New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages Now Available Online

Having recently had reason to do some research in the online births, marriages and deaths of Victoria, Australia, I was thrilled to see yet more vital records are now available online from that part of the world. New Zealand's Ministry of Internal Affairs announced today the launch of a new Web site that offers online access to New Zealand's historical birth, death and marriage records. To protect the privacy of living people, the following historic data is available:

• Births that occurred at least 100 years ago
• Stillbirths that occurred at least 50 years ago
• Marriages that occurred at least 80 years ago
• Deaths that occurred at least 50 years ago, or the deceased's date of birth was at least 80 years ago

Searches are free, and certificates can either be purchased as a digital image to be downloaded immediately, or as a paper certificate sent through the mail.

Official registrations of births and deaths began in New Zealand in 1848, while marriage registration began in 1856. The Web site also has some earlier records, such as church and place registers, dating back as early as 1840.

New Zealand Birth, Death & Marriage Historical Records