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RNZ News
30-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Punjab to Aotearoa documentary ‘a preservation of our legacy'
A new documentary titled Punjab to Aotearoa aims to trace the history of Indian migration to New Zealand over the past 100 years. The featurette was screened in the East Auckland suburb of Botany on 18 June, attended by descendants of early migrants from India - families who have been in New Zealand for more than a century. The official premier took place at the Indian High Commission in Wellington in mid-May. Presented by Harjot Singh, the 48-minute documentary is directed by Gagan Sandhu. Harjot Singh, presenter of Punjab to Aotearoa Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin It is co-produced by Parminder Singh, host at Punjabi radio station Radio Spice, and Navtej Randhawa, a trustee at NZ Punjabi Multimedia Trust, which backed the documentary. "Today, we showcase the first part of a series we will be producing ... documenting the proud history of Indian migration to Aotearoa New Zealand, especially from the villages of Punjab," Randhawa said. Randhawa is great-grandson of Inder Singh Randhawa - one of the early Indian migrants to New Zealand and a founding member of pioneering Indian associations such as the Country Section New Zealand Indian Association and New Zealand Indian Central Association (both established in 1926). "This documentary is a preservation of our legacy, a gift for generations to come," Randhawa said. "We have detailed the Indian migration experience - highlighting the story of four families using rare archival footage and personal accounts," he said. "It's fascinating to learn how the earliest Indian arrivals here worked in agriculture first and went on to enrich New Zealand's economy and culture." Attendees at a screening of Punjab to Aotearoa in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin Indians were living in New Zealand as early as the 19th century, according to Indian-origin academic Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and historian Jane Buckingham, as noted in a book titled Indians and the Antipodes. In fact, the 1881 Census counted six Indians living in New Zealand at the time. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon highlighted the century-old ties between New Zealand and India during his trip to the South Asian nation in March. "At the beginning of the 19th century - well before we became a nation - Indian sailors jumped ship in New Zealand, with some meeting locals and marrying into our indigenous Māori tribes. A few years later, Māori traders began travelling to Kolkata to sell tree trunks used in sailing ships," Luxon said at the time . The Indian sailors, seafarers and soldiers that arrived on British East India Company ships stayed to engage in activities such as mining, trench-digging and bottle-collecting. Attendees at a screening of Punjab to Aotearoa in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin Many of the earliest Indian settlers travelled from regions in the modern Indian states of Gujarat and Punjab. "The ongoing development of rural areas in the North Island provided many Punjabi settlers with opportunities, firstly in hawking and then in flax-cutting in the swamps of the Hauraki Plains and Waikato," according to a book titled Mokaa: The Land of Opportunity, published by the New Zealand Indian Central Association. These Punjabi Sikhs, many of whom had farming experience, subsequently settled in the Waikato district and embraced dairy farming . Attendees at a screening of Punjab to Aotearoa in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin The history of Punjabi migration has been documented in a book titled Punjabis in New Zealand: A History of Punjabi Migration 1890-1940, written by historian W.H. McLeod. "McLeod's work is seminal in the sense it provided the first recorded history of our migration to New Zealand," said Harjot Singh, who is also listed as researcher of Punjab to Aotearoa. "Our audio-visual production is a tribute to his efforts." Harjot Singh's research took him to Te Awamutu in Waikato, which is just north of Kihikihi - an important town for Indian history in New Zealand, according to McLeod. "The first definite example of a Punjabi dairy farm appears to be a small 50-acre (20-hectare) property near the Waikato township of Kihikihi, purchased by Harnam Singh ... during the rates period 1918/19," McLeod writes in his book. "This purchase evidently preceded that of the celebrated 'Hindu farm', which was acquired soon after by Inder Singh Mahasha." In Te Awamutu, Harjot found the grandstand at the Te Awamutu Rugby Stadium named after the son of an early migrant Phuman Singh who came to New Zealand in 1920. "[Phuman's] son, Gurdyal Singh (1935-2018), who was fondly called Guru Singh, contributed to the local rugby scene so much that the community decided to honour him by naming the grandstand as Guru Singh Grandstand," Harjot Singh said. Attendees at a screening of Punjab to Aotearoa in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin In the documentary, Joginder Singh, Gurdyal's son, shared the story of his great-aunt's marriage in 1933, with a local band leading the wedding procession and the entire town shutting down. The family still has in its possession a 100-year-old copy of Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib that was shipped from India in the early 1920s. As Indians were settling in the Waikato region, it was important for them to have harmonious relations with the local Māori population. "While researching this, we made some important discoveries," Harjot Singh said. "Located 15 kms to the southeast of Te Awamutu is the Paaraawera Marae, where we find the graves of Madhav Chunilal and his wife, Bhikhi Chunilal, who died in the 1940s and '50s. These graves have been lovingly maintained by the local whenua for the past 75 years. "Madhav's father arrived in 1919 from Surat (Gujarat) in India." In the same vein is the story of Sheru Singh Lagah, an early Indian migrant who married the daughter of Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana - a well-known historical Maori figure. The documentary features Sheru's daughter, Shardee Singh Lagah, based in Auckland and his grandson, Tane Singh Lagah, who lives in Rotorua. Another section is dedicated to the families of Juwala Singh, who migrated to Pukekohe from India in 1920, as well as his son-in-law Ganges Singh, whose parents migrated to Fiji. Passing away in 2016, Ganges came to New Zealand in the 1950s and has the distinction of being the first Punjabi Sikh to be awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 1990. "Juwala Singh was the first Indian immigrant to own a commercial property on King Street in Pukekohe. In recognition of this, the Franklin District Council as part of Franklin's first Heritage Week celebrations in 2010, resolved to name a pedestrian walkway on King Street as Juwala Singh Lane," Harjot Singh said. Gagan Sandhu, director of Punjab to Aotearoa Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin For documentary director Sandhu, who has been living in New Zealand for the past 14 years, what stood out in the early Indian settlement stories was the isolation of women who came with their husbands. "How they coped up with the entirely new environment, with no one to talk to, is beyond comprehension," Sandhu said. "They didn't know the language, the food was alien and there was no family support. Still, they persevered." Sophie Dhaliwal Sidhu, who lives in Cambridge and is the great-granddaughter of Gina Singh, who migrated from Sultanpur in Punjab, shared memories of what the women of that era faced. "My great-grandmother, Karam Kaur, was shocked to learn when she visited India 34 years for the first time after arriving in New Zealand that her parents had passed away long back," Sidhu said. Navtej Randhawa, co-producer of of Punjab to Aotearoa Photo: Supplied Careful not to underplay the struggles of early Indian migrants, the documentary discusses the discrimination they faced for decades, something documented by Jacqueline Leckie in a book titled Invisible: New Zealand's history of excluding Kiwi-Indians. "[In] the 1930s, Indians faced exclusion from whites-only spaces in Pukekohe," Leckie wrote. "Barbers refused to cut the hair of Chinese, Māori or Indians. These groups were also banned from the better-quality dress circle within a Pukekohe cinema. "White racism at Pukekohe, while localised and extreme, nonetheless had widespread support throughout the country." Parminder Singh, co-producer of Punjab to Aotearoa Photo: RNZ / Yiting Lin "This is the reason we started thinking about this documentary project almost five years back, in 2020, when Navtej's family completed their 100 years in New Zealand after having arrived here in 1920," co-producer Parminder Singh said. "As we proudly say in our community, we are standing on the shoulders of these giants," Singh said. "They come here, struggled with isolation and discrimination, and then established themselves over time with hard work and perseverance. In turn, they made it easy for the next generations of Indians."
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Missing pieces: Enduring hardship for a brighter future
The final installment of a four-part series on Indian migration to New Zealand Early Indian immigrants to New Zealand arrived to find themselves in a completely different climate battling an anti-Asian sentiment that persists today. Despite the early struggles, their perseverance paved the way for them to build a new life in a foreign land that would become their adopted home. The lessons they learned as part of their journey can now inform younger generations as they look to build on their forebearers' sacrifices. Bhula Chhania knew just how cold Wellington winters could get but his 16-year-old son Lala, newly arrived from a sweltering Indian summer, couldn't have possibly imagined what was to come. It was 1935 and New Zealand had entered a state of economic decline. Chhania had just bought a fruit shop in Lower Hutt, which he ran with his sons, Bhaga and Manga. However, rising costs and limited resources meant the family didn't have much to keep the cold out - just rough potato sacks and pumpkin jute bags. "The winters in Wellington were very wet and icy cold, and blankets were mighty expensive," recalls Nagin Lala, Chhania's grandson. "My uncle Bhaga was quite strict in not buying luxury items, and there was no heating due to the expense," he says. "The business wasn't earning that much money ... instead of blankets, potato sacks or pumpkin jute bags had to be used as bed covers for warmth." Nagin is the third of five generations of Indian New Zealanders from a single family. For the past 40 years, Nagin has been involved with the Auckland Indian Sports Club, bringing the city's Indian community together through cricket and hockey. Like his father and grandfather, he spent much of his life involved in the fresh produce business, running a long-standing fruit shop in Epsom. Now retired but still involved with the Auckland Indian Sports Club, he spends his days at club games and tends to a flourishing garden, filled with Indian vegetables such as papdi and karela. It's been 117 years since his grandfather first boarded a boat that would eventually bring him to New Zealand's shores. Nagin sat down with RNZ at his home in Epsom to reflect on that journey. Nagin Lala reflects on his family's journey to New Zealand from his home in Epsom. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom Bhula Chhania was born in Sagra, a small village in the Navsari region of Gujarat. In 1908, at just 20 years old, he left his village to board a cargo ship bound for Fiji. His plan was simple - work for a year on the sugarcane plantations, earn a decent wage and return with just enough to improve life back home. However, fate had other ideas. On his journey back to India, Chhania's ship made a stop in Wellington - and what was meant to be a brief detour turned into an opportunity he couldn't ignore. Chhania would spend the next six months in New Zealand, working as a scrub-cutter to improve the land for farming. Nagin imagines it was a lonely and at times hard life, but one borne from necessity. "It was quite challenging in those days ... we weren't making enough money back home and we were struggling a bit," Nagin says. "In India, obviously he wasn't getting paid for work at all or, if he was, it was very minimal. "My grandfather would have heard about agricultural work overseas and they would've had a paying job for him," he says. "Menial jobs [are] what they would've been doing to get paid in those days, but any job was better than nothing and it was a paying job, so I think he respected that," he says. "That's what would've led him to take the plunge. He was the first in our family to venture out." Chhania returned to India once winter in the South Pacific set in and the cold became unbearable, but the image of New Zealand still lingered in his mind. Two decades later, he returned, this time accompanied by his sons, Bhaga and Manga. Together, they opened a fruit store in Lower Hutt. It was a step up from laborious farm work, but it wasn't easy. The business wasn't doing too well, and hostility towards Asian migrants that had grown in his time away hadn't really subsided. A portrait of Bhula Chhania in Wellington circa 1940s. The portrait was taken by William Vinsen at Cuba Photographic Studio and purchased in 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Source: Te Papa. Photo: Te Papa Indian and Chinese immigration had picked up in the early 1920s post-war period and the presence of these "alien" communities wasn't welcome. European New Zealanders saw these communities as a threat to economic and racial purity, so in 1926, they formed the White New Zealand League and campaigned aggressively to keep Asian migrants out of New Zealand. The league found support among a range of groups - grower associations, labour organisations, local bodies and many Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Associations were on board. In the following decade, more and more restrictive immigration laws would soon come into place too. But for Chhania, there was a slight loophole. His previous work in Wellington had secured him the right of return - so in 1935, he visited India again, this time returning with his youngest son, Lala. Nagin Lala's grandfather arrived in New Zealand 117 years ago. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom "My grandmother would've said to my grandfather, 'These two older boys are doing okay in New Zealand, why not take Lala over there as well?' and they would've had a bit of a squabble about it. "My grandfather would have said, 'No, no, I want Lala to look after the land because who's gonna look after it when we're gone?' My grandmother obviously won that little battle." The Great Depression hit New Zealand in the 1930s and the family struggled to stay afloat. By the end of the decade, an even greater threat was looming. World War II was approaching, and the boys were fearful of conscription. Lala had just turned 21, so Bhaga, seeing what was coming, urged him to return to India before he could be drafted. Lala left New Zealand, but life in India was no less turbulent. The Quit India Movement against British colonial rule erupted in 1942, leading to mass arrests and violent crackdowns. By the time India gained independence in 1947, the region was thrown into chaos again as violence erupted between newly divided India and Pakistan. While Lala had escaped war in New Zealand, he found himself in the middle of a different kind of conflict. Lala returned to New Zealand in 1947, but didn't stay in Wellington this time. Instead, he joined his brother-in-law in Auckland, where he helped run their fruit and vegetable shop in Ponsonby. Nagin and the rest of his family followed just five years later. "I came here with my mum and sister ... we boarded a boat in Bombay and it would've gone to several ports along the way: Colombo to Sumatra to Fremantle to Sydney. It would've taken us a good six or seven weeks to get here," he recalls. "From Sydney, we got a twin-engine seaplane to Auckland, so we actually landed at Mechanics Bay and that was a new experience for me: flying. A 10-year-old, never flown before, it was kind of a scary thing. "Dad had already bought a house at number 4 Douglas Street so that's where we lived." By this time, the family had found its footing. In 1964, Nagin's father opened another fruit shop, this time in Epsom. The fruit store remained in the family until 1986. Looking back, Nagin sees his family's journey as one of immense sacrifice. "My grandparents spent most of their lives apart: my grandfather in New Zealand and my grandmother in India, her looking after the land and its related issues, looking after the house in Sagra and raising a family," he says. "I felt very much for my grandmother being left alone by herself when all her sons were here in New Zealand." For Nagin, the journey of his ancestors is a reminder of the struggles they endured to create a better future. "We were into fruit right from our village life, growing fruit and veges, so I guess when we came here, we just decided, 'Let's stick to what we know', and that's what my grandfather did. "Their journey, their sacrifices … they were absolutely immense." * Jogai Bhatt travelled to India with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
