invited the bahá'ís to join their interfaith council.
bahá'í faith in new zealand