They later had a one-bedroom cottage then moved into farm work and sharemilking near Matamata, while they had another daughter, Marija, and son Milan jnr.
Around 1948 they sold their cows and shifted to Auckland, where Milan linked up with his unmarried brother, Frank, who accompanied the family when they moved to Wairarapa after acquiring the Empire restaurant and fish and chip shop at Carterton.
"Frank cut up the fish, Dad cooked it, Mum worked in the shop and us girls helped," Katarina said, describing how the family prospered.
She is still impressed by the way her mother could accurately memorise dozens of restaurant and fish shop orders without writing them down.
Katarina was the first of the couple's children to marry, hitching up with Hikurangi Swamp dairy farmer Jack Ilich. Milan jnr married the daughter of one of the other Novi Vinodolski brides and Marija tied the knot with a Waikato farmer.
The Empire passed to Milan jnr, whose parents moved first to Auckland then later joined him in Hamilton after the restaurant was sold.
Tereza was visibly upset when describing how Milan jnr died of cancer at age 54 in 1996 and his father died seven weeks later aged 88.
Katarina and Marija wanted to care for their mother so Tereza now spends winters at Hikurangi and migrates to the cooler Waikato in the summers.
A hip operation three years ago keeps the old woman away from the stove, but Katarina said she thought one reason her "workaholic" mother had lived so long was because she never had idle hands.
Another reason was Tereza is happy with her loving family, content with memories of her Croatian music and dance-loving husband and mourning only the early death of her son.
The tamburicas will be strummed hard and the piano accordions squeezed heartily when Tereza's century is celebrated at the Ilich farm tomorrow.
About 100 guests are expected, including relatives of the other Novi Vinodolski brides.
One guest, Sir John Kirwan - a family friend through his youngsters attending a Mt Eden school with Andrew Ilich's children - is certain to attract some attention through his rugby credentials.
But Katarina said she suspected the birthday highlight for her mother would be spending time with a new great-grandson born to one of Milan jnr's children.
