Auckland City Council archives
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Family history
The information in this section is arranged by general types of records that
may be of use in your family history research.
The list of records below is by no means exhaustive and will be updated as
new material comes to light:
Cemetery records
We hold original records giving details of
people buried at or purchasing plots in the Hillsborough, Waikaraka and Otahuhu
Cemeteries. We also hold a number of administrative files for the Waikumete and
Symonds Street Cemeteries.
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 |
This extract, dating from 1902, is taken from the burial register of Otahuhu
Cemetery and gives information on religion, occupation, residence, place
of birth, place and date of death, age and the grave number. (OTB 120/1) |
Auckland City Libraries provide an
online database of cemetery records that covers all burials in the Hillsborough, Onetangi, Otahuhu and Waikaraka cemeteries up to the present day.
Waitakere City Council also provides an
online search of burials at the Waikumete Cemetery. The cemetery was originally established and administered by Auckland City Council but is now managed by Waitakere City Council.
Council staff records
Staff appointment and salary records can contain
information about former staff members such as:
- name
- date of birth
- marital
status
- superannuation
- date of appointment
- department
- position held
- salary
- education/qualifications.
Not all staff records are retained. Please note
that privacy legislation applies to access to these records. In some cases
archives also holds photographs of staff.
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Dwellings and business records
Part of family history research can be to discover details
about family homes, dwellings and businesses.
Dwelling and business records fall
into two main groups:
- records relating to building permit or consent
applications and plans, and
- file series dealing with dwellings, businesses and
other buildings and properties.
A significant collection of records at archives results
from the activities associated with council regulation of building. Dating from
the early 20th century, these records include:
- building permit registers and
indexes
- building applications
- specifications
- plans
- committee and council
minutes
- correspondence with applicants and developers
- records relating to
inspections.
Access to these records is usually by the property name
and/or street address of the property. The records contain the names and
addresses of the owners of domestic and commercial buildings, as well as the
names of their builders and architects.
The file series were generated by various business groups of the council, and
deal with issues such as property subdivision, encroachments, health and
sanitation, tenders and contracts, town planning, water and electrical services.
Although people are identified in these records, sometimes locating them can be
time-consuming unless you know of specific issues with which they may have been
involved.
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| This house plan for Mr LS Taylor is from Otahuhu Borough Council series of building permits (OTB 0000 064/5).
Click on the image to view larger versions of the plans. |
 |
Electoral or Burgess rolls
These are the rolls of people qualified to vote for members
of the council. In addition to names, they give details of the elector's
address, and sometimes a property description and values.
A number of these records have been indexed.
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Health
The records we have on health information are usually
a product of an "inspection" or "reporting" relationship with local health
authorities or a consequence of a major health issue e.g. an influenza
epidemic, which a keyword search of the archives database will reveal.
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 |
|
Extract from Environmental Health Register of Prosecutions, 1913 (AKC 376/1).
Click on the image to view a larger version.
|
Licences
Overtime councils have been responsible for the licensing
of a variety of activities:
- auctioneers
- dogs
- drivers
- hawkers
- street musicians
- publicans
to name a few.
Records are arranged by the date the
licence was issued or registered rather than the applicant's name and details.
They
include:
- the name of the applicant
- address
- activity
- date the licence was issued
- often comments or remarks regarding cancellations, renewals or
prosecutions.
A number of these records have been indexed.
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Illustrated are applications by Thomas Mullin to Auckland City Council for a Street Musician's License
in 1921 (ACC 275/21/5 Box 35) and Frank Burns' Publican's License for The Ellerslie Hotel, 1900 (ELB 128/1).
Click on the images to see larger versions of both licences. |
 |
 |
Mayors and councillors
If your family served as councillors or even as mayor, they
will appear not just as attendees of meetings in the minute books, but also in a
variety of other sources and lists. As an eminent citizen there will often be a
photographic record too.
See a list of Auckland City area
mayors.
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Minute books
Minute books of boards, councils and committees record all
business discussed and decisions made in meetings. As such, they are key documents.
Although minute books are written in a formal manner they can provide details
about individuals. In the early period, they dealt with
correspondence from citizens and business people about issues concerning them or
services they required.
Some of these minute books have subject indexes within
them which makes searching by name easy.
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Example taken from the Onehunga Public Library Committee minute book, 1901-1904, which gives
the names not only of the committee members who attended, but also lists those tendering for carrying out alterations at
the library (OHB 110/1).
Click on the image to view a larger version. |
 |
Occupations/pastimes
There are occasional series relating to occupations and
pastimes found among the local authority records.
In addition, we have one block of records which are
different from the rest of our holdings. These are the 13 series which make up
the records of the Panmure Young Citizens Centre, years 1958-1996.
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Rating and valuation records
 |
Click here to view a larger
version of the Karangahape
Road District Valuation
Roll for 1883 (KHB 002/1). |
These records provide basic ownership and descriptive
information regarding properties throughout the city, the earliest dating from
1867 for the Mt Albert Highway District.
Information includes:
- occupier's and owner's names
and occupations
- a legal description of property
- a brief description of the
property, and
- the valuation or rating value.
Access to these records is
either by the owner's surname or street address.
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Updated April 2010
