The NZ Police Gazettes
(Wellington series) have now been digitised and are available for viewing on
the Archway website. While these are the National
Headquarters (Wellington) set, they include occurrences from all over New
Zealand.
In order to access these
files type New Zealand Police Gazettes into the search box on Archway’s home
page and click “search”
2. Now click on the “go”
button to the right of the 909 line
3. At the results page at
the bottom of the screen are the number of pages. Change the number 1 to 7 and then click the
>> button
4. Scroll down and you
will see the gazettes 1878 (vol 2) onwards to 1945 have “view or download
digitised record” beneath each record – click on this for whichever year you wish
to view.
5. Then click on “New
Zealand Police Gazette … vol…
6. Click on view or
download digitised record
To view 1877 vol.1 you
need to do the following –
Step 1 as above
2. click “go” to right of
23 ….. series of records
3. Scroll down to Police gazettes
[record group] (17653) 1861-1930
4. Click Go to associated
records
5. Scroll down to New
Zealand Police Gazette vol.1
6. Click on view or
download digitised record
NOTE: you
will see volumes for Otago above the Wellington vol.1 but there is currently no
index for these.
Each volume is indexed but
a word of caution: there is a general index which is then followed by
Discharged Prisoners, Index convicted prisoners later became Persons summarily
convicted (1903 onward), and index to prisoner's photographs (1908 onward) –
photographs may be separate from main section.
If you are looking for someone who was in the police force, then look
under “Police” in the general index not the person’s name.
You will find information
about victims, men absconding and not paying maintenance for wives and
children, perpetrators of crime (broken down into types of crime), deserters
(military), missing friends, and rewards offered.
My grandfather had his bicycle stolen in Christchurch in 1930 and the
gazette gives a very full description of the cycle down to the type of pedals;
I don’t think he got it back though.
Descriptions of criminals give height, hair and eye colour, complexion,
nose chin, mouth and remarks such as previous convictions, tattoos, scars etc.
Just a word of warning
though, you may find family members accused of crimes you would rather not know
about – entries still have the power to shock and disgust even from the
distance of time.
Archives New Zealand have an information sheet about these books at
http://archives.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Police_Gazettes.pdf
Here is a blog on the
subject
The New Zealand
Genealogist magazine has articles in Nov/Dec 2008, Nov/Dec 2010 and Jan/Feb
2011 issues
Marie
Central Research Centre
