History, culture and heritage
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NZ’s history
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Places to start researching NZ history
Search old newspapers, find archives and websites on local and national history.
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Military history, records and medals
Search the records and medals of New Zealanders at war and get sources for doing your own military research.
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Get a copy of a WW1 service record
Archives New Zealand is in the process of putting the military records of everyone who served in World War I online.
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Māori history
Māori are tangata whenua — people of the land. They came to Aotearoa from Polynesia in the 13th century and created a new language and culture.
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Māori language, culture and heritage
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Te Reo Māori (Māori language)
Māori became one of NZ's 3 official languages in 1987. It's a taonga (treasure) that our government works to protect.
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Māori culture and heritage
Māori culture is a big part of NZ’s identity, so respecting, preserving and promoting it is vital.
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Research your family history
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Search historical birth, death and marriage records
To find your whakapapa (genealogy), you can search old birth, death and marriage records.
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Search for family history records in New Zealand
You might be able to trace your family’s history in NZ through genealogy websites, old newspapers, or ships’ passenger lists.
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Get someone else’s birth, death, or marriage certificate
New Zealand birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change certificates are public records. In most cases, they can be ordered by anyone.
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Get help to find birth, death and marriage records
If you don't know the year of a record you're looking for, you can ask Births, Deaths and Marriages to search for it.
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Treaty of Waitangi claims
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Settling historical Treaty of Waitangi claims
Claims for breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi before 1992 are known as historical claims. Settlements aim to resolve these claims by providing some redress to claimant groups.
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Pre-negotiations - choosing representatives and Terms of Negotiation
Claimant groups will choose people to represent them in negotiations with the Crown. The representatives will sign Terms of Negotiation with the Crown on the group’s behalf.
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Negotiations - getting a Deed of Settlement
The details of a settlement between the Crown and a claimant group are worked out during the negotiations part of the process.
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Legislation - making the settlement law
When the terms of a settlement have been agreed on, Parliament will pass a law to make it legally binding.
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Implementation - after a settlement is complete
When a Treaty settlement is complete, the claimant group will receive the assets that were agreed on during negotiations.
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Funding
Funding is available to help pay the costs associated with negotiating Treaty of Waitangi claims.
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Treaty of Waitangi settlement documents
Search for historical Treaty settlement documents.
