Sikhism in New Zealand

Sikhism in New Zealand

Gurdwara Sri Kalgidhar Sahib in Takanini, Auckland Region
Total population
53,406[1] 1.07% of the total New Zealander population (2023)
Languages
New Zealand English • Punjabi Hindi • Urdu • Māori
Related ethnic groups
American Sikhs Australian Sikhs British Sikhs Canadian Sikhs

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New Zealander Sikhs number over 53,000 people and account for 1.1% of New Zealand's population as of 2023, forming the country's fastest-growing and fifth-largest religious group. New Zealand has the world's third-largest Sikh proportion behind Canada (2.1%) and India (1.7%). While there are Sikhs in all sixteen regions of New Zealand, over half of Sikhs lived in Auckland Region in 2018.

The first Sikhs arrived in New Zealand in 1890,^[4] but the Immigration Act of 1899 prevented any large-scale migration.^[5][6] In 1987, racial exclusion was scrapped and a race-neutral, points-based immigration system was introduced;^[7] by 1991 there were 2,061 Sikhs in New Zealand. Between 2013 and 2018, the number of Sikhs grew by 113% from 19,191 to 40,908, making Sikhism the fastest-growing religion and on pace to eclipse Islam and Buddhism by 2023 at the time.^[1][8] However, the crackdown on student visas and low-skilled workers starting in 2017 stifled Sikh population growth.^[9] Between 2018 and 2023, the New Zealander Sikh population grew by 31%, failing to eclipse Islam and Buddhism although remaining the fastest-growing religion.^[1]

Small numbers of Sikh immigrants from Punjab settled in New Zealand from the late 1800s. Large-scale Sikh immigration began after changes to immigration policies in the 1980s. The New Zealand Sikh Society was established in 1964 and first Sikh Gurdwara opened in 1977.^[10]

The first identifiable Sikhs to arrive in New Zealand were two brothers - Phuman Singh and Bir Singh Gill from the Moga district of Punjab. Bir Singh was a herbalist who married and lived amongst the Māori on the North Island.^[11] A small wave of Sikhs arrived in New Zealand between 1890 and 1910; mostly immigrants from Punjab.^[4] Most Sikhs settled in Waikato, Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch.

There is a significant history of many Sikhs being dairy farmers throughout New Zealand,^{[citation needed]} many of them being great pioneers. The majority are in the Waikato region and have been there for many generations. Much hard work was undertaken in terms of clearing scrub and tea trees to convert to farmland in the early years. Embracing the Māori culture was also an important aspect. Many of these farmers are well respected within and outside the community for the significant contribution they have made.

With the Sikh community in New Zealand increasing, the New Zealand Sikh Society was developed in 1964, and the first gurdwara was built in Hamilton in 1977 and another in 1986 in Ōtāhuhu. With the increasing number of Sikhs in New Zealand, an increasing number of gurdwaras have been established across the country.^[12]

The number of people affiliating with the Sikh religion more than quadrupled since 2006. Papatoetoe in Auckland is considered to be the area with the most Sikhs in New Zealand and it has three sikh Gurudwaras in the suburb.

Sikh New Zealanders by Region (2013-2023)^[13]

Region	2023		2018		2013
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Auckland	28,401	1.71%	23,832	1.52%	11,712	0.83%
Waikato	6,795	1.36%	4,074	0.89%	1,875	0.46%
Bay of Plenty	6,324	1.89%	4,842	1.57%	2,748	1.03%
Canterbury	4,842	0.74%	2,973	0.5%	621	0.12%
Wellington	2,370	0.45%	1,647	0.32%	612	0.13%
Hawke's Bay	1,650	0.94%	1,347	0.81%	783	0.52%
Manawatū-Whanganui	789	0.31%	447	0.19%	246	0.11%
Otago	621	0.26%	510	0.23%	117	0.06%
Northland	480	0.25%	315	0.18%	72	0.05%
Taranaki	357	0.28%	234	0.2%	102	0.09%
Southland	255	0.25%	210	0.22%	60	0.06%
Gisborne	198	0.39%	171	0.36%	84	0.19%
Marlborough	108	0.22%	123	0.26%	51	0.12%
Nelson	105	0.2%	102	0.2%	39	0.08%
Tasman	60	0.1%	51	0.1%	42	0.09%
West Coast	45	0.13%	33	0.1%	24	0.07%
New Zealand	53,406	1.07%	40,908	0.87%	19,191	0.45%

The New Zealand Central Sikh Association, a centralised representative Sikh body comprising 25 Gurdwaras and various other organisation from across New Zealand was officially formed on 18 September 2022 at the Sikh Library in Takanini.^[14]

This is a list of Gurdwaras in New Zealand.

• Ish Sodhi – Cricketer for New Zealand National Team
• Kanwal Singh Bakshi – Former National Party MP
• Parmjeet Parmar - ACT MP
• Kharag Singh - Labour candidate for MP
• Sukhi Turner – Former mayor of Dunedin
• Bhupinder Singh - Former Cricketer for Auckland cricket team
• Amandeep Singh - Former Cricketer for Canterbury Wizards
• Phomen Singh- Early Sikh migrant to New Zealand (circa 1890)
• Jagt Singh- WWI soldier for New Zealand Army

• Religion in New Zealand
• Sikhism in Australia
• Sikhism in Canada
• Sikhism in the United Kingdom
• Sikhism in the United States
• Sikhism in Italy
• Sikhism in Fiji
• Sikh diaspora
• Sikhism by country
• Punjabi New Zealanders

• McLeod, W. H. (1986). Punjabis in New Zealand: A History of Punjabi Migration, 1890-1940. Guru Nanak Dev University.