News of Genealogy in New Zealand

Some times I think we are entirely too insular. In my own ancestry, I have people that came from England, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Denmark. But my closest immigrant to the United States was my Great-Grandfather Marinus Christensen, who came to the United States in about 1866 when he was three years old. So all of the family I have known have been born in the United States. But in my helping others with research, I have spent considerable time researching in various other countries around the world. One of those countries where it seems I have had contact from time to time is New Zealand. One of my friends, that I was helping from time to time, had Mauri ancestry. So I have  had a reason to find out more about the records in that part of the world.

One of the first places I look in any country is in that country's national archives. In New Zealand, for example, currently some 25 volunteers from the New Zealand Society of Genealogists are working in the Auckland office on the probate digitisation project. Taking at least five years to complete the project will see thousands of records searchable online. See the Ngā Tapuwae for July 2013. The National Archives has over 4 million records and many of those are online and available for research.

In addition, August is Family History Month and also the month for the New Zealand Family History Fair, August 2nd through the 4th, 2013 at the Vodafone Events Center in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand.  The Family History Fair is being organized by the New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Inc. (NZSG) which has been in existence since 1967. Some of the resources of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists are contained in the Family Research Centre and NZSG Library.

If you spend a little time getting to know the resources of any one of the countries of the world, you will find that these resources extend far across time and geographic boundaries.