Hawke's Bay Genealogy

Resources

 

Websites and Resources for Genealogy Research

• Most of these resources are free to use. The list is comprehensive but there will be other sites available that are not included.
• Remember whilst a vast number of records are available online there are still records in archives that are not online. It pays to check archives in localities where your ancestors lived to see if they have any further records.

 

Genealogy Tips - Getting Started

• Hawke's Bay Genealogy  Contact us

• Napier Libraries Ancestry and Genealogy

• Napier Libraries Adoption Booklet Looking for Family

• Hastings District Libraries Archives and Research

• NZSG Getting Started

• National Library of New Zealand  Getting started and Resources

• Auckland City Libraries Family History Research Guide

• Genuki Getting Started

 

Local

• Napier City Council Cemetery Database

• Hastings District Council Cemetery Database
• Central Hawke's Bay District Council Cemetery Database 
• Central Hawke's Bay Museum
• Wairoa District Council Cemetery Info Map
• Wairoa District Museum
• Tararua District Council Cemetery Database (includes Dannevirke, Woodville, Pahiatua and Eketahuna.)

• MTG Hawke's Bay access limited until the end of 2025 due to the Archive moving to new premises

• Knowledge Bank Hawke's Bay Digital Archives Trust

• Contact Hawke's Bay Genealogy who have transcribed Urupa's from Nuhaka to Porangahau. 

 

New Zealand

• New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG)  Promotes the study of family histories, whakapapa, genealogies and kindred subjects.
• NZSG Maori Interest Group  Assists in researching whakapapa, builds up a store of Maori resources in the NZSG and informs about records available and how to access and interpret them.
• NZSG Genealogical Computing Group  The Genealogical Computing Group special interest is using computers for genealogy.
• Department of Internal Affairs - Births, Deaths and Marriages Online  Search to access New Zealand birth, marriage and death records.
• New Zealand Archives  New Zealand Government records including World War 1 Service Records which have been digitised and are online. Also Probates.
• NZ Ancestor Search Helper  This search tool is designed to assist with NZ focused genealogical research, by collating results from NZ DIA's Births, Deaths and Marriages, Archives New Zealand, dozens of council cemetery websites, military records from Auckland Museum Online Cenotaph and many other online history resources.
• Wilson Collection  Index of New Zealand Family History records.
• Papers Past  Delivers digitised full-text New Zealand and Pacific newspapers, magazines, and journals, books and other formats.
• Maori Land Court Te tūhonotanga o te tangata ki tōna whenua. Connecting whanau to the whenua.
• Online Cenotaph A national initiative, Online Cenotaph is a biographical database that allows researchers, enthusiasts and veterans and their families to explore, contribute to and share the records and stories of those who served Aoteroa New Zealand.
• Family Search New Zealand Wiki Guide to New Zealand ancestry, family history and genealogy.
• New Zealand History Online Web links for family history research.
• Archives Central Fielding Archives Central is a searchable database of the collection of nine regional and district council's archives from participating New Zealand local authorities.
• The Airforce Museum (Royal New Zealand Airforce) has more than 40,000 images on their website, with more being digitised daily. If you are researching relatives who served, this will be a good place to start.

 

Australia

• National Archives of Australia  Australian government records.
• Trove - Search for digital copies of newspapers, Government Gazettes, maps magazines and newsletters. Also books. pictures, photographs, archived websites, music and interviews.
• Ryerson Index Death notices and obituaries in Australian newspapers.
• Australian Cemeteries Index Over 6300 cemeteries, 2.9 million inscriptions and 1 million images online.
• Each state and the Northern Territory have their own Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, West Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.

 

United Kingdom

• Parish Records  FreeReg is to provide free internet searches of UK baptism, marriage and burial parish records.
• Census Records  FreeCen provides a free-to-view, online, searchable database of 19th century UK census returns.

• Explore Your Genealogy A unique educational website developed by the Family History Federation.

 

England and Wales       

• Civil Registration Records  FreeBMD is an onging project 

• GRO UK  Purchase Birth, Marriage and Death Records online.

 

Scotland

• National Records of Scotland  Search the archives and manuscripts of The National Records of Scotland.
• Scotlands People  Purchase Birth, Marriage, Death, Parish and census records online. 

 

Ireland

• Civil Registration records  Free to search and images are free to download. The indexes to the Civil Records or Irish births, deaths and marriages date from 1864 with non-Catholic marriages recorded from 1845.
• Census records  Census of Ireland 1901/1911 and census fragments and substitutes, 1821-1851. Free to search & download
• Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)  The official Archive for Northern Ireland. 
• Government Records Online Northern Ireland (GRONI)  Purchase Births, Marriages and Death Certificates online.
• Roots Ireland  Subscription website. Contains data from 34 county genealogy centres in Ireland. The main sources are Irish Catholic and other church records of baptisms, marriage and deaths.

 

Worldwide

• FamilySearch  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides Family Search free of charge to everyone, regardless of tradition, culture, or religious affiliation. FamilySearch resorces help millions of people around the world discover their heritage and connect with family members. To access records you need to create a free account.
• FamilySearch Wiki go to the wiki, click on locality and then country to find out what records are available and where.
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Caring for the fallen. Free.

• Find a Grave The world's largest gravestone collection free.

• Billion Graves the world's largest GPS cemetery database free and paid plans.

• Cyndi's List A comprehensive list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online.

• Ancestry Free Indexes A number of free indexes from around the world.

 

Commercial Subscription Sites / DNA Testing companies

 

• Ancestry World wide Has the largest DNA database 25 million plus.
• My Heritage World with emphasis on  European DNA testing.
• FindMyPast Excellent UK records.
• Family Tree DNA Only company that does YDNA (male line) and MtDNA (female line) plus autosomal DNA testing.
• 23andMe  DNA testing.
• Living DNA Ancestry test provides unrivalled worldwide regional breakdowns, with eight times more detail for the British Isles than other companies.