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Story: Vietnamese

Starting a new life

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Starting a new life

In 1977, 11-year-old Phan Dat Mai arrived in Auckland on a plane carrying 200 Indo-Chinese refugees. Phan Dat Mai and her family were part of a group of 51 sent on to Wellington, where they received vaccinations as part of health checks. They then took part in a month-long orientation course, before being settled in the community.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1977/3776/12a

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Trung Tran, Vietnamese – Migration, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/995/starting-a-new-life (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Trung Tran, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.