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Story: Central and South-eastern Europeans

Bulgarians imprisoned during the First World War

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Bulgarians imprisoned during the First World War

During the First World War Bulgaria was allied with Germany. Because New Zealand was at war with Germany, some of the few Bulgarians living in New Zealand at the time were interned on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour as ‘enemy aliens’. This photo of Bulgarian prisoners was taken in 1916.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-091240-F

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

John Wilson, Central and South-eastern Europeans – People from the Balkans, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/1070/bulgarians-imprisoned-during-the-first-world-war (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Wilson, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.