Archives New Zealand

10/06/2026

Today for International Archives Week, we’re sharing Civil Court records from our Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland office. These include probated wills, divorces, bankruptcy files, civil cases, appeals, Employment Court hearings, and maintenance records.

Our Auckland archive has a large catchment, caring for Civil Court records from Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Tairāwhiti Gisborne.

Many of these records show people seeking justice. This could be against another person, a company, an employer, a council, or the Crown. They matter because they show the process followed and can provide evidence of rights.

Some Court proceedings are searchable by name in our database, but in some cases, names cannot be made public until the records are over 100 years old.

Many records transferred to us in the 1980s and 1990s were listed by file number only. We are working on projects to improve this and make records easier to find.

🔗 Search these records by name on Collections online or contact our Auckland team via Ask an archivist. The links are in the comments.

09/06/2026

It’s day three of International Archives Week and we’re spotlighting the office at Ōtautahi Christchurch by sharing the Antarctic Treaty, which came into force in 1961.

The Treaty was originally signed on 1 December 1959 by 12 countries — Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Negotiated during the Cold War, it states that “Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only” and backed international cooperation in scientific research, including the sharing of data. It also set clear responsibilities to protect the Antarctic environment and wildlife.

Ōtautahi has a strong connection to this story. Christchurch is one of only five gateway cities to Antarctica and has deep links to the Scott and Shackleton expeditions.

Records held at Archives New Zealand in Ōtautahi (CH 370, Series 2802) reflect this history and New Zealand’s role as a Treaty partner.

Today, Canterbury continues to support Scott Base and helps uphold Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and scientific research.

09/06/2026

Thank you for your all work to support the recognition and protection of our heritage, including the 35,000 records that make up the Canterbury Provincial Government Archives (1853 to 1877).

09/06/2026

Happy International Archives Day!

Te Kahu’s new Archives New Zealand building, Te Rua, is super secure!

Te Rua is specially designed to protect New Zealand’s taonga from earthquake, fire, and flood – making it one of the world’s most technologically advanced archive facilities.

The building sits on 36 base isolators that allow it to move up to 1.6m in any direction if there’s an earthquake.

Did you know that Archives New Zealand looks after and regulates the country’s public records? It holds more than 7 million government records from 1840 onwards, such as land, court, mining, school, and military records.

What type of records interest you? https://www.archives.govt.nz/

Discover our nation’s memory and the taonga cared for at Te Kahu. Your story starts here.

08/06/2026

Today for International Archives Week we are sharing a series from Pōneke Wellington — the Māori Land Court minute books.

The minute books are a record of the hearings and evidence given by Māori to the Land Court to establish Crown titles for their land.

We hold original minute books from all seven Māori land court districts from 1865 to 1975. They document tribal history, whakapapa and evidence of iwi/hapū use and occupation of land.

In 2012, the minute books from 1862 to 1900 were added to the UNESCO Memory of the World New Zealand Register, in recognition of their cultural and historical significance.

“The minute books are a unique archival source for the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. They are a repository of the oral tribal histories and whakapapa of most of New Zealand’s Māori tribes, recorded at hearings in the 19th and 20th centuries by Native (later Māori) Land Court clerks. Without this unique source, much tribal history and traditional knowledge would have been lost.” — Dr Grant Phillipson, Waitangi Tribunal Member and former Chief Historian.

🔗 For information about how to access the minute books, the link to our research guide about Māori Land Court records is in the comments.

08/06/2026

Welcome back to Information Management Mondays and the first extra guide! Today we're highlighting audiovisual storage.

Audiovisual materials are notoriously fragile and it's easy to lose the information on them if they're not handled properly.

This guide covers the best environments for AV media, how to handle AV media, and highlights some of the particular considerations for mechanical and optical discs.
https://www.archives.govt.nz/manage-information/how-to-manage-your-information/implementation/care-and-storage-of-physical-records/audiovisual-storage

07/06/2026

Happy International Archives Week! This year’s theme — Archives for justice: rights, memory and futures — is a chance to reflect on how archives support understanding, accountability and fairness.

Our holdings are spread across four locations around the motu, and this week we will share records that illustrate the theme.

We’re starting in Ōtepoti Dunedin with a series of ‘Certificates of registration under the Immigration Restriction Acts’.

Issued between 1904 and 1956, these certificates allowed non-citizens to re-enter Aotearoa after travel. They also enabled Chinese migrants to waive the poll tax if it had been paid on first entry. Most include photos, and many include fingerprints.

This series is important to the Otago community because these records show how migrants were treated — especially because many of the certificates were issued to Chinese New Zealanders invited to the region to work on the goldfields.

🔗 Search these records by name on Collections online or contact our Dunedin team via Ask an Archivist. The links are in the comments.

07/06/2026

What can one blood-stained flying glove tell us? In this case — the story of one of Aotearoa’s most famous WWII fighter aces.

The glove belonged to Flying Officer Edgar ‘Cobber’ Kain, a New Zealander serving in the Royal Air Force. In 1940, he became the RAF’s first flying ace of the war — credited with shooting down five enemy aircraft. He was also the first to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The glove and a copy of Kain's personal combat report from that mission were later transferred to Archives from New Zealand's Air Department — set up in 1937 to oversee military and civilian aviation.

In the report, Kain describes the moment his aircraft was hit. He suffered shrapnel wounds to his hand and calf, and burns to his face. "I was just turning towards the south when my cockpit was hit by a cannon shell and another hit my gravity tank. This explosion on my hood rendered me slightly unconscious but I came to diving steeply, my cockpit full of smoke and flames ... when the flames got too intense I decided to abandon aircraft."

Kain recovered and went on to claim at least nine more aerial victories. Soon after, he was ordered to take R&R leave in England. Tragically he died in 1940 while performing a low-level aerobatic farewell to his comrades in France.

02/06/2026

Wow! Thanks for sharing the story of Brosco the robot Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.

02/06/2026

🌺 Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa 2026! 🇼🇸

🌺 Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa 2026! 🇼🇸

This year’s theme, “‘E afua mai i mauga tetele manuia o le ‘nu’u – From the high mountains are the blessings of the village,”

We had a wonderful turnout this morning as we came together to celebrate with a flag raising ceremony, alongside our colleagues from the National Library of New Zealand, Archives New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs MPI, Parliamentary Services, Ministry of Justice, and MFAT.

Fa'afetai lava Taha Moana Network and Te Ara Vaka for hosting and bringing us all together to celebrate!



[photo credit Thomas Tarurongo Wynne]