Where the records of New Zealand are, who holds them, and what it costs to look. 22,175,623 indexed records reachable through FamilySearch alone.
1 of the 2 checked sources here can be opened tonight. 1is free images with no account. 1is paid or part-paid. On top of that, 9 worldwide services reach New Zealand without a subscription.
Write to Archives New Zealand — Collections for what is not online. FamilySearch has 10 collections covering it, running 1800–2012, 22,175,623 indexed records. No jurisdiction region covers New Zealand yet, so this atlas cannot say whose archive held this ground in a given year — and it will not guess.
56 places placed, 2 volumes walked. Open New Zealand on the map, or tell us what is missing.
The archives
- Archives New Zealand — Collections free Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand probate, military and immigration records, much of it digitised and free.
- Findmypast paid
Commercial. The strongest British and Irish collection, including parish registers licensed from diocesan archives and the 1921 census of England and Wales. BT 27 IS NOT ONE FORM AND ITS COLUMNS ARE NOT A CONSTANT. The outward passenger lists were re-drawn across the series, so a field present in one piece proves nothing about another and the era has to be checked before a row is planned around it. Sampled by the Luwinski archive: the 1907 form has NO «last address in the United Kingdom» column at all and buckets ages by nationality instead; the 1937 and 1939 form — printed «P.M. 21», columns (1)–(9) — carries last UK address at (6), country of last permanent residence at (8) and country of intended future permanent residence at (9); a 1951 piece is a typed US military transport manifest filed inside BT 27 with none of the Board of Trade form left. ACROSS EVERY REVISION SEEN, none gives an address in the DESTINATION country — the finest is a country and nothing below it, so «where in Australia did they settle» is not a question this series answers.
And 12 worldwide providers reach New Zealand too — the full list.
10 FamilySearch collections
Grouped by the ground each one covers, nationwide. A free account opens the images; some are restricted to a Family History Centre.
- New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Passenger Lists, 1839-1925 ↗ 1839–1973 3,581,794 records
- New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate and Miscellaneous Records, 1842-1998 ↗ 1842–1998 138,505 records
- New Zealand, Auckland, Albertland Index, 1862-1962 ↗ 1862–1962 0 records
- New Zealand, Auckland, Port Albert, Membership Lists and Minutes from the Church of Christ, 1875-1926 ↗ 1875–1926 0 records
- New Zealand, Auckland, Waikumete Cemetery Records, 1886-1948 ↗ 1886–1948 0 records
- New Zealand, Cemetery Transcriptions, 1835-2006 ↗ 1835–2006 2,167,900 records
- New Zealand, Central Otago, Cemetery Gravestones, 1861-2009 ↗ 1861–2012 3,196 records
- New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes, 1800-1966 ↗ 1800–1966 2,331,241 records
- New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1865-1957 ↗ 1865–1957 12,309,008 records
- New Zealand, Obituaries, 1844-1963 ↗ 1844–1963 1,643,979 records
3 more collections, contributed
A directory David assembled, sorted by what kind of record each one is. Read this differently from the rest of the page. The descriptions are his, not an archive's catalogue, and nobody here has opened the volumes behind them. Every link was tried on 2026-09-20 and answered; the ones that did not are not listed.
- BDM Historical Records Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ BDM Historical Records 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by BDM Historical Records. NZ Government searchable historical birth, marriage, and death registry.
- BDM Historical Records Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ BDM Historical Records 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by BDM Historical Records. NZ Government searchable historical birth, marriage, and death registry.
- Archives New Zealand Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ Archives New Zealand 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by Archives New Zealand. Official archives holding WWI military files, probates, and passenger manifests.
- Archives New Zealand Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ Archives New Zealand 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by Archives New Zealand. Official archives holding WWI military files, probates, and passenger manifests.
- Archives New Zealand Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ Archives New Zealand 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by Archives New Zealand. Official archives holding WWI military files, probates, and passenger manifests.
- Papers Past Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ Papers Past 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by Papers Past. National Library of NZ portal for historic newspapers, letters, and journals.
- Papers Past Primary Record Collection & Archival Series ↗ Papers Past 1700–2026
Principal digitized record collection and archival series hosted by Papers Past. National Library of NZ portal for historic newspapers, letters, and journals.
56 places, 2 volumes
- Rodney 1
- Waikumete 1
- Akaroa 0
- Auckland 0
- Bay of Plenty 0
- Blenheim 0
- Campbell Island 0
- Canterbury 0
- Chatham Islands 0
- Christchurch 0
- Dunedin 0
- Gisborne 0
- Greymouth 0
- Hamilton 0
- Hawke's Bay Region 0
- Hornby 0
- Invercargill 0
- Kaiapoi 0
- Lyttelton 0
- Manawatu-Wanganui 0
- Marlborough 0
- Masterton 0
- Motueka 0
- Mount Maunganui 0
- Napier 0
- Nelson 0
- Nelson Region 0
- New Plymouth 0
- Norfolk 0
- Northland 0
- Oamaru 0
- Onehunga 0
- Otago 0
- Palmerston North 0
- Portland 0
- Queenstown 0
- Raoul Island 0
- Rotorua 0
- Russell 0
- Southland 0
- Stewart Island/Raikura 0
- Takapuna 0
- Taranaki Region 0
- Tasman District 0
- Tauranga 0
- Thames 0
- Timaru 0
- Waikato Region 0
- Waitangi 0
- Waitara 0
- Waverley 0
- Wellington 0
- Wellington Region 0
- West Coast 0
- Westport 0
- Whangarei 0