Interested in Aotearoa New Zealand? Join the New Zealand Project!

Question

Kia ora koutou! Get on board the New Zealand Project, a friendly, active WikiTree community. We aim to leave a lasting legacy by assisting current researchers in their quest for their Aotearoa New Zealand family history.

You don't need to be an expert - we'd love to help you develop profiles for your own family. 

Are you keen on writing biographies and adding your personal touches to Kiwi profiles? 

Do you want to explore a topic like the All Blacks or Women's Suffrage? 

Would you enjoy challenges with the Kiwi Crew?

We'd would love to have you as a member. Please respond by choosing “Answer this post” and we'll contact you.

Comments

Hi Kiwi Crew. I’m not a Kiwi but from Sydney. My wife’s grandmother Pauline (liked to be known as ‘Susie’) Frances Walton nee McCarthy was recorded on occasion as being born in Annandale. No record of birth in Annandale NSW. She was also rumoured to have been born in New Zealand along with her 3 siblings. They lived around Masterton for a while but their birth certificates have been hard to locate for Pauline & her siblings. Their father Francis McCarthy was a travelling salesman / sewing machine repairer. They moved to Australia at some stage. Family history suggests that her father Francis McCarthy deserted his wife & children in NZ or NSW after having another child in an incestual relationship in 1913. I can give more details if someone has the time or ability to help us solve our family mysteries. Cheers Mark Quealy

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Hi Mark.  Are you able to provide Pauline McCarthy's mother's name, or any of the names of her siblings?

Thanks

Kath Mansell

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Hi Kath, Pauline has a Wikitree profile McCarthy-3982. Her birth origin has long been a mystery to the family. She was believed to be born in Annandale NZ in 1897 as was her sister Phyllis in 1899. Their brothers Lionel (born Hastings NZ 1902) & Frank (born 1903 in Masterton NZ). Their illegitimate brother Norman Frederick (FRED) Watson was born in 1913 in Sydney. (Except for FRED who was the son of Phyllis & her dad Francis. Their mother was Anne Frances Kenny. Not sure if Anne was legally married to the Father Francis McCarthy who originated from Ireland. The family appear to have flown under the radar regarding early birth records & also marriage of Francis & Anne. Hope that isn’t too confusing so far

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I've found an entry in the New Zealand BDM for a Frank McCarthy, mother Annie and father Frank. Entry # is 1903/22107.  Without actually ordering it I can't say if it is your Frank or not.  

Also did a Google search for Lionel McCarthy which bought up a photo of his death certificate showing he was born in Hastings NZ.  Shows he was 66 yrs old when he died in 1966, so puts his birth around 1900.  Unable to find any birth records for him.  

There is a profile for Pauline McCarthy on myheritage  which shows her birth place as Annandale New South Wales, so quite possibly not born in N Z as thought.

The only other information information I have is that it appears that both Ann Kenny McCarthy and Francis Patrick McCarthy both died in institutions in New South Wales.  Tracking down a copy of the death certificates might give you a bit more information.

Hope some of this helps.

Good luck

Kath

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Yes Kath 1903/22107 is the correct birth record our family has for Frank. He is the exception to the rule being the only sibling that we’ve found a legitimate birth certificate for (besides the illegitimate brother Norman Frederick (FRED)WATSON. Pauline & Phyllis both maintained that they were born in Annandale (no birth record in NSWBDM). However Annandale NSW was just assumed early on before we knew about the NZ history. There is an Annandale NZ, but it appears to be a rural property & they have no recollection of any McCarthys ever living there. Lionel (also known as Leo) was definitely born in NZ according to his Grandson who I spoke to recently but no record exist for him. On the death records of their father Francis it was mentioned that he married an unrelated person in Ireland but no proof of this.  Both parents (Annie & Francis) died whilst in psychiatric care facilities in Parramatta NSW at different times. The father Francis was said to have been a trainee priest back in Ireland before being dismissed from the seminary & may have migrated to NZ via USA. He was also said to have left his wife Annie & children for a barmaid (assumed in NZ but could have been NSW). It seems that the family escaped official records regularly for unknown reasons. Many attempts have been made by family to solve this puzzle but it might be all too impossible it seems. The family were captured in some electoral roll data in NZ. I’ll keep trying! Thanks for your help. Anything no matter how insignificant is welcome. Cheers Mark

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re Annandale and Annedale  - commented on in above letters. I used to deliver rural mail to Annedale Station in the late 1990s. It was large sheepstation about 15 km out of Tinui in the Wairarapa, NZ, and a further 45 km to Masterton. Before it was split up into smaller blocks it was very large and would have had several families working the place and it could be be that some of those families would not have been linked to the station name.

Cheers

Rick

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Thanks for your help Rick, I was a postie also (20 years)

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ive notice on other peoples pages that they have pins on them of family names or country, is there one for New Zealanders that i can pin on my Kiwi family.

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By "pins" do you mean stickers?  Such as {{New Zealand Sticker}}

Answer 1

Hi. New to Wiki, I've bumped into the NZ Project and being born there in 62 and having family history to the mid1800s would like to be a fly on the wall and assist where I can. My disclaimer is that I left in 78 accross the pond to Orrstralia where I also have a long family history. I am a Hastings Cowan & Hawkes, with family names Gwyn, Chard, Pocknell, Ryan to name a historical few. Many of these families have links of early Settlers in Australia & New Zealand, several generations in all. If you think I might be able to add value from time to time then count me in.

Rick

Comments

Message sent.

Answer 2

Campbell,

I have repeatedly requested to be on the NZ Notables team, but no such team has ever been created. 

It can be a special topic. I'm happy to do sports people, Politicians, TV and movie personalities, and anyone else I find on wikipedia.  

I am currently "unassigned".  

Comments

You know I'm good for it. I have quite a few Kiwi Notables listed on my profile.

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I'm with Robynne. 

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I think it'd fit under Topics, but someone else would need to create a graphic for it, to match the other graphics already there.

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Campbell can do that. 

We Kiwis all know how brilliant he is with graphics!! 

Maybe a Oscar statue over a black or silver fern? 

Stylised so it does not look too real and break any infringements. 

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As we are just at the beginning of redesigning the project, I don't see a problem with that at all, Robynne. Would it be a part of Notables or the NZ Project given that Notables now seem to manage a lot of our profiles?

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EN ZED!  Notables needs to give 'em back!  

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Robynne, the trouble with an "Oscar" type statue image would be that not all Notables won Oscars, or were/are associated with the entertainment industry.  Scientists, artists, athletes, and so on.

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I think Notables team mostly take over the Living Notables so that their profiles can be seen. 

When you do give over control of a Kiwi profile to the Notables team, you ARE allowed to stay on the trusted list!! I make very sure to stay on the trusted list for all of my Kiwi Notable profiles. 

I have not seen Notables taking over my Kiwi Notables who have passed. I think its because they are not terribly well known on the world scene - only within their specialities.  

Most Americans ignore lil old NZ down-under you know!!  - except when we throw around the anti-nuclear laws and state that their navy boats can't visit us no more!!  LOL  (yes yes I know - David Lange was 40 years ago - but I still remember that!!)  

OTOH NZ is the most common country plucked out of the air anytime any American says they want to go far far away from America. Noone ever says they want to go to Timbuktu!!  LOL  I find that quite funny, actually!!  

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The Oscar was only a suggestion.

But something over the silver fern would be nice.

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Any topical Project can manage Living Notables.  i think Notables project gets asked most because most folk don't think of asking the Country Projects.

Answer 3

Hi Guys, love to join your group,  I am living in Indonesia  but all my family are from New Zealand,  I have been away for a while now, mum and dad are my eyes and ears with any questions I have but I love looking up any information that I can, Following,  Smith English, Barr English, Krutz Prussa German, Russ English and Ross Scotland

Comments

I've sent you a message.

Answer 4

Hi Kiwi Crew! I'm not a Kiwi but when I had my mitochondrial DNA sequenced, I matched with someone whose earliest known ancestor was from New Zealand. Since my matrilineal line is Samoan I guess this is due to the shared heritage of Samoans and Maori. I'd love to work with others to learn more about making sense of genetic information by connecting it to history

Comments

Message posted.

Answer 5

Hi,

I am a kiwi of European descent. I have been researching my families tree fir many years. We have (so far) 23 people who have immigrated here from the UK (mostly).

I am fairly new to the Wiki but found it a great resource and means of collaborating. Of great interest to me was finding that my Grandfather from the Shetlands had a g-g-grandfather, Magnus Manson, who immigrated here in 1842 after his wife died in the Shetlands. He died in Wellington but his family bought land on the Motupipi River and are counted among the founders of Takaka 160 years before my grandfather came here.

Comments

love your typo ...researching my families tree fir many

fir goodness sake

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Message sent. My family, the Lovells, were also among the earliest Europeans at Motupipi.

Answer 6

If I am not a member already, sign me up.

Robert Reid

Comments

Message sent.

Answer 7

Hello; I was born in England, but both my parents were New Zealanders.  I was brought over to this country when I was two years old.  Anyway, I have an extensive family network here in NZ and I've added quite a bit of stuff about them onto Wikitree.  I'd be happy to take part in the project.

Peter

Comments

Message sent.

Answer 8

Hi, I am interested in joining NZ Project. Only recently joined Wiki.  Born and bred in NZ of English descent, I consider myself a New Zealander rather than an ethnitcity.  Willing to help others where I can.

Diane

Comments

Message sent.

Answer 9

Hey there, would love to join. I have ancestors from all over New Zealand. I have done a decent amount of research :)

Comments

I have posted a message on your profile.

Answer 10

Hi, I'm descended from Henry (Harry) Mankelow who arrived in 1874. He married Mary Elizabeth King who arrived in 1875 with her family (on the Chile) and her father John King
Without being distracted from time spent on my family lines, if any of my gathering of information / research can help others and save duplication - well and good.

For example, prompted by a query by a Jessi King asking about the John King logbook of their journey out to N.Z. in 1875, I sent an email to the Alexander Turnbull Library

Thank you for your enquiry of 20 September 2018 to the Alexander Turnbull Library, asking if we hold a digitised copy of the John King log written on the emigrant ship 'Chile'.

We hold this item as a published book which is still in copyright and is not digitised. A copy is available that can be interloaned to you through a local public library. You can approach your local library and ask to interloan the National Library copy below from us, although they will charge a small fee.

Log book of Mr. John King, 1875. Creator John King b. 1836?

Contributor Chile Committee. Publisher New Plymouth N.Z. : Chile Committee

Publication Date. 1975. Notes On cover: Voyage to New Zealand on ship 'Chile', 1875.

"Reproduced from an original copy presented to Taranaki Museum by Mrs. H. Arms, Waitara."

Facsim. originally published: Grimsby, [England] : Watson, 1875. Facsim. preceded by passenger list.

The original is in Puke Ariki. Here is a link to the Puke Ariki website and the information on their catalogue for the John King Log.

https://collection.pukeariki.com/objects/35738

This link below shows the William Mabb Manktelow descendant line and connections to the Manktelow family in NZ

https://www.facebook.com/groups/143163519105034/permalink/2116261641795202

This points to some other Manktelow descendants that made it to NZ, including the woman activist, Arabella Manktelow, that is featured on

https://ngataonga.org.nz/set/item/454

Arabella is one of three elderly women recorded in 1963 remembering voting in the 1893 election and is our generations second cousin twice removed

Plus, on Soundcloud, I posted some oral history of my mother-in-law coming to New Zealand as a 'War Bride'

https://soundcloud.com/ray-mankelow/empirehaigtrip-companderedit

Plus on my maternal line of the Brown family coming to NZ in 1903, I have references back Alexander Francis Garden Brown
https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Brown-126439
having spent time in New Zealand as a "Runholder, 'South Wynd, New Zealand" 
But, no confirmation of that
So if sharing of information can be a 'two way street'
that would be neat

Answer 11

I would like to join the New Zealand project.

My different family lines all came to NZ in the 1800’s, mostly from Scotland but also Ireland and England.

Margaret Hunt nee Stoddart.

Comments

I've awarded your badge and sent you a message.

Answer 12

Hello!

I'm descended from a few of New Zealand's older settler familes, with a particular connection to the old miners of Thames, Waikato. Namely the Kevens and Comers through Thomas Keven and Emma Otto, and George Comer and Emma Rumsam. My Grandfather left my father with some information in regards to them and their connections to living descendents which I would love to add. Also in contact with other Comer and Keven descendents, who have done considerable research on historic Thames.

Comments

Kia ora Claire :-)  I'm also a Thomas and Emma descendant - I think I've seen our DNA match.  Our Elizabeth Keven married Groombridge Robinson.  We'd be very interested to see any info you have, especially on the Keven family going back from Thomas.

Answer 13

I'm a pakeha Kiwi, living in Kaiwaka, Kaipara District in Northland. I would like to join, please. :-)

Comments

I've awarded you a badge and sent you a PM.

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Thanks Fiona! :-)

Answer 14

Kia Ora Kautoa,  Tenakoe -

I  am interested in joining this Project
My European Maternal side settled in NZ in 1824 in the shape of Gilbert Mair (1799-1857) and my paternal side via James Preece (1801 - 1870) the CMS  Mmissionary who arrived in Paihia 6February 1831.One of James' sons Married the daughter of Chief Te Tuhi O Te Rangi's daughter Maraea

I have registerred with the Waikato Tainui Tribe who have confirmed my Hapu and Iwi as Ngaati Mahuta.

Comments

Thanks for joining. You should have your badge now.

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Many thanks

Answer 15

Hi I'm new to Wiki, a 5th generation NZer living in Waipu Northland and would like to help. Have started inputting my direct family tree.

Trisha

Comments

I've put a message on you profile.

Answer 16

I was born and live in NZ. Maternal family from Ireland, Australia, England and Romania; paternal from Ireland, England, USA, Fiji and Australia before settling here. Quite tricky discovering ancestors from Romania. Happy to help where I can.

Comments

I've awarded your badge and sent you a message.

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Thank you.

Answer 17

Love to join. My family has been here since the 1800s, and I'm very keen to link up the info I currently have and add to it.

Comments

Your badge has been awarded and I've sent you a message.

Answer 18

Cheers,  this sounds interesting and challenging..... kind regards, Michael Andrews,  Taihape

Comments

I've sent you a message and awarded your badge.

Answer 19

Hi Kiwi Crew,

Yes I would like to join the NZ Project. I have done a lot of research on my NZ great grandparents James Welsh ans Ann Veary Hogg. Ann’s father Robert was an early Otago Settler and Mayor of Balclutha.

Thanks

Bruce

Comments

I've awarded your badge and sent you a message.

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Thanks Fiona. I'm happy to join the team.

Cheers Bruce

Answer 20

Kia ora koutou! I was born in Aotearoa NZ as both a first generation NZer (my mother was an immigrant), 5th generation NZer (paternal side) as well as a returning NZer (tangata whenua ancestor who left NZ but whose descendent came back)!

I would like to join this project as I learn more about genealogy, more generally, trace my ancestors and hopefully help others along the way :)

Comments

Badge awarded and message sent. Welcome, Sam!

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Kia ora, thank you Fiona :)