These resources are part of our Digital Library.
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Academic Research Library (ProQuest) 
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Contains fulltext articles on a wide range of popular academic subjects.
Address to Queen Victoria, 1897
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Address presented to Her Majesty Queen Victoria from public school pupils in the Auckland Education District. In 1897 around 25,000 children in that district signed a congratulatory address to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 years as Queen. The Auckland Education District covered all public schools from Northland to Rotorua and Tauranga.
Page numbers refer to the signatures in the original manuscript held in Special Collections (NZMS 540). Because of its fragile condition the manuscript has been copied onto microfiche. These are available in the Auckland Research Centre and Special Collections.
Ancestry Library 
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Note - When viewing the census images, do not install the new viewer as it will not work on the inhouse computers. Please use the old viewer instead. When prompted to install the viewer please click where it says, "To continue without installing the Ancestry Image Viewer, click here. "
The most comprehensive online source of information for conducting genealogical and local history research available. There is a lot of American material. However, the British content is steadily growing. Includes census, vital statistics, church, military, court, land, probate, immigration, and naturalization records.
Read more in our eResource guide.
Armed Constabulary of New Zealand 1867-1877 
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This database contains further information about constables in the Armed Constabulary. It covers the period from 1867 to 1871, and lists 3,281 names, including members of the Native Constabulary.
Auckland Area Passenger Arrivals 1838-1886 and 1909-1921
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Indexes newspaper reports of Auckland area inward passengers for the period 1838 to 1886, with a few for 1887 to 1889. Also, newspaper reports for Kororareka, Russell and New Zealand Company settlements from 1838 to 1845. Much trans-Tasman migration is not included, and often those in steerage were not included in the newspaper reports. The 1909 to 1921 information is courtesy of Archives New Zealand, although largely it is from late 1915 onwards. We do have New Zealand Shipping Company passenger lists for both periods for cross checking.
Auckland Area Passenger Vessels 1838-1886
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Provides details of particular ships including information on the name of the Captain, ship's tonnage and the port of origin. This database allows you to follow up on details of the particular ship you are interested in. If you wish a copy of the full passenger list from the newspaper you can do this in person at the Auckland Research Centre.
Auckland Crown Grants
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This database names the original purchasers of land in the Auckland central business district, and gives the section and lot numbers, area and year. Essential for searching early land grants in inner Auckland at Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). Search the database or view an image of the plan of the town of Auckland. The heritage floor of the Central City Library has copies of the plan of the town of Auckland, by Charles Heaphy, 1851.
Auckland Police Census 1842-1846
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This is the only surviving census for Auckland area households and their inhabitants for the 19th century. It was carried out each year from 1842 to 1846. Note that the names of children and wives are not given. The original manuscript (NZMS 25) is held in Special Collections. Photocopies are available in the Auckland Research Centre.
William Blake: America and Europe
View digitised versions of Blake's America and Europe
William Blake’s America; a prophecy, and Europe; a prophecy are among the many treasures held in Special collections. These two works come from the collection of Sir George Grey, and are bound together in one book.
Cemetery Records
Hillsborough - Onetangi, Waiheke Island - Otahuhu Public - Waikaraka
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This database covers all burials in these cemeteries up to the present day. Now administered by Auckland City Council, Waikaraka burials date from 1890, Hillsborough from 1916 to 1974, Otahuhu Public Cemetery from 1894 to 1984 and Waiheke from 1943 to 1992. Information includes record number, surname, first name(s), sex, death date, age, area number, block (listed alphabetically), lot number, any remarks and which of the four cemeteries. Tombstone inscriptions have also been added.
Cemetery Records
St Stephens and Symonds Street
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Symonds Street Cemetery was the main Auckland cemetery until it closed in 1886, and should be searched in conjunction with the much smaller St Stephens - which includes burials from 1849 to 1982. Both include plot details, tombstone inscriptions where known, locations, and references to any photographs of remaining tombstones.
History of the Symonds Street Cemetery
Electoral Rolls, 1881
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These cover the north Auckland, Auckland metropolitan and south Auckland area into the Waikato. This is the nearest equivalent to the British 1881 census and only lists males living at a residence for at least six months.
Ephemera Index
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An index of printed ‘throwaway’ materials (e.g. cards, posters, tickets, programmes, flyers) particularly items with details about social issues, entertainment, and cultural and sporting events in the Auckland region from the 1840s to the present day. Includes items from circuses, dance, festivals, film, politics, sports, theatre, tourism, war. More...
Heritage Images Online
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Three significant collections (Winkelmann, Firth, and Schmidt) have been catalogued and scanned for availability through Auckland City Libraries' website forming the Heritage Images Online database. Included are images of Auckland, portraits from 1930s to 1970s and First World War soldier portraits.
Read more in our eResource guide.
History Resource Center: World (Thomson Gale)
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A collection of resources supporting undergraduate and high school research. Integrates secondary sources, primary sources and full-text articles from academic journals.
Read more in our eResource guide.
Index Auckland: local history, arts and music
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A rich resource of history, art, theatre, film and music references sourced from Auckland area newspapers and journal articles.
Read more in our eResource guide.
References are being progressively transferred from our massive card indexes into Index Auckland, butplease still consult the New Zealand Song Index (first floor), and both the New Zealand Music Index and the New Zealand Card Index in the Auckland Research Centre at the Central City Library.
Index Auckland can now also be searched through Knowledge Basket New Zealand Index.
Iwidex
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An index to the sources of information on tribal history, tikanga-a-iwi, and whakapapa held in the heritage and research collections of Auckland City Libraries.
Knowledge Basket Māori Land Court Minute Books Index
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Indexes over 1100 minute books between 1865 and 1910, from the Taitokerau, Waikato-Maniapoto, Tairawhiti, Waiariki, Aotea, Takitimu, and Waipounamu Māori Land Court Districts.
For more information about the minute books, contact Te Rōpu Rātonga Māori, the Māori services team.
Manuscripts Online
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The New Zealand Manuscripts collection, located in Special Collections, consists of about 1.5 kilometres of manuscripts and archives relating to New Zealand, particularly Auckland and Northland, from the early 19th century to the present. Current collecting concentrates on the performing arts, social action and community groups, music, literary papers, women's organisations, Maori collections and personal papers and diaries.
Indexes to Sir George Grey's Manuscript collections are not yet available online.
Read more in our eResource guide.
Maps Online
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A selection of heritage maps from our collection which have been catalogued and digitised. This includes the George Church collection as well as other significant maps from throughout New Zealand from the 1830s to the 1920s.
Read more in our eResource guide.
Medieval Manuscripts Online
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At present this database contains one manuscript: the digitised content of the Rossdhu Book of Hours.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is an online version of a 60 volume printed set, and contains more than 50,000 biographies of British men and women.
- No living people are included.
- Coverage stretches from the earliest times to the end of the year 2002.
Read more in our eResource guide.
Photographers' Database
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The Photographers’ Database is an index to photographers who have worked in New Zealand from the 1840s to the present day. It draws on advertisements, newspapers, electoral rolls, published articles, trade directories, and other resources to build up a picture of the individuals and their businesses.
It is not exhaustive, so if you want to know any additional information about a particular photographer, you are welcome to contact us by email.
Times Digital Archive (Thomson Gale)
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Search the complete digital archive of The Times (London) from 1785 to 1985 to retrieve facsimile images of either of a specific article or a complete page. The entire newspaper is captured, complete with ads, classifieds and illustrations, making it a fascinating resource for history and genealogy research.
Read more in our eResource guide. |
