New Zealand Colonial Records

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New Zealand

Colonial Records

History

European contact with the Māori people in New Zealand began in 1769 when Captain James Cook circumnavigated and mapped New Zealand. Contact with other explorers, traders, and christian missionaries continued into the mid-19th-century. Beginning in 1787, parts of New Zealand were included in the British colony of New South Wales. In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British and several Māori chiefs, making New Zealand a part of the British Empire. Following disputes regarding translations of the treaty and European settlers' desire for more land, the New Zealand Wars started in 1843 between the Māori and British. New Zealand became a self-governing dominion under the British Empire in 1907. In 1919 after World War I, New Zealand signed the Treaty of Versailles and became part of the League of Nations.

Online Records

Record collection	Years covered	Record type	Language	Who is in the records
The Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), 1384-1858	1791-1857 (New South Wales)	Wills	English	Until 1858, all wills had to be proved by the church and other courts. Most of the individuals in these records were relatively wealthy.
The Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), 1384-1858	1838-1858 (New Zealand)	Wills	English	Until 1858, all wills had to be proved by the church and other courts. Most of the individuals in these records were relatively wealthy.
British Armed Forces and Overseas Births and Baptisms, New Zealand at FindMyPast - index and images ($)	1848-1964	Births and baptisms	English	Children born to those working within the armed forces, merchant navy, and consular forces, as well as, civilian ship passengers.
British Armed Forces and Overseas Banns and Marriages, New Zealand at FindMyPast - index and images ($)	1860-1964	Banns and marriages	English	British armed forces members and civilians who were married abroad and at sea
British Armed Forces and Overseas Deaths and Burials, New Zealand at FindMyPast - index and images ($)	1853-1964	Deaths and burials	English	Members of the British armed forces who died while serving their country overseas, British civilians who died while traveling or working overseas, and individuals (including seaman) who died at sea.
New Zealand & Polynesian records from colonial missionaries at FindMyPast - index ($)	1844-1927	Civil Service applications and paperwork	English	Individuals who worked for, or applied to join, the British Civil Service.
UK, Foreign and Overseas Registers of British Subjects, 1628-1969, New Zealand at British Online Archives ($)	1838-1958	Missionary records		Letters and supplementary material compiled by the New Zealand and Polynesian branches of the United Society Partners in Gospel (USPG) during the period 1838-1958

For more record collections, search for New Zealand in the FamilySearch catalog, Ancestry.com catalog ($), and the New Zealand Archives.

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