NZ Records added to WorldVitalRecords

Just Added - New Zealand Databases at WorldVitalRecords.com

These records are courtesy of The Archive CD Books Project. The Archive CD Books Project exists to make reproductions of old books, documents and maps available on CD to genealogists and historians, and to cooperate with local libraries, museums and record offices in providing money to renovate old books in their collection, and to donate books to their collections, where they will be preserved for future generations.

Industries of New Zealand. 1898 (available 7/2/2009)
This volume summarizes the level of industry and commercial development across New Zealand town by town. It devotes a significant section (over 300 pages) to examining individual commercial activities in some detail. It contains numerous biographies and hundreds of photographs of the industries and people of New Zealand.

Early History of New Zealand. 1890 (available 7/3/2009)
This volume of extensive material and illustrations covers the history of New Zealand from the first contact by Europeans prior to Tasman through to Cook and the French in the late eighteenth century. The first section also examines the missionary and settlement period to 1840 in detail. The second part covers the period of British settlement from 1840. A very useful list of visitors and residents 1642 to 1839 is included along with their residence. A second list of the founders of the British Colony 1840-1842 is also included.

Six Colonies of New Zealand. 1851 (available 7/6/2009)
The author of the 1851 work, Six Colonies of New Zealand, Sir William Fox (1812-1893) was an explorer, businessman, politician and author. He was one who helped shape the New Zealand Constitution Act of 1852. He also served as the nation's Prime Minister for a period. After emigrating to New Zealand with his wife in 1842, Fox became editor of the New Zealand Gazette and Britannia Spectator. He became an agent for the NZ Company the following year and it's Principal Agent in 1848. His lobbying in England (1851-52) was probably responsible for the addition of Taranaki to the five original provinces in the Constitution of 1852, which granted self-government.

Published in 1851, this book is Fox's description of the events leading up to the Constitution. It gives statistical and descriptive accounts of each New Zealand colony, as well as details relating to the Maoris, and government. Fox's leading role as an explorer, NZ Company agent and one of the first colonial politicians gives this book an authority and pungency lacking from so many other contemporary accounts.

The History of Otago: Origins and Growth (available 7/7/2009)
The History of Otago: The Origins and Growth of a Wakefield Class Settlement was written by A.H. McLintock in 1949 and dedicated to the pioneers of the area. 'Those humble souls, who, having little except faith, achieved much'.

The contents of this book includes a description of the early history of Otago, an area of the South Island of New Zealand. It also contains information about the history of the Maori people who occupied the area. There are details pertaining to the sealing and whaling years and early settlements of European communities and the provincial era of Scottish settlers.

The New Zealand Division 1916 - 1919 (available 7/8/2009) Free for Ten Days!
This book was published in 1921 because of a request made by the New Zealand government to provide the general reader with a descriptive and informative account of the movements and engagements experienced by The New Zealand Division during the First World War.

Written in narrative form, the information was derived from a wide range of records which were used to create a historically accurate account of the experiences of The New Zealand Division. These records include war diaries from units within the Division, operation orders and summaries, as well as personal diaries, private letters, and dispatches to name a few.

Divided into 17 chapters, the book documents the different battles and movements of The New Zealand Division, such as the Battle of Stomme in 1916 and the Battle of Messines. Illustrations are included throughout the book, providing a wider glimpse of the experiences encountered by the Division.