MyHeritage Publishes Three Record Collections from New Zealand
- By Talya


We are delighted to announce the publication of 4.7 million records from three new collections from New Zealand: Birth Index, 1840–1901, Marriage Index, 1840–1901, and Death Index, 1840–2021. The records in these collections are provided by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and are the main source of vital records in New Zealand. If you have roots in this island down under, these collections offer important details about your ancestors.
Here are more details about each of the collections.
New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840–1901
This collection of 2 million records is an index of birth registrations from throughout New Zealand. Records may contain the first and last name of the individual, the name of the father and mother, the birth year of the individual, and the registration number.
Births have been officially recorded in New Zealand since 1848, and were originally under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary. If a birth was a stillbirth, this is indicated in the record.
Search New Zealand, Birth Index, 1840-1901
New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840–1901
This collection is an index of marriage registrations from throughout New Zealand. Records may contain the first and last name of the bride, the first and last name of the groom, the year the marriage took place, and the registration number.
Marriages have been officially recorded in New Zealand since 1854, and were originally under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary.
Search New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840–1901
New Zealand, Death Index, 1840–2021
This collection of 2.4 million records is an index of death registrations from throughout New Zealand. Records may contain the first and last name of the individual, year of death, age at death, birth date, and registration number.
Deaths have been officially recorded in New Zealand since 1848, and were originally under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary. A law in 1913 required that Mäori deaths also be registered, and these records were part of a separate registration system until 1961.
Search New Zealand, Death Index, 1840-2021
Sample Records
Found in the birth collection is the record of Eileen May Duggan, New Zealand poet and journalist.
The marriage collection contains a record of the marriage of famous physicist Ernest Rutherford to Mary Georgina Newton in 1900. Just a few years later, in 1908, Ernest won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on radioactive half-lives. He was the first Nobel prize-winner from Oceanian descent.![Marriage record of Ernest Rutherford and Mary Georgina Newton [Credit: MyHeritage New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840–1901]](https://blog.myheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/image4-17.png)
Marriage record of Ernest Rutherford and Mary Georgina Newton [Credit: MyHeritage New Zealand, Marriage Index, 1840–1901]
Summary
The New Zealand birth, marriage, and death record collections are a great asset to anyone researching their New Zealand heritage, as they constitute an important resource of vital records.
Searching the collections on MyHeritage is free. To view these records or to save records to your family tree, you’ll need a Data or Complete subscription. If you have a family tree on MyHeritage, our Record Matching technology will notify you automatically if records from these collections match your relatives.
Enjoy the new collections!
Andrew Jackett
August 5, 2021
Thanks MyHeritage and the New Zealand Government for making these records available on our record source provider of choice. The collection will make a valuable improvement to the knowledge base already available on MyHeritage. It’s great having more or less full coverage of historical deaths but why oh why do marriages only come through to the end of 1901? The Government records currently show marriages up to today’s date in 1941 (updated daily) but 1901 seems a long way back for most researchers to get a grip of what was happening back in New Zealand’s earlier history. Did the NZ Government only allow records to be used by MyHeritage up until 1901? If so, it seems a bit harsh. And birth records to 1901 is reasonable but Government historical records go through to today’s date in 1921 (updated daily) with that. Thanks again. Hoping that someone from management can respond to this matter.