He aha kei a mātou
What we have
Government archives are original, one of a kind sources of information that cover almost every aspect of New Zealand life, and the lives of New Zealanders. They hold legal, personal, cultural and historical evidence for all kinds of research, from family history to royal commissions.
We have records created and used by the New Zealand Government dating from around 1840 to the recent past. These records were transferred to us by government departments and agencies to archive as they were of long term value.
Some records are digitised and available online. If not, they’ll be held in one of our four archives in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin — or, in some cases, in an approved repository. If you’re looking for information that relates to a specific part of the country, or for a record that you know would have been created in a certain area, for example records from a particular court or public hospital, then it’s best to begin your research with the archive closest to that area or place.
Not all records created by the government have survived, or been kept, and those still being used within government agencies have not come to us yet. The more than 7 million archives that we do hold shed light on the historical relationship between the New Zealand public and the state. This relationship makes up the official memory of government.
We may not be the place to look for certain kinds of information, such as newer records or non-government archives.

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What don't we have?
We're not a ‘collecting’ archive and do not have personal papers, diaries, or manuscripts from private individuals. We're not a library and don’t have full editions of books, newspapers, or electoral rolls.
Some of the things we don't have include:
Birth, death and marriage certificates
Newspapers
Books or published works
Individual files on residential properties or houses (unless it was a state house or a government building)
World War Two personnel files or personnel files from later conflicts
Family diaries or personal papers
Complete sets of electoral rolls
Official census records
Individual pension files
Individual tax returns
Passport applications
Car registrations
Complete Sāmoan land and title records, especially after 1920
Films, photographs, or artworks not created for, or by, the government
Many records haven't been kept. This can be because of disaster, human error or decisions made in the past about their long-term value. We only hold around 3-4% of everything ever created by the New Zealand Government.
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What's online?
More of our archives are being digitised and made available online.
Archives that we have digitised so far include:
Passenger lists
Probates more than 50 years old
Military archives from the New Zealand Wars, South African War and First World War military personnel files, unit diaries and military claims
Police Gazettes more than 70 years old
Naturalisation information
Land information, including crown grants and deeds indexes, crown purchase deeds, historic maps and roll plans, surveyor field books, Māori reserves, claims, confiscations, and more
Public works maps and plans
Blue Books
Films and photographs from the National Film Unit
Constitutional archives such as Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Māori Land Court Minute Books. These are only available in our reading rooms
German Sāmoa archives, registers, and village files
Education Board archives and Education Review Office reports
Chinese immigration information, such as poll tax books and re-entry files
Politicians’ papers
Canterbury Association Shipping Papers
Individual archives of cultural and historical significance, found on our online search engine Archway or on our Flickr or YouTube pages.
More information about what is available online can be found on our What's been digitised page.
Archives that are digitised on Archway show a 'view or download digitised record' link. More information about how to find archives can be found on our Using our online search page.
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What does Auckland have?
Our Auckland archive has records created by government agencies within the old Auckland Provincial Government boundaries. This includes Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay.
Noteworthy records in this archive include those of the:
Auckland Provincial Government (1853-1876),
the Agent General Auckland (1865-1878),
and the archives of every Native School/Māori School in New Zealand (1872-1984).
Frequently-used archives include:
Family-related court archives. Such as divorce files, maintenance registers, probate and bankruptcy files from courts in the top half of the North Island
Māori land information from the Māori Land Courts and Māori Land Boards in the top half of the North Island. Including minute books, alienation files and confiscations
Land registrations (deeds system), crown land administration, and early survey plans. These cover the top half of the North Island
Health records from public institutions in Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty. This includes public hospitals and Carrington, Kingseat, Tokanui and Raventhorpe psychiatric hospitals
School archives from some primary schools in the former Auckland Education Board district
The Waikato Immigration Scheme and other Special Settlement schemes
Gold mining from the Hauraki and Puhipuhi mining districts
Railways information
Public Works/Ministry of Works and Development archives
Customs, including early correspondence from 1865-1915. These cover Chinese poll tax, shipping report books and passenger arrivals by ship from 1915 to 1965 and plane from 1939 to 1965
More information about what we have in our Auckland archive can be found in our research guides .
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What does Wellington have?
Wellington is the largest of our four archives and holds the record from the head offices of central government. The information in these records cover the whole of the country. We also have regional archives for the lower half of the North Island, including:
Taranaki
Whanganui
Hawkes Bay
Manawatū
Wairarapa
Wellington
as well as some from Marlborough and Nelson.
Frequently-used archives include:
Immigration information
War archives, including the New Zealand Wars, the South African War and First World War military personnel files, First and Second World War unit diaries, Defence Department archives, and maps and plans
Coroner’s inquests into deaths
Land information including deeds, crown grants and purchases, maps and plans, minute books, surveyor field books, block files, raupatu archives, aerial mapping, photography and more
Family-related court archives such as divorce files, maintenance registers, probate and bankruptcy files from courts in the lower half of the North Island
Archives of cultural significance to Māori. Such as the Māori Land Court Minute Books, whakapapa information, Māori Affairs archives, and more
Citizenship and naturalisation information
Health, mental health and welfare records
Police, prisons, and other law-related archives
Politicians’ papers
Railways and public works maps and plans, including highways, buildings, and other works
Government employment and work-related archives
Education Board, school, and early university archives
Audiovisual archives, including films from the National Film Unit, National Publicity Studios photography, and photography from a range of government organisations
Artwork including the National Collection of War Art. As well as school journal illustrations, patents and copyright, and railways and health posters
More information about what we have in our Wellington archive can be found in our research guides .
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What does Christchurch have?
Our Christchurch archive has archives created by government organisations in the Canterbury and Westland regions, as well as some from Marlborough and Nelson.
Our most significant holdings are the records of the Canterbury Association (1848- 1853) and the Canterbury Provincial Government (1853-1876).
Frequently-used archives include:
Land registration (Deeds System) records, Crown Land administration records and early survey plans covering the top half of the South Island
Gold mining and coal mining records from Westland
Family-related court records (e.g. divorce files, maintenance registers, probate and bankruptcy files), and criminal and civil case records, from all courts in Canterbury and Westland
Health records from public institutions in Canterbury and Westland (including public maternity hospitals, Sunnyside, Templeton, and Seaview psychiatric hospitals, Cashmere Sanatorium, Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs)
School records from (mostly closed) schools in Canterbury and Westland
Railways records
We also hold some local government records under contract from the Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury), including legacy archives such as those of the Lyttelton Harbour Board.
More detailed information about what we have in our Christchurch archive can be found in our research guides .
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What does Dunedin have?
Our Dunedin archive has records created by government organisations in the Otago and Southland regions. This includes Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Sub-Antarctic Islands.
Noteworthy records in this office include the Otago and Southland Provincial Government from the late 1840s to 1876.
Frequently-used archives include:
Land information, including deeds and land transfer indexes and registers, and maps
Court records, such as divorce files, maintenance registers, probate and bankruptcy files
Health records from public institutions in Otago and Southland, including Seacliff Hospital and Dunedin Hospital. Many of these are restricted so you'll need permission to view them
Gold and coal mining information, including maps
Immigration information, especially of non-British subjects arriving under the Immigration Restrictions Acts
Railways, including maps and plans
School records for Otago are held by the Hocken Library. Invercargill City Libraries and Archives hold Southland school archives.
More information about what we have in our Dunedin archive can be found in our research guides .