SS Goya

MS *Goya*
History
General characteristics

Last updated May 30, 2019

MS Goya was a Norwegian refugee ship that carried hundreds of Eastern European refugees to New Zealand in 1951. Most notably it carried several men who went on to play a significant role in the development of the New Zealand Muslim Association including Mazhar Krasniqi and Nazmi Mehmeti.

New Zealand Muslim Association (NZMA) established in 1950 is the oldest Islamic institution in New Zealand.

Mazhar Shukri Krasniqi, is a New Zealand Muslim community leader of Kosovar Albanian descent. He was the first president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) in 1979 and a human rights activist.

Nazmi Mehmeti (1918-1995), also recorded as “Mehmetovitch” on the SS Goya.

Launch

The vessel as launched by a German company, the Woermann Line, as the Kamerun in May 1938. In May 1945 the Kamerun was ceded to Norway as part of Germany's war reparations. In 1947 it was allocated to A / S J Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi and renamed the Goya. In 1949 Mowinckels secured an IRO contract to transport displaced persons and in 1950 the ship made trips between Italy and Australia.^[1]

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Western Europe, lying between the Baltic and North Seas to the north, and the Alps, Lake Constance and the High Rhine to the south. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France to the southwest, and Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Italian Alps and surrounded by several islands. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and traversed along its length by the Apennines, Italy has a largely temperate seasonal climate. The country covers an area of 301,340 km² (116,350 sq mi) and shares open land borders with France, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland (Campione) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian Sea (Lampedusa). With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the fourth-most populous member state of the European Union.

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

New Zealand

The ship departed Piraeus, Greece, and arrived in Wellington on 1 May 1951. Initially all the refugees were interned for three months at the former Prisoner of War camp in the small rural settlement of Pahiatua to learn English, New Zealand law and customs.

Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens urban area, 12 kilometres southwest from its city centre, and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf.

Wellington is the capital and second most populous urban area of New Zealand, with 418,500 residents. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the major population centre of the southern North Island, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region, which also includes the Kapiti Coast and Wairarapa. Its latitude is 41°17′S, making it the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed.

Pahiatua is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with an urban and rural population of over 4,000. It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and the Wairarapa Line railway, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Masterton and 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Palmerston North. It is usually regarded as being in the Northern Wairarapa. However for local government purposes it is in the Tararua District part of the Manawatu-Wanganui Region; which encompasses Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodvillle and Dannevirke.

There were over 900 refugees on board, mostly ethnic Greeks from Romania but also Estonians, Yugoslavs and other eastern Europeans. Approximately 50 were Muslim men including Petrit Alliu, Fadil Katseli, Selahattin Kefali, Ramzi Kosovich, Akif Keskin, Mazhar Krasniqi, Nazmi Mehmeti, Bajram Murati, Omar Alim Pepich, Shaqir Seferi and Samso Yusovich.

Later that same year there were two more drafts of refugees with smaller numbers on board. The majority of the Muslims were Albanians and Bosnians but there was also a Turk, an Azerbaijani, three Bulgarians and two Tartars.

The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula and are identified by a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece and Italy. They also constitute a diaspora with several communities established in the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

Bosnians are referred to as members of the general population of Bosnia, one of two main regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a common demonym, the term Bosnians refers to the entire population of the region, regardless of any ethnic or religious affiliation. It can also be used as a designation for anyone who is descended from the region of Bosnia. Also, a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus is largely synonymous with the all-encompassing national demonym Bosnians and Herzegovinians. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. Those who reside in the smaller geographical region of Herzegovina usually prefer to identify as Herzegovinians.

Turkish people or the Turks, also known as Anatolian Turks, are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish, the most widely spoken Turkic language. They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey, as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages. Ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration, particularly in Western Europe.

According to Mazhar Krasniqi, many of the Muslims observed Ramadan whilst in Pahiatua when it started in the first week of June. Within a few years they were mostly living in Auckland and in close contact through the New Zealand Muslim Association. "Indian Muslims helped them in the process of settling into their new homeland".^[2]

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community. A commemoration of the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad, the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one visual sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. Auckland is the largest urban area in the country, with an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. A diverse and multicultural city, Auckland is home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki-makau-rau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.

The effect of this was to dramatically increase the number of Muslims in New Zealand and in Auckland in particular. According to the Government census the number of Muslims leapt from a total figure of 67 in 1945 to 205 six years later in 1951.

In 2001 a modest commemorative function attended by Lianne Dalziel was held at the Santorini Greek Restaurant in Christchurch to mark 50 years.^[3] In 2008 John Vakidis published his play Tzigane, a fictionalised account of his parents journey on the ship. The play was first performed at the Downstage Theatre in Wellington and won five awards at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards in 1996 (including Best New New Zealand play and Production of the Year).^[4]

Demolition

In 1964 the ship was sold to a Greece company and in 1969 it was sent to Taiwan for demolition as scrap metal.

Related Research Articles

HMNZS Wellington was a Leander class frigate of the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). Originally commissioned in 1969 for the Royal Navy as HMS Bacchante, she joined the RNZN in 1982. She was decommissioned in 1999 and sunk in 2005.

Islam in New Zealand is a minority religious affiliation representing about 1% of the total population. Small numbers of Muslim immigrants from South Asia and eastern Europe settled in New Zealand from the early 1900s until the 1960s. Large-scale Muslim immigration began in the 1970s with the arrival of Fiji Indians, followed in the 1990s by refugees from various war-torn countries. The first Islamic centre opened in 1959 and there are now several mosques and two Islamic schools. The majority of Muslims in New Zealand are Sunni, with a large minority Shia and some Ahmadi Muslims, who run the largest mosque in the country.

The NZR RM class 88-seaters were a class of railcar used in New Zealand. New Zealand Government Railways (NZR) classed them RM , the notation used for all railcars, numbering the 35 sets from RM100 to RM134. They were known unofficially as "Articulated", "Twinsets", "Drewrys" or "Fiats". They were purchased to replace steam-hauled provincial passenger trains and mixed trains.

The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) was set up in April 1979 by Mazhar Krasniqi and other Muslim community leaders to draw together the regional Islam organisations of Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury into one centralised New Zealand-wide body.

Ahmed Said Musa Patel was the first Imam in New Zealand and served as the principal spiritual and religious advisor to the Islamic community here from 1960 to 1986.

The NZR RM class Standard railcars were a class of railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department in the North Island of New Zealand. Officially classified as RM like all other railcar classes in New Zealand, they acquired the designation of 'Standard' to differentiate them from others. They were introduced in 1938 and withdrawn in 1972.

Christchurch Central is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the South Island city of Christchurch. The electorate was established for the 1946 election and, until 2011 had always been won by the Labour Party. Since 2008, the incumbent was Brendon Burns but the election night results for the 2011 election resulted in a tie; the special vote results combined with a judicial recount revealed a 47-vote majority for Nicky Wagner, the National list MP based in the electorate. Wagner significantly increased her winning margin in the 2014 election after having declared the electorate "unwinnable" for National earlier in the year following a boundary review.

Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the 1871 election and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for the introduction of the MMP voting system for the 1996 election. The current MP is Poto Williams, a member of the New Zealand Labour Party who was first elected in the 2013 Christchurch East by-election.

Greek New Zealanders (Ellinozilandoí) refers to New Zealand citizens and residents who are of full or partial Greek descent; either those who immigrated or are New Zealand-born. Large concentrations of the community are to be found in Wellington, and to a lesser extent Christchurch and Auckland. Smaller communities of Greeks reside in Palmerston North, Wanganui, Dunedin, Hamilton and Napier.

Glenn Hema Inwood is a New Zealand public relations specialist and the founder of Omeka Public Relations. His duties with the Wellington-based Omeka include acting as the speaker for the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese organisation that lobbies on behalf of the whaling industry. A Japanese Government audit in 2012 found Japan spent funds intended for reconstruction after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami on other projects including the whaling industry. He has been dubbed "Ginza Glenn" by anti-whaling activists. Glenn also operates Wellington based media company "Spin It Wide" which distributes press releases from Imperial Tobacco.

The 2013 New Zealand local elections were triennial elections to elect local government officials and District Health Board members, and the membership of other local bodies such as Licensing Trusts. All elections were conducted by postal ballot, with election day being Saturday 12 October 2013.

The 2013 Christchurch mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections and was won by former MP Lianne Dalziel. The elections were held on 12 October 2013 for the Mayor of Christchurch plus other local government roles.

The following lists events that happened during 2013 in New Zealand.

A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Christchurch East on 30 November 2013. The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party from parliament, who contested and won the Christchurch mayoralty in October 2013.

Hajji Abdul Rahim Rasheed QSO (1938–2006) was a Fiji born Indian Muslim community leader and lawyer to the New Zealand Muslim minority.

References

↑ Peter Plowman, Australian Migration Ships 1946-1977, (Rosenberg Publishing, Dural, N.S.W., 2006), p.36.
↑ Shepard, William (1982). "Muslims in New Zealand". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. 4 (1 & 2): 63. doi:10.1080/02666958208715860.
↑ Dalziel, Lianne (27 September 2001). "New Zealand Enriched by SS Goya Migrants". New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013.
↑ "Greek-Romanian Refugee Play Published". Scoop Review of Books (Press release). 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018.

Sources

Bishop, Martin C. (1997). A History of the Muslim Community in New Zealand to 1980 (Thesis). University of Waikato.
Drury, Abdullah (2007). Islam in New Zealand: The First Mosque. Christchurch. ISBN 978-0-473-12249-2.
Brooking, T.; Rabel, R. (1995). Greif, Stuart William (ed.). Immigration and National Identity in New Zealand. p. 40.
Drury, Abdullah "Once Were Mahometans: Muslims in the South Island of New Zealand, mid-19th to late 20th century, with special reference to Canterbury" (University of Waikato, MPhil, 2016), Hamilton.
L/22/5 (Labour Department/Series 22/Reference 5) The International Refugee Organization Mass Resettlement to New Zealand Nominal Roll of Persons Departing from Piraeus, Greece on M/V GOYA on 31 March 1951; and IA/52/15 (Internal Affairs/Series 52/Reference 15) Immigrant Name List Goya.

(Regrettably figures are imprecise here as someone has drawn lines through several of the names and it is unclear whether this indicates they boarded, disembarked or otherwise.)

New Zealand Population Census 1951. III - Religious Professions. Wellington. 1953. p. 9.
Peter Plowman, Australian Migration Ships 1946-1977, (Rosenberg Publishing, Dural, N.S.W., 2006), p.36.
Matt Stewart, "150 years of news - Pahiatua camp a homage to United Nations' principles", Dominion-Post, 5 October 2015, http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wairarapa/72592677/150-years-of-news--pahiatua-camp-a-homage-to-united-nations-principles

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Peter Plowman, Australian Migration Ships 1946-1977, (Rosenberg Publishing, Dural, N.S.W., 2006), p.36.

[2] Shepard, William (1982). "Muslims in New Zealand". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. 4 (1 & 2): 63. doi:10.1080/02666958208715860.

[3] Dalziel, Lianne (27 September 2001). "New Zealand Enriched by SS Goya Migrants". New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013.

[4] "Greek-Romanian Refugee Play Published". Scoop Review of Books (Press release). 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2018.