Ships’ passenger lists have been the primary record of a person’s arrival in New Zealand from the 1840s to circa 1973. However the records before the 1880s are for assisted immigrants only. Some of the immigrant lists are indexed by passenger name, but there are no indexes for crew or people departing New Zealand. The lists provide only limited information such as passenger names, their country of origin, and port of entry to this country.

For detailed information on Passenger Lists, refer to our Migration reference guide.

The key events of voyages to New Zealand can be found in the ships’ papers held on some 19th century voyages, particularly those of the 1870s. These include reports by the ship’s surgeon and master of the vessel and record births and deaths at sea and anything else noteworthy about the voyage.

For detailed information on how to find a Ship’s Papers, refer to our Migration reference guide.

Special immigration schemes date back to the New Zealand Company’s settlement of Wellington, Nelson, Wanganui and New Plymouth. Many other schemes followed such as the Nominated Immigrants, Special Settlements, Yugoslav Migrants and Polish Refugee Children. As the government was involved in many aspects of these schemes, they generated a wealth of records which contain personal information on immigrants including name, age, marital status, occupation, and country of origin.

For detailed information on Special Immigration Schemes, refer to our Migration reference guide.