1920-1940

Jak (Anthony) Jakicevich head of Glengarry recalls, "When my grandfather stepped off the gangway in Auckland he had a handful of change in his pocket and very little else to call his own. His English was rudimentary and he had but a passing knowledge of the country that was to shape the rest of his life."

Josef arrived in New Zealand in 1920, coincidently the same year that prohibition had been introduced in the U.S.A. and which had been avoided in this country by a whisker. In 1919 New Zealand voted for national prohibition as well but it never became law because the vote of returning servicemen tipped the balance. The following year however laws were enacted that stopped the issue of further wine-bar licenses.

For a number of years Josef, a stonemason by trade, worked in Northland and Auckland earning a reputation as a first class tradesman. Jak Jakicevich, " Dida (Grandad in Croation) was a very hard working character, very dependable, tenacious and a had voracious appetite to succeed in his new country."

After seven years in New Zealand Josef was joined by Marcia Colic from Croatia; they married and in 1929 had their first son Tony was born in Kawakawa. After the birth of daughter Nada, Marcia became ill and on doctors advice the family returned to their homeland where they remained for five years. Tension in Europe was building and war seemed inevitable. Josef returned to New Zealand on his own, worked hard, saved the fare and brought his wife and family back to New Zealand in February 1939, just eight months before the outbreak of World War II.  

By 1940 Josef had saved enough money working as a stonemason building sea walls in Auckland to purchase 10 acres in Glengarry Road, Oratia, West Auckland. 1940 turned out to be a momentous year for the Jakicevich Family, a third child Peter was born, and Josef planted a vineyard setting the foundation for a thriving and enduring family business.