Genealogy resource centre

The Genealogy resource centre is part of the City Centre Library within the non-fiction area. It's next to the Māori and Pacific collections, and Local History is close by. The Centre is generally staffed by volunteer genealogists who can offer help and advice. Check the Porirua Branch of the NZ Society of Genealogists website for more information.

We've got a comprehensive range of material for family history research with a focus on New Zealand and British information. This includes microfiche, microfilm, books, magazines and access to digital resources like Ancestry.com.

For example:

• Birth, Death and Marriage indexes for New Zealand, England and Australia
• Cemetery records for New Zealand and Porirua City.
• A range of New Zealand electoral rolls, especially those relating to the Porirua basin.
• 1881 British census index and 1891 London census

We also hold a selection of materials that will enable you to get a good grounding in Māori whakapapa research and we can offer you guidance for Pacific Island research.

We have a microfiche/microfilm scanner which you can use to take copies of records.  Microfilm may be interloaned from the National Library for $5.00.

Links to useful genealogy websites

• Ancestry.com Library edition - available free on the library computers
• Porirua cemeteries - search Porirua, Pauatahanui and Whenua Tapu Cemetery records and headstone images online from the Porirua City Council website.
• Cyndis List - the internet's largest collection of genealogy related links
  
• FamilySearch Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - to search for your ancestors
  
• Births, deaths and marriages - New Zealand
  
• Births, deaths and marriages - New South Wales
  
• National Library collections including scanned images of 19th century New Zealand paper
• Auckland City Library
  
• History on early Christchurch and its settlers
  
• Roots web - information on family research and lists of web sites
  
• Find my past - a variety of records from England, Scotland, Ireland,Wales, India, and Australia  (pay per view)
• Republic of Ireland civil registrations
  
• Northern Ireland civil registrations
  
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission Debt of Honour register