Amelia Batistich

Amelia Batistich (née Barbarich; 11 March 1915 – 21 August 2004) was a New Zealand fiction writer of Croatian descent.

Life Batistich was born in Dargaville to John Barbarich and Milka Matutinovich, settlers from Dalmatia. Her parents ran a boarding house which attracted new migrants, including labourers heading for Northland's gumfields for work. She was educated by the Sisters of St Joseph and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.

The family moved to Auckland when Batistich was 11. She has been credited with leading the way for other ethnic groups, such as Māori, to also express their outlook on the community they were living in.

Publications Collections of short stories An Olive Tree in Dalmatia 1963; reprinted 1980 Holy Terrors and Other Stories 1991

Novels Another Mountain, Another Song 1981 Pjevaj Vilo u Planini 1981, in Serbo-Croatian; translated into English as Sing Vila in the Mountains 1987 Never Lost for Words 2001

Memoirs My Story 2003