Bicycle & Bootblack Register 1910-1918

From 1887, a licensing programme required bicycles to be registered with the Town Clerk of Auckland City Council and the registration number displayed on the bicycle. Registration of bicycles continued in Auckland until 1964 or later and was by then administered by the council's Traffic Department.¹

Entries are alphabetical by surname and by date or licence number within each letter.

The register also includes bootblack licence registrations. Bootblacks were people who made a living by polishing shoes on the street and they required a licence from the Town Clerk before taking up the occupation in any of the city's streets. The licence specified the location and hours that the bootblack could conduct business, and was to be carried at all times whilst trading. A badge with the words 'Licensed Bootblack' was to be displayed on either the hat, left arm or chest of the bootblack.²

The database is searchable by name, address and date. Use the Browse button to browse the contents of these fields.

This database is a full transcript of entries in the register. For further information, please contact Auckland Council Archives Central Repository.

Bicycle & Bootblack Register search

Name: AND OR NOT     Address: AND OR NOT     Date: AND OR NOT

Search Hints For an AND search, enter & (e.g. john & smith) For an OR search, enter / (e.g. thos / thomas) For a NOT search, enter ! (e.g. john ! smith) For a phrase search, simply enter the words (e.g. brown james). Please note that surname precedes first name. Use * as a wildcard (e.g. brown* will find brown, browne, etc.) When using these symbols, include a space between the symbol and the search criteria. Choose from the drop-down list to change from AND to OR to NOT when combining boxes. Click on Browse to pick a term from the index. The Field drop-down list will show the name of the field whose index you are viewing. Where available, you can choose to view a different field from the list. For further information on searching, click on the Help icon to the right.

¹ ACC 426/4 Auckland City Council by-law no. 41 (bicycle and tricycle by-law), confirmed and sealed on 15 December 1887;   ACC 356 record no 266 Traffic Department bicycle register 1964.

² ACC 426/10 Auckland City Council Bylaws 1-25 and Standing Orders.