This web page is based on a database of almost 1700 of New Zealand's burial sites (for ease of reference click here for a list of the cemeteries in the database). It includes 'official' cemeteries operated by councils, churches and trusts and others such as private and historical cemeteries, Maori Urupas and lone graves. The aim is to assist anyone with an interest in New Zealand's history, in family history and genealogy, in places in New Zealand or just with a fascination in cemeteries to find the location of the cemetery on the map, the address and ownership / administration of the site and links to relevant web sites with additional information.
I have also included links to the CWGC website for cemeteries containing war graves, as well as links to burial databases and other web sites containg information of interest: photos, plans, articles etc.
As there are a considerable number of cemeteries overseas with New Zealand war graves, I am in the process of including these websites in the database. To search for only the overseas sites add '-Zealand' (without the quotes), eg 'cwgc -zealand', to the search text.
It is also my aim to record the history of some of the historically significant and of the smaller sites which are becoming lost. The small sites are often places where victims of accidents are buried (in New Zealand, often as a result of drownings in rivers or shipwrecks), private cemeteries on farmland, older sites in abandoned towns etc. Many of these sites are not well recorded and often there is now little or no sign of them.
Some of these sites are already documented in my Wiki - KiwiWiki. Links to these pages in KiwiWiki are included in the pop up window which opens when you click on the marker on the map.
If you would like to include the history, photographs etc of sites of interest to you in the Wiki, you can either add them to the Wiki yourself or send the information to me to add.
My guess is that there are at least several hundred sites, mainly private and lone graves, not included here. Many of these old sites are starting to become "lost" and so this site provides a means of ensuring they are not forgotten, please let me know of any not listed.
The database and web page is a work in progress and future additions will include links to related web sites with additional information, such as the cemetery's history, photographs, plot plans, burial databases etc. Currently such additional information on the cemeteries can be found on my other web pages - see the Menu on the left of the page.
For ease of reference, I have cross referenced this list to the NZSG codes which index the NZSG Burial and Monumental Inscription Transcriptions, note that:
Some transcriptions cover more than one cemetery, hence Index numbers are repeated
Some cemeteries have more than one transcription, for simplicity I have only listed the first one.
The NZSG indexing is based on the old New Zealand council districts. These underwent amalgamation in the early 1980s and while in general the old districts remained intact, in some cases they were split between the new councils. Consequently the NZSG groups (given by the first letter and two digits) do not always sit in sequence with my grouping by the current council structure.
Transcriptions listed with an asterisk (*) may not been microfiched by the NZSG - check.
Cemeteries which do not appear to be included in the NZSG list are marked ulnnn (nnn is a 3 digit number), however please check the latest NZSG transcriptions.
The main piece of legislation relating to the provision of cemeteries is the Burial and Cremation Act 1964. This Act states that the local authority shall, where sufficient provision is not otherwise made, establish and maintain a suitable cemetery for the burial of those dying within its district. It also gives direction on the management of cemeteries. Under this Act it is not lawful to bury any body in any land not being a cemetery or a denominational burial ground or a private burial ground. The Act excludes Maori burial grounds.
The Ministry of Health is the controlling authority for cemeteries within New Zealand.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has responsibility for those cemeteries which contain “true war graves” i.e. war graves of serving members of the forces who died within New Zealand during wartime; between 1840-1872 as regards the New Zealand Wars, and between 4 August 1914 and 31 August 1921 (WWI), and between 3 September 1939 and 31 December 1947 (WWII)
Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand has responsibility for the services cemeteries around New Zealand which contain the graves of war veterans i.e. those who survived the world wars and who have died since.
The Maori Land Courts appear to be responsible for private Maori burial sites.
Background
Purpose
This web page is based on a database of almost 1700 of New Zealand's burial sites (for ease of reference click here for a list of the cemeteries in the database). It includes 'official' cemeteries operated by councils, churches and trusts and others such as private and historical cemeteries, Maori Urupas and lone graves. The aim is to assist anyone with an interest in New Zealand's history, in family history and genealogy, in places in New Zealand or just with a fascination in cemeteries to find the location of the cemetery on the map, the address and ownership / administration of the site and links to relevant web sites with additional information.I have also included links to the CWGC website for cemeteries containing war graves, as well as links to burial databases and other web sites containg information of interest: photos, plans, articles etc.
As there are a considerable number of cemeteries overseas with New Zealand war graves, I am in the process of including these websites in the database. To search for only the overseas sites add '-Zealand' (without the quotes), eg 'cwgc -zealand', to the search text.
It is also my aim to record the history of some of the historically significant and of the smaller sites which are becoming lost. The small sites are often places where victims of accidents are buried (in New Zealand, often as a result of drownings in rivers or shipwrecks), private cemeteries on farmland, older sites in abandoned towns etc. Many of these sites are not well recorded and often there is now little or no sign of them.
Some of these sites are already documented in my Wiki - KiwiWiki. Links to these pages in KiwiWiki are included in the pop up window which opens when you click on the marker on the map.
If you would like to include the history, photographs etc of sites of interest to you in the Wiki, you can either add them to the Wiki yourself or send the information to me to add.
My guess is that there are at least several hundred sites, mainly private and lone graves, not included here. Many of these old sites are starting to become "lost" and so this site provides a means of ensuring they are not forgotten, please let me know of any not listed.
The database and web page is a work in progress and future additions will include links to related web sites with additional information, such as the cemetery's history, photographs, plot plans, burial databases etc. Currently such additional information on the cemeteries can be found on my other web pages - see the Menu on the left of the page.
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Help
A brief help is shown in the search results box on the left of the map on startup or after you click 'Reset'.Return to Top
Feedback
I would love to hear from you with additional information, suggestions for improvements and to let me know of any issues, such as broken links etc.To email me, use the 'Contact' link in the footer on this and every other page.
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Sources
I would like to thank the following people and organisations, and acknowledge these sources:-
Dianne Wilson the compiler of the NZSG Burials Database CD with invaluable information and feedback.
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The Ministry of Health, the controlling authority for cemeteries in New Zealand. (MOH)
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New Zealand District and City Councils - online resources and direct contact. (DC)
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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission for providing a complete list of the New Zealand Services Graves throughout the world. (CWGC)
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The Ministry for Culture and Heritage who administer the CWGC sites in New Zealand. (CWGC)
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The Methodist Archives. (MA)
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Historic Places Trust. (HPT)
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The The Whakapapa Club online database. (Whakapapa)
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New Zealand Statutes (Statutes)
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Jewish Cemeteries from New Zealand (Jewish) Cemeteries and International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies - Cemetery Project. I have only listed sites with a distinct Jewish sections, see the web pages for details of other Jewish burials.
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Mary Rooney, the Archivist at the Hokitika Museum.
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New Zealand survey maps via the TUMONZ mapping package (TUMONZ) and Google Earth.
Source abbreviations are shown in bold.Return to Top
NZSG Codes
For ease of reference, I have cross referenced this list to the NZSG codes which index the NZSG Burial and Monumental Inscription Transcriptions, note that:Return to Top
Legislation
The main piece of legislation relating to the provision of cemeteries is the Burial and Cremation Act 1964. This Act states that the local authority shall, where sufficient provision is not otherwise made, establish and maintain a suitable cemetery for the burial of those dying within its district. It also gives direction on the management of cemeteries. Under this Act it is not lawful to bury any body in any land not being a cemetery or a denominational burial ground or a private burial ground. The Act excludes Maori burial grounds.Return to Top
Responsibility
The Ministry of Health is the controlling authority for cemeteries within New Zealand.The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has responsibility for those cemeteries which contain “true war graves” i.e. war graves of serving members of the forces who died within New Zealand during wartime; between 1840-1872 as regards the New Zealand Wars, and between 4 August 1914 and 31 August 1921 (WWI), and between 3 September 1939 and 31 December 1947 (WWII)
Veterans’ Affairs New Zealand has responsibility for the services cemeteries around New Zealand which contain the graves of war veterans i.e. those who survived the world wars and who have died since.
The Maori Land Courts appear to be responsible for private Maori burial sites.
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