New Zealand Shipping Records to come on-line

[Christina Baldwin]

Early settlers to come to life online
By MATT CALMAN - The Dominion Post
02/12/2009
Converting nearly 140 years of shipping records into digital form has kept two volunteers from their home for more than a year.
But their marathon effort will make it easier for people to research family history.
Bill and Glenys Chadderton, from Kihikihi, south of Te Awamutu, have painstakingly read, photographed and digitally stored 280,000 pages from a small, windowless room at Archives New Zealand, in Wellington.
Their eyes have skimmed over the names of nearly every person who arrived and left the country by boat between 1840 and the mid-1970s – about eight million in total.
Mr Chadderton, 66, said it was fascinating to see history reflected in the lists – from the scores of people who died at sea from cholera in the 1800s, before reaching our shores, to the many Jews who fled Nazi Germany before the outbreak of World War II.
"It's just an amazing history. You could almost smell the fear in the pages. It's unlike anything else we've done and it's been fascinating."
Over the next two years 200,000 volunteers around the world will transcribe and index the mostly handwritten pages so members of the public can access the details online.
The first of the information will be available from early next year on the Archives New Zealand and Family Search websites.
Archives New Zealand archivist Heidi Kuglin said putting the information online would ensure the survival of the original documents, many of which were in poor condition from over a century of handling. She expected worldwide interest in the websites.
"People are waiting for things like this. People in Britain will have lost family that came out to New Zealand. It will be a sort of a starting point."….
Many of the pages included details which indicated why they had travelled to New Zealand.
Mrs Chadderton said after World War II there was "ship after ship" with passengers listed as "war bride" and a few ships full of Kiwi women bound for the United States…..

[phyllis ferguson]

That sounds great. My grandfather and his sister were shipped out in the 19020's for agricultural work in Bull. My great Aunt was sent home after nmy grandfather threatened to expose the farmer who had behaved indecentlt towards mt great aunt so the authorities agreed to send her home. My grandfather later stowed his way back to the UK only to spend some time in Wormwood Scrubs when he was cught when his accomplice became unwelll during the voyage home. Failing that I would have been born a New Zealander. Thge experience didn't stop my dad's brother from emmigrating to NZ in the 1960's where he has remained for well over 40yrs, but he has kept his Glasgow accent!!

[Christina Baldwin]

What a fascinating story Phyllis. The stories of people who moved (and still do)around the world for agricultural work are many. Near where I live are the remains of the huge project the Salvation Army established to send wayward or troubled boys to New Zealand to learn farming. I wouldn't have a clue if any of them were Scottish though. But certainly as all immigrants to NZ came by boat prior to the sixties the records will be great. Regards Christina

[Rosemary Skea]

What wonderful news and what an effort. So many more pieces of family jigsaws will fall into place when this data is available on line. Many thanks in advance to the intrepid band of transcribers.

Rosemary

[Bruce_H]

I am eager for this to become available, thank you so much for telling us about it. I am convinced that several members of the Caithness family ended up "Down Under", and I would relish a way to try and find some evidence of that.

Bruce H

[phyllis ferguson]

Christina,
The organisation that organised my grandfathers trip was for the children of first world war sailors who were killed or injured in that time.