Olive from New Zealand : A new spiritual home away from home

As of late 2025, the number of New Zealanders living in Australia was estimated to be around 700,000 - a huge number for such a small country, reflecting the close relationship between our two countries. In Tasmania, it's estimated there are about 5000 New Zealanders living here, making them one of the top 5 migrant groups.It's assumed often that New Zealanders are very similar to us and don't have many challenges to settle in here, but the true picture is more complex. One thing that distinguishes New Zealand from Australia is the influence of Maori culture, something which until fairly recently was repressed. Olive grew up in a small farming community near Gisborne, a small city on the east side of the North Island. Her mother and grandmother were strong influences during her younger years and gave her a connection with Maori culture and her grandmother, in particular, practised traditional Maori healing. Losing her mother and grandmother at the age of 16 was a deeply traumatic event for Olive and for a while she fell into some unhealthy coping mechanisms. Most of her family also migrated to Melbourne and, pregnant with her first child, she joined them to be near family support.It was around ten years ago that Olive met a Tasmanian man, who she later married, and was part of the reason that brought her to Tasmania. The other was a slightly more spiritual reason, which you will her about in the podcast.You will also hear how during the COVID pandemic and the lockdown in Melbourne lead to Olive reconnecting with the Maori language and culture through online communities, something she now also shares within her local community in Tasmania.