027 - Croatian identity formation in South Australia 1945–1995: a model
for the future?
Vesna Drapač
(University of Adelaide, Australija)
(Abstract)
This paper takes the example of Croatian communities in South Australia
to demonstrate how their interactions with mainstream structures of social and
cultural life enabled them to fulfill their desire to become recognised as
Croatians.
This basic recognition was important to them as officially they were known
as “Yugoslavs”. However, their associational life led to more than recognition.
Engagement with non-Croatians provided opportunities for new immigrants to
establish independent organisations and to interact with a wider cross-section of
people than might ordinarily have been the case given their comparatively low
socio-economic status and the generally negative perception of Croatians as
politically reactionary.
My presentation will analyze Croatian associational life centred on
religious institutions and sport, notably football (soccer).
These two examples demonstrate how integration became the vehicle for
the wider acknowledgement and successful promotion of Croatian identity in
South Australia. Community activism reached its apogee during the war for
Croatian independence and, in its immediate aftermath, there was a general sense
that Croatians in South Australia had contributed to an actual and metaphorical
victory on many fronts.
Drawing on this historical background, my paper will seek to establish
whether the established pattern of Croatian activism is still appropriate
today. It will ask whether its nature and focus meet the needs of third and
fourth generation Croatian Australians. Is it a model that can foster deeper
and ongoing relations with a new and sovereign Croatia or should it be modified
with a view to seeking additional points of focus for Croatian associational
life?
Paper presented at the First Croatian Emigration Congress, Zagreb 23 -
26 June 2014.
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