New Zealand, Central Otago, Cemetery Gravestones - FamilySearch Historical Records

New Zealand

What is in the Collection?
This collection includes records from the years 1861-2009.

This collection contains an index with images of over 13,000 gravestones from 24 cemeteries in Central Otago, New Zealand. The images and index data were created by Bert and Pauline Miller over a period of 11 years.

Cemetery records may give more information than parish burial registers or civil certificates of death. They may include the name and age of the deceased, date of death, date and place of birth, names of parents and/or spouse, and marriage information. They may also provide clues about military service, religion, occupation, place of residence at time of death, or membership in an organization, such as a lodge.

Due to the late date of settlement of New Zealand by Europeans, cemetery records are a valuable and readily available source for research. There are two major types of cemetery records in New Zealand:
 * Information found on gravestones, and transcriptions of that information
 * Burial registers maintained by church or municipal cemetery officials

Individuals and societies in New Zealand are actively indexing cemetery records and are making their indexes available for family history research.

Sample Image
Cemetery inscriptions may contain the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Age at death
 * Cause of death
 * Headstone inscription
 * Previous occupation
 * Place of birth
 * Place of burial
 * Date of burial
 * Date of death
 * Next of Kin
 * Place of interment
 * Denomination

How Do I Search the Collection?
As you are searching it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

To search this collection, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year and place of death
 * Cemetery

To search this collection by name: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

To search by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page, ⇒Select the appropriate “Cemetery" which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

General Information about These Records
Cemetery records are especially helpful for identifying ancestors who were not otherwise recorded, such as children who died young or women who were not named in records. Relatives may be buried in adjoining plots. When possible, examine the original record rather than relying solely on alphabetized transcripts.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * When searching for the headstone of your ancestor, keep in mind that the images in this collection are organized by last name.
 * Use the death date and age to approximate a birth date.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing this Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation:

Record Citation:

Image Citation: