Nazmi Mehmeti
Nazmi Mehmeti (1918-1995), also recorded as “Mehmetovitch” on the SS Goya, was an Albanian born on 25 March 1918 in Rechani, Macedonia, near Gostivar. He came to New Zealand in 1951 at the age of 33. Mehmeti was a very well known wrestler in Macedonia in his youth: he was tough, strong and fought in the rugged mountains of the Balkans until the end of 1948 when he crossed the border into Greece. He had eight wounds in his body fighting the communist secret service in Macedonia and Albania. Apart from being a staunch patriot and firmly committed anti-communist he was also a devoted Muslim, praying five times a day. He urged others to fast during Ramadan and to love a fellow man “whoever says Amen” irrespective of faith.
By trade Mehmeti was a carpenter and worked around Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Wellington. To start with he built a house in Upper Hutt and then later on he moved to Auckland. He also worked at the Meremere power station as a carpenter for a period. He made a marked contribution to the leadership of the New Zealand Muslim Association during the 1960s and is particularly remembered for his constant efforts to maintain the NZMA Islamic Centre property on Hargreaves Street.[1]
Nazmi Mehmeti is largely responsible for securing the first Muslim cemetery[1] in New Zealand. Beforehand Muslims were buried in various plots and even in the Chinese allotments. A few days before the festival of Eid al Adha in 1963 a Muslim burial plot was officially established in the Waikumete Cemetery in western Auckland. The Auckland City Council Parks and Library Committee confirmed a New Zealand Muslim Association petition for 100 places on 29 April 1963, following two meetings in March between the Director of Parks and several members of the Executive Committee led by Nazmi Mehmeti, as president of the Association.
He shifted to Australia, worked in Sydney as a carpenter and then bought a small farm. Later he sold everything and went first to Istanbul, Turkey. He returned to his native village of Rechani in Macedonia in the early 1990s after the fall of Communism there, and worked his father’s land together with his brothers. He later died and was buried in Gostivar in 1995.
References
- 1 2 Venues facilitate Muslim congregation Indian news Link, Eid Al Fitr Special 2005 Edition. Accessed 2006-09-06.
- Bishop, Martin C. '“A History of the Muslim Community in New Zealand to 1980”, thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of M.A. in history at the University of Waikato' (Waikato University, 1997).
- Drury, Abdullah, Islam in New Zealand: The First Mosque (Christchurch, 2007) ISBN 978-0-473-12249-2