User:MotleyPhule/Ngati tarara

Ngāti tarara is a term used to refer to descendants of Dalmatian settlers in the far north of New Zealand.

History
Ngāti is the Māori word for tribe. 'Tarara' is an onomatopoeic word refering to fast speech, similar in kind to 'blahblahblah'. Dalmatian settlers in the far North of New Zealand were severely discriminated upon arrival in the 19th Century, by the English who viewed them not as Croatians but as Austro-Hungarians (since they occupied Croatia at that time) and ultimately enemies of the British. The Dalmatian's were subjected to very unfair treatment and harsh working conditions and they found solace with the local Maori Tribes Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu and Ngāti Kurī who were also discriminated by the British. They developed very good terms and Maori gave them the name 'Ngati Tarara', who referred to the Croatians as 'tarara' meaning 'fast talkers'. Significant intermarriage aided positive relations.

Ngati tarara is a symbolic tribal designation, and does not refer to an actual tribe.