New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

New Zealand

This collection consists of civil records from New Zealand for the years 1800-1896.

What is in the Collection?
This collection contains an index to birth, marriage, and death records. The original records are located in the Archives New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching, it is best to know the following information: As you search, compare your results with this information to find a match.
 * Name of the person
 * Date range for the record

Search the Index

 * 1) Go to the Collection Page
 * 2) Enter the requested information into the search box
 * 3) Click Search to return a list of possible matches

I Found the Person I Was Looking for, What Now?

 * Copy down all the information from the index entry.
 * Cite the record. See below for help citing this collection.
 * If possible, get a copy of the original record. Not only is it good research practice to have copies of original documents in your records, but the original record may also contain more information than has been listed in the index. See the tip box above for help finding the original.
 * Use the information which has been discovered to find more. For instance, use the age listed in a record to estimate a year of birth, if that has not been found.
 * Continue to search the index to identify children, siblings, and parents. Family members often appear on an individual's vital records, such as in the role of witnesses to a marriage.

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * When looking for an individual with a common name, look at all the search results before deciding which is the correct person. Use other information, such as place of birth, age, occupation, or names of parents, to help with this decision. If listed, a personal title may be a clue to property ownership or occupation, either of which might be noted in other records.
 * Try variations of given names and surnames. An individual might appear under a different name in a record for a variety of reasons:
 * An individual might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name.
 * Misspellings, especially of uncommon names, occurred regularly.
 * Some women returned to their maiden names after the death of their husbands.
 * Vary the search terms. For example, either expand the date range or search by either the given name or surname to return broader list of search results.

Citing this Collection
Proper citations make it easier to get back to sources that you have found, so citing sources properly can help you keep track of research. Correct citations also allow others to check completed research by giving them a way to find and examine records for themselves.

Below are the proper citations to use for this whole collection as well as for individual records within it: Collection Citation

Record (or Index) Citation