An Aussie Living in NZ
by A personal view of an Australian living in New Zealand. The countries are very close and yet the differences are also large.
What are the positives and negatives of being an Australian living in New Zealand?
Marjorie Bradford is a 49 year old Australian living in Auckland with her Kiwi husband. She followed her heart across the Tasman to live in what she thought would be a country close to what she had known.
“I knew leaving Sydney would be hard because all my friends and family live there. But if I had known how hard it would be..” Marjorie looks listlessly at her feet, unsure of how to continue. “ It’s just that I knew lots of Kiwis in Australia and I cannot recall anyone ever giving them such a hard time. Everyday I have to battle against the smart comments’.
Marjorie recounts numerous stories, all from her place of work. She has had three jobs since being in New Zealand and each place has not been exactly the same, but either bad or worse still.
“It just gets so boring, everyday, the same old things”.
She says that Winter is the worst time, because of the sport.
“What gets me”, she says, “ is that if the Kiwis win anything, even the tiddlywinks, I get it over and over again but if any Kiwi team loses, it is deathly quiet”.
She says it makes her smile when her husband relays how he gets flak when he visits Christchurch on business, because he is an Aucklander. And yet she says Aucklanders give her a hard time for being an Aussie in just the same way.
“ It is not all bad. My name at work is Skippy, first day on the job I got that but it is just the constancy of it and the number of people who make their jokes so unpleasant. If I ever hear about the underarm incident again I will scream. I did some research and let them have it about Andy Haden jumping out of the line out to get a penalty that ultimately staved off defeat against the Welsh, but no one wants to hear or even knows anything about that. And yet his was a deliberate cheat not just an error of judgment.”
Marjorie’s accent has mellowed, partly due to her own training. She thought if she could become incognito it would help. She says she doesn’t get into trouble at the shops now. But the shopping is another issue.
“ I had to learn to cook in a different way. In Sydney whatever vegetable I wanted was there. Here you have to adjust your cooking to move with the seasons. Some things are just not available at certain times”.
The lot of any immigrant must be very difficult in New Zealand she feels. She is a white Australian with a common background in many respects.
“ So how do the Asian s cope or any other race?”, she asks. “ New Zealand has some beautiful scenery, I love the lack of pests and it is a quieter pace of life but the small mindedness is what really gets me down.”
We finish our talk with Marjorie thumbing through the flight center brochure that has arrived in the mail, to plan her next visit back to her Homeland.
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Post CommentBruce
On July 5, 2007 at 11:48 pm
My heart bleeds
Lucy Lockett
On August 19, 2007 at 7:23 pm
My daughters went through that when we moved back to NZ, it was hard and it does hurt. Everything is okay now that they have lost their Aussie twang! I loved living in Australia and the people there are fantastic!
nzINbris
On April 6, 2009 at 5:52 am
Im a NZer living in Brisbane for the past 10 years, and everyday I get one of the same’ole, lame’ole anti-Kiwi jibs from some form of Aussie. The only days I don’t get some form of ‘ribbin’ is on the days were I don’t have any contact with an Aussie, or I am spending time with very close (Aussie) friends. I dont come from Auckland, or any of the ‘major’ centers in NZ, however I do remember having Australian friends in NZ. There was banter, but no way was it on a day-to-day basis. I have never spent time in Auckland so cannot comment on Aucklanders. Seriously, I would suggest getting out of Auckland and visiting say the Bay of Plenty, especially if you like the quieter life. Most people that DONT live in Auckland, hate Auckland, and for very good reasons. I think you also need to remember that you are on a small Island with 4.5m people on it … dont expect it to be Sydney!
Adrian
On April 11, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I’m an Australian and have lived in NZ for almost 5 years. I moved to NZ because I found a job here before I could find one in OZ , after returning from Europe. Go figure. I agree with you on many points about the small-mindedness etc. What appears to be really sad about the typical NZ personality, is that kiwis will be quick to call Aussies convicts and other names – but they just cannot take any retaliatory comment. I have been alienated here because when a kiwi has given me sh** – I have always had a much wittier and original comeback. As a result – I have no friends here. It’s really sad because I mean well, (and probably so does any kiwi who gives me a ribbing) and am generally a friendly guy.
John
On November 13, 2010 at 7:00 am
Yea kiwis get the same thing living in aussie, i atually think its as bad in NZ for an aussie living there compared to a kiwi in aussie. Although the aussie accent in New Zealand can be detected a mile away whereas in australia my new zealand accent (although twanged up) only detected when i say 6 or dance, here, that.
Most kiwis in NZ are interested in australia and conversations can easily be striked up about it e.g i live in queensland “oh ive been there its beautiful” where as when u talk to an aussie and say you come from NZ response is usually oh right new zealand umm sheep “cough” shagger….