Research guide
January 2011
11
WELFARE
In this guide
Introduction
Introduction
CHILD WELFARE
Adoption
Children’s Court
Child Welfare
Departmental Corres.
Foster Parents
Health Camps
Industrial & Special Schools
Children’s Homes
Maintenance
Vaccination Registers
Welfare was not of great concern to
governments in the nineteenth century.
However, the twentieth century saw a
considerable increase in the number and
scope of welfare measures, whereby the
state sought to help and support individuals
and families in difficulty.
Child welfare has been of greater concern
to governments than adult welfare. Some
laws have aimed to protect/assist women.
There have been measures to support the
elderly. But governments, when they have
been concerned about welfare, have
usually focused on those least able to look
GENERAL & ADULT WELFARE after themselves, the children of society.
For many years there was no specific
Charitable Aid
government department for welfare. The
Destitute, Aged & Infirm
courts and Justice Department had
Pensions & Benefits
responsibilities from the 1840s but most
Protection
obligation for child/youth welfare lay with
Hospital Boards and religious/charitable
Unemployment
organisations. Other significant welfare
responsibilities lay with the Education
Note: Records are held in Wellington
Department from the 1880s.
unless specified as Auckland (AK),
Christchurch (CH) or Dunedin (DN)
Archives New Zealand
Head Office
10 Mulgrave Street,
PO Box 12 050, Thorndon
Wellington 6144
Telephone:
04 499 5595
Facsimile:
04 495 6210
[email protected]
Auckland Regional Office
95 Richard Pearse Drive, Mangere
PO Box 201 103,
Auckland Airport, Manukau 2150
Telephone:
09 270 1100
Facsimile:
09 276 4472
[email protected]
Christchurch Regional Office
90 Peterborough Street,
PO Box 642, Christchurch 8140
Telephone:
03 377 0760
Facsimile:
03 365 2662
[email protected]
Dunedin Regional Office
556 George Street,
PO Box 6183, Dunedin North
Dunedin 9059
Telephone:
03 477 0404
Facsimile:
03 477 0422
[email protected]
A540842
Child Welfare – defined as the care of
children suffering from the inadequacies of
their parents or environment – was a small
but significant part of the work of the
Education Department for many years.
This role was substantially formalised with
the Child Welfare Act 1925 which created a
special Child Welfare Division of the
Education Dept.
This act aimed to make better provision for
the maintenance, care and control of
children under the protection of the state,
and to provide generally for ‘indigent,
neglected or delinquent’ children. Among
other things, the act led to the appointment
of Child Welfare Officers and established
separate courts for hearing charges against
young people.
The responsibilities of the Child Welfare
Division included running the various
Special Schools. Other responsibilities
were to inquire confidentially into
illegitimate births, enforce Maintenance
Orders, handle applications for adoption,
oversee placement of children in foster
homes and inspect registered private
children’s homes (75 in 1948).
The Child Welfare Amendment Act 1948
made the Child Welfare Division of the
Education Department autonomous, with
its own Minister. The act also separated
the Children’s Courts more clearly from the
Magistrates Courts and they were to be
‘courts of adjustment’ not ‘courts of
judgement’ for all but the most serious
offences by young people under 17 years.
A separate Department of Social Welfare
was created in 1972 and it has since been
transformed and renamed a number of
times. However, control of the special
residential schools remained with the
Education Department.
The government was less concerned with
adult welfare, and for much of the 19th
century private charitable aid was the main
form of welfare for adults and, by extension,
their families.
But a number of older people suffered from
illness and destitution in the 1880s and
1890s. Fear that poverty would lead to
criminal activity and concern that people
who had worked hard all their lives should
not be left paupers in their old age, helped
lead to the first small governmental
measures concerned with adult welfare,
such as Old Age Pensions (1898).
Since then adult welfare has expanded into
universal Government Superannuation,
sickness benefit, no-fault Accident
Compensation, unemployment benefit, etc.
Access
Access is restricted to many of the
records listed in this Research Guide,
because they deal with individuals and their
personal lives. Some records are not listed
on ARCHWAY for that reason.
Permission to view registers and files may
be gained from the appropriate institution.
2
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
CHILD WELFARE
ADOPTION
The adoption of children under 12 was first formalised in
the Adoption of Children Act 1881. Courts administered
this. Government departments later created other
records. Access is restricted.
Many Maori adoptions were formalised through the Maori
Land Court and recorded in MLC Minute Books.
Most adoption records are held by the Central Registry of
Births, Deaths & Marriages.
Researchers are advised to work through:
Adoption Information and Services Unit
Department of Child Youth and Family
Private Bag 6901 Marion Square
Wellington 6141
Phone: 04 917 1155
Auckland Office:
Auckland
Auckland Final Adoption Orders Registers 1908-1930 &
1940-1981 R
[BBID 5864/1a-2c]
Auckland Adoption Registers 1942-1944 R
[BADW 11428/1a-1b]
Otahuhu Final Adoption Orders Registers 1963-1979 R
[BBID 5864/1a-2c]
Papakura-Pukekohe Final Adoption Orders Registers
1960-1980 R
[BBID 5864/4a]
Takapuna Final Adoption Orders Registers 1960-1979 R
[BBID 5864/3a-b]
Dargaville
Register of Intentions to Adopt 1932-1967 R
[BADC 10778/1a]
Hamilton
Family Guard Books (orders) Adoption 1909-1945 R
[BCDG 19833/1a-2a]
Rotorua
Adoption Files 1916-1951 R
[BAZY 10961/1-7]
Thames
Applications to Adopt 1887-1900 R
[BACL 13963/1a]
Register of Adoption Applications 1946-1947 R
[BACL 13844/1a]
Waihi
Applications to Adopt 1900-1913 R
[BAFV 14015/1a]
Whangarei
Index to Adoption Registers 1902-1962? R
[BADF 20197 A1583/563a]
Register of Applications to Adopt 1912-1948 R
[BADF 10361/1]
Wellington Office:
Child Welfare
Return of Adoptions and Annulments 1908 R
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/6]
Card Index – Applications for Adoption 1952-1963 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/13]
Dannevirke
Adoption Register 1921-1950 R
[ABPQ W4287/99]
Hastings
Case Files 1943-1967 R
[AAHV 7430 W4862/1-3]
Hawera
Adoption Register 1968-1984 R
[ABIB W3865/61]
Napier
Adoption Applications 1908-1943, 1958-1962 R
[AAOW W3244/276-277]
Adoption Orders 1915-1942 R
[AAOW W3244/274-275]
Adoption Case Files 1921-1943 R
[ABHP 21632 W5463/144-148]
Adoption Case Files 1926-1967 R
[AAHV 7432 W4862/1-4]
Manaia
Adoption Applications 1913-1930 R
[ABIB W3865/2]
New Plymouth
Applications for Adoption – Card Index 1952-1963 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/13]
Opunake
Adoption Applications 1913-1952 R
[ABIB W3865/4]
Pahiatua
Maintenance Order Guard Book & Adoptions Orders
1908-1969 R
[AAOY W3298/783]
Patea
Record Book 1913-1979 R
[ABIB W3865/61]
Stratford & Eltham
Orders/Registers 1895-1988 (gaps) R [ABIB W4228/2]
Wairoa
Adoption Case Files 1950-1967 R
[AAHV 7431 W4862/1]
Christchurch Office:
Christchurch
Application Book Adoption of Children 1911 R
[CAHX 20526 CH132/442]
Culverden
Applications 1908-49 R
[CAHP CH14/59]
Denniston Magistrates Court
Applications for Orders 1910-1933
[CAIS CH80/159b]
Hanmer
Register of Applications 1932 R
CAHP CH14/70]
Kaiapoi
Orders 1930-1947 R
[CAHP CH14/52]
Oxford
Register of Applications 1916-1917 R [CAHP CH14/85]
Temuka
Applications 1895-1926
R
[CAHY CH24/160]
Waimate
Adoptions etc 1894-1909 R
[CAHY CH24/192]
Adoptions etc 1897-1912 R
[CAHY CH24/195]
Westport
Applications 1933 R
[CAIS CH62/42 91]
Dunedin Office:
Dunedin
Registers 1908-1947 R
[DAAC D256/223-226]
Indexes 1908-1955 R
[DAAC D256/920-922]
Case Files 1916-1945 R
[DAAC D256/895-919]
Order Guard Books 1917-1942 R [DAAC D137/79-83]
Archives New Zealand
CHILDRENS COURT
The Child Welfare Act 1925 established separate courts,
called Children’s Courts, to hear charges against people
under 16. The Children and Young Persons Act 1974
replaced the Children’s Court with the Children and
Young Persons Court.
Access restrictions apply.
Auckland Office:
Auckland
Index 1954-1958 R
[BADW 11440/1a]
Indexes 1972-1973 R
[BADW 11441/16a, 21a-22b]
Record Books 1926-1953 R
[BADW 10238/1-15]
Record Books 1954-1970 R
[BADW 10466/1a-22a]
Orders 1926-1953 some R
[BADW 10284/1a-13b]
Index to Orders 1926-1954 R
[BADW 10285/1a]
Hamilton
Criminal Record Books 1926-1970 R
[BCDG 11410/1a-6a]
Index to Criminal record Books 1940-1970 R
[BCDG 11367/1a-1b]
Kawhia
Criminal Record Books 1932-1948 R[
BAHD 11158/3a-4a]
Papakura
Record Books 1928, 1964-1971 R
[BACJ 10600/3a & BACJ 10608/1a]
Index to Record Books 1964-1971 R [BACJ 10609/1a]
Pukekohe
Record Books 1965-1971 R
[BBAE 10690/1a-3a]
Te Awamutu
Criminal record Books 1943-1962 R
[BAHD 11142/16a-25a]
Thames
Criminal Record Book 1926-1947 R
[BACL 13756/1a]
Case Files 1942 R
[BACL 14464/1]
Criminal Record Book 1958-1961 R [BACL 13736/38a]
Tokoroa
Criminal Record Books 1966-1971 R
[BBQU 15062/1a-3]
Whangarei
Criminal Record Books 1926-1957 R [BADF 10327/1-4]
Wellington Office:
Hastings
Criminal Record Books 1927-1967 R
[AAMW W3155/324-328]
Index 1927-1970 R
[AAMW W3155/316]
Hawera
Juvenile Record Book 1927-1938 R [ABIB W3865/42]
Record Books 1938-1971 R
[ABIB W3865/43]
Criminal Records Sheets 1971-1975 R
[ABIB W3865/76-77]
Levin
Record Books 1935-1971 R
[AAON W4370/1-2]
3
Lower Hutt
Criminal Record Books 1954-1970 R
[AAOI W3793/47-49,51-52,100]
Criminal Record Sheets 1970-1977 R
[AAOI W3793/12-13]
Masterton
Criminal Record Books 1926-1970 R
[AAOF 22013 W5447/599-604]
Napier
Criminal Record Books 1928-1957 R
[AAOW W3244/244-247]
Indexes 1932-1971 R
[AAOW W3244/248-251]
Nelson
Criminal Record Books 1926-1942 R
[(ADDU 16306) JC-N 39/29-30]
New Plymouth
Record Books 1926-1970 R
[ADCA 21802 W5394/458-466]
Index to Record Books 1935-1961 R
[ADCA 21809 W5394/462]
Palmerston North
Record Books 1925-1970 R
[AAOY W3298/987-991]
Index 1961-1969 R
[AAOY W3298/992]
Stratford
Criminal Record Book 1927-1965 R [ABIB W4228/22]
Criminal Record Book 1966-1970 R [ABIB W4228/18]
Wellington
Record Books 1926-1947 [(ADEE 16356) JC-W 4/1-7]
Record Books 1947, 1951-1970 R
[AAAU 19985 W5558/446, 448-463]
Registers under Child Welfare Act 1935-1952 last
volume R
[(ADEE 16360) JC-W 8/6-10]
Christchurch Office:
Christchurch
Criminal Record Books 1926-1950 R
[CAHX 20322 CH132/124-128]
Criminal Record Books 1950-1971 R
[CAHS 20322 CH612/79-85]
Index to Criminal Record Books 1926-1937 R
[CAHX 20323 CH132/128]
Indexes to Criminal record Books 1958-1968 R
[CAHS 20323 CH612/171-172]
Fairlie
Criminal Record Book 1973-1977 R [CAHY CH24/207]
Sample Files 1968, 1970-1974 R
[CAHY CH24/303]
Temuka
Criminal Record Books 1926-71 R
[CAHY CH24/164]
Sample Files 1965-1974 R
[CAHY CH24/304]
Timaru
Index to Criminal Record Book 1926-1934 R
[CAHY CH924/109a]
Criminal Record Books 1926-1970 R
[CAHY CH924/109b-110b]
Register Index 1943-1976 R
[CAHY CH24/85]
Sample Files 1968-1972 R
[CAHY CH24/302]
Criminal Record Sheets 1970-1979 (not just Children’s
Court) R
[CAHY CH924/117]
Westport
Record of Proceedings 1926-61 R [CAIS CH62/14 32]
4
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
Dunedin Office:
FOSTER PARENTS
Balclutha
Criminal Record Books 1925-1956 (include Children’s
Court) R
[DACM 20570 D443/4-11]
Background
Mortality and poverty led to fostering of children from
early in Pakeha settlement. Churches, and later the
state, tried to care for neglected or delinquent children.
Dunedin
Criminal Record Books 1926-1951 R
[DAAC 19589 D437/441-448]
Index to Criminal Record Books 1926-1953 R
[DAAC 19590 D437/440]
Criminal Record Books 1951-1971 R
[DAAC 19589 D256/687-692, 742, 744-745]]
Criminal Record Books 1973-1976 R
[DAAC D256/748,753,758,764,768]
Criminal Record Sheets (CYPC) 1979-1985 R
[DAAC D256/826]
Oamaru
Criminal Record Books 1927-1971 R
[DABP 20806 D74/38-40]
CHILD WELFARE
Auckland Office:
Dargaville
Orders placing child under supervision of a Child Welfare
Officer 1939-1960 R
[BADC 10806/1a]
Wellington Office:
National records
● Orders Committing Children under Child Welfare Act
1935-1952 R
[(ADEE 16360) JC-W 8/6-10]
● Welfare Case Files (alphabetical)
Files of the Department of Education, Special &
Industrial Schools and Child Welfare, etc, for the
whole of New Zealand 1880-1999. R indefinitely
[AADK 7512 W3447/1-756]
Some files include many family members; others focus
on one child. Some cover adoption. Files may have
been created for any of the following reasons:
Needy family
Parental Inadequacy
Supervision
Maintenance
Housing
Neglect and ill-treatment of child/ren
For Access Contact:
Ministerial and Executive Services
Ministry of Social Development
PO Box 1556
WELLINGTON 6140
Napier Child Youth & Family
Assorted records 1956-1979 R
[ABNT 16185 W5326/7-13]
New Plymouth
Child Welfare (assorted) Indexes c1945-1989 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/11-17]
Wanganui
Child Welfare (assorted) Files 1946-1971 R
[ABNT 16183 W5326/2-5]
The government became formally involved in fostering in
the 1880s through industrial schools. From the
beginning of these institutions, children could be boarded
out and fostered children might be adopted at any time.
There was also significant ‘baby farming’ where women
were paid to care for unwanted babies.
The case of Minnie Dean of Winton, hanged on 12
August 1895 for the murder of two babies in her care, led
to public agitation and government action. The Infant
Life Protection Act 1896, administered by the Police,
sought to regularise fostering and protect children,
whether they were fostered privately or boarded out by
the industrial schools. The act:
● defined a ‘foster parent’ as anyone paid for caring for
a child in their home for more than 3 days
● provided for foster parent registration/licensing
● decreed what records were to be kept and what
procedures were to be applied concerning foster
parents and the movement of children.
In 1907 the Education Department took responsibility for
fostering. The Infants Act 1908 extended that to the
supervision and protection of children under six who
were boarded out by their parents.
Auckland Office:
Department of Education, Northern Regional Office
Infant Life – Correspondence Register 1897-1904
[BAAA 1961/1a]
Registers of Particulars of Infants and Foster Homes
(indexed) 1905-1916
[BAAA 1958/1a-2b]
Nominal Rolls of children and foster parents 1908-1915
[BAAA 1957/1a-3b]
Report Book – Children not formally under control (Infant
Life protection) 1908-1916
[BAAA 1962/1a]
Wellington Office:
Registers and nominal rolls are held, giving information
on foster parents and children.
Registers record foster parents’ registration number,
with date, address and occupation. They may include
the names of referees, the maximum number of children
permitted for fostering, and details of children fostered.
Register of Persons having Infants under the Act 18971901
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/1]
Register of Persons having Infants under the Act 19011907 R
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/2]
Register overflow 1897-1907 R
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/3]
Register of Deaths 1908
DEPARTMENTAL CORRESPONDENCE.
The Inwards Correspondence of the Department of
Internal Affairs and later the Education Department
include occasional 19th century requests for assistance.
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/7]
Archives New Zealand
Nominal Rolls list foster parents alphabetically by
provincial district, giving names and addresses, the date
the licence expired, the number of children permitted for
fostering, and details of children in care.
Nominal Roll of Licensed Foster Parents 1908 R
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/4]
Nominal Roll of Licensed Foster Parents 1909 R
[(ACGB 8301) CW 10/5]
Child Welfare
Warrants Issued under the Industrial Schools Act (1882)
1880-1885
[CW 13/1-7]
Duplicate copies of warrants bound into volumes. These
warrants were issued to permit children at industrial
schools to board with foster parents, and they give
details of child and foster parent.
Napier Child Youth & Family
Foster Homes 1972-1978 R
[ABNT 16185 W5326/6]
New Plymouth Card Indexes
Applications for Foster Child 1950-1976 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/11-12]
Infants in Foster Homes 1950-1964 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/13]
History while under care 1950-1970 R
[AADK 7919 W4883/13]
HEALTH CAMPS
There was an increasing welfare component in the
Children’s Health Camps, first run in 1919. However, all
Health Camp files held by Archives New Zealand are
administrative, concerned with buildings, finance,
organisation, etc. No children are named and staff only
very occasionally.
5
INDUSTRIAL & SPECIAL SCHOOLS
Background
The Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act 1867
empowered provincial governments to establish
Industrial and Reform Schools for children under 15.
● A distinction was made between neglected and
delinquent children. They were to be kept separate.
● Provided a child spent at least half the period of
committal in an industrial school, s/he could otherwise
be boarded out with foster parents, friends, or be
placed in employment.
The provincial governments of Otago and Canterbury
opened, respectively, the Caversham Industrial School in
1869 and the Burnham Industrial School in 1874. Others
followed. The Justice Department took over the
administration of industrial schools when provincial
government ended in 1876,, but in 1880 responsibility
was moved to the Education Department.
The Industrial Schools Act 1882 was significant:
It provided for government schools, local schools and
private institutions approved by government.
Under this act, courts could commit to the care of the
industrial schools neglected children under 15 years
who were brought to them by the police.
Parents could also bring uncontrollable children to the
courts to be institutionalised.
Special Schools, such as the School for the Deaf at
Sumner, Christchurch, were set up from 1881. Some
were little different from Industrial Schools. Receiving
Homes were temporary places for children to stay while
their future was sorted out. A Special and Industrial
Schools Branch of the Education Department was
developed to administer all these institutions.
After 1900 the emphasis changed from punishment to
reform. Industrial Schools became Special Schools after
1910. From 1917 children could be placed on probation
and a number of schools were closed and ‘homes’
opened. All institutions encouraged boarding out in
foster homes. The main institutions 1925-1948 were:
Boys Training Farm, Wereroa, near Levin (for boys of
all ages requiring a period of reformative detention).
Special School at Richmond, near Nelson, for girls
Sumner School for the Deaf
Provision was also made for blind children and adults at
the New Zealand Institute for the Blind, Auckland.
Burnham Industrial School c1874
The girls (above) learnt to deal with laundry; the
boys (below) grew vegetables. [CW 15/5]
From 1948 the Child Welfare Division ran four national
‘training institutions’ for children considered too
emotionally disturbed or delinquent to stay in the
community: Kingslea, Kohitere, Hokio Beach School and
Fareham House. The Division also administered (a) 13
short term facilities for the remand, observation and
classification of children, (b) family homes (51 in 1970)
and (c) several special schools:
Campbell Park School, Otekaike, for mentally
retarded boys
Salisbury Girls School, Richmond, for mentally
retarded girls
Sumner School for the Deaf, Christchurch
Auckland School for the Deaf (Titirangi, then Kelston)
6
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
CHILDREN’S HOMES
Many files are held relating to Children’s Homes, often
orphanages, but most are administrative. They can be
found through ARCHWAY searches.
The exact nature of many institutions changed over time,
from church run to state run, and from orphanage to
special school, etc.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL RECORDS HELD
Some records are incorporated in Maintenance and
Destitute Persons records (see below).
Access restrictions may apply:
Other records
● Miscellaneous Records, Industrial Schools c18741918
[CW 15/1-9]
A variety of records, including Burnham Photograph
Album c1874.
● Warrants Issued under the Industrial Schools Act
(1882) 1880-1885
[CW 13/1-7]
Duplicate copies of warrants bound into volumes. These
warrants were issued to permit children at industrial
schools to board with foster parents, and they give
details of child and foster parent.
● Registers Under Industrial Schools Act 1908
(Wellington) 1893-1935
[JC-W 7/1-18]
Auckland Office:
● Stoke Industrial School 1900
From 1870 to 1882 some children were sent to the Naval
Training School and to the Kohimarama Industrial
School. Howe Street Industrial School took mainly girls
to 14 years. Other industrial school type institutions
included the ‘Door of Hope’ in Cook St.
The Nominal Rolls held in Wellington [CW 14/1-27] (see
below) include Auckland institutions.
● Destitute Children’s Home Record Books 1870-1882
[BAAA 1954/1-2]
● Nominal Roll, Wellington Receiving Home 1901-1915
[CW 16/1-9]
The rolls give a child’s name, date of committal, age,
status, place, section of act used, religion and
arrangements for the child.
● Admission Registers Industrial Schools 1879-1919
[BAAA 1955/1-9]
● Nominal Roll, Auckland Industrial School 1902-1913
[BAAA 1956/1a-1e]
● Registers of Committals to Industrial and Special
Schools 1932-1952
[CW 12/1-8]
Details include child’s name, date of birth, place and date
of committal.
● Waihi Industrial School Report Book 1916-1925
[BADB 11354/1a]
● Industrial School Orders 1908-1926
Department of Education, Northern Regional Office
Visits to Children’s Homes – Journal (indexed) 19011910
[BAAA 1959/1a-1b]
● Industrial School Orders Index 1908-1925
Wellington Office:
Record Books, Registers & Nominal Rolls
● Nominal Rolls, Industrial Schools 1882-1910
[CW 14/1-27]
The rolls give a child’s name, age, admission date and
arrangements. Each industrial school has its own record
with alphabetical listings of names. In early years these
Rolls include various institutions:
Kohimarama
Howe Street (Auckland)
St Marys (Auckland)
St Stephens (Auckland)
Auckland Girls
Thames
St Josephs (Wellington)
St Marys (Nelson)
Motueka
Canterbury
Lyttelton
Burnham
Caversham
By the late 19th century only Industrial Schools appear:
Auckland
St Marys (Auckland)
St Josephs (Wellington)
St Marys (Nelson)
Burnham
Caversham
[P 10/1]
● Record Books of Proposed Admissions to Industrial
and Special Schools, 1919-1961
[CW 11/1-8]
The record books (indexed 1949-1961) give date, child’s
name and address, and remarks.
Palmerston North Magistrates Court
[AAOY W3298/783]
[AAOY W3298/783]
140 entries in Index, not quite all those in Orders.
Staff Register 1878-1954
This records teachers, mostly for Native, Industrial and
Special Schools, for the period 1878 to 1954. There are
few entries after 1910. Held in the Register Room, this
register, records name, date of birth, dates of
appointment, leaves of absence and remarks about
service. It may include other information.
[E 16/1]
Special Schools
● Burwood Admission Register 1933-1949
[CW 17/4]
● Fareham House Admission Register 1944-1949
[CW 17/5]
● Jubilee Institute for the Blind Nominal Rolls 19081940
[CW 18/1~5-7]
● Otekaieke (Campbell Park School)
Admission Register 1925-1949
Nominal Rolls 1908-1920
[CW 17/1]
[CW 18/1 8-9]
● Richmond
Admission Register 1925-1949
[CW 17/2]
Nominal Roll 1917-1921
[CW 18/1 10]
Special & Adult Classes 1923-1929
[CW 18/1 11-12]
Hostels 1938-1944
[CW 18/1 13-14]
● Sumner (deaf mute children, some adults) Nominal
Rolls 1908-1922, 1938-1944
[CW 18/1 1-4]
● Weraroa (Levin) Admission Register 1928-1949
[CW 17/3]
Archives New Zealand
7
Christchurch Office:
Dunedin Office:
Burnham Industrial School
Photograph Album of Boys 1914 (indexed) and a few
other photographs of the school
[AADK CH438/1a-1i]
Campbell Park School, Otekaieke, Waitaki Valley
(formerly Otekaieke Special School for Boys, established
1908)
● Pupils (various records) 1923-1970
[CAJG D16/22y-25c, 47a-52g, 54-125, 130-131]
● Past inmates 1956-1961
[CAJG D16/4i-k]
● Registers (various) 1908-1978
[CAJG D16/27, 36a-46i]
● Staff (various) 1912-1978
[CAJG D16/15f-22x]
● Staff files (search by surname on ARCHWAY)
[CAJG D16/291-35ao]
● Master Index Pupils 1969-1987
[CANB D227/4a]
● Pupil records (various) 1924-1987
[CANB D227/5a-10z]
● Past Pupil records 1984-1987 [CANB D227/9b-10b]
Most existing records for this school are to be found in
Record Books, Registers & Nominal Rolls held in the
Wellington office.
Hogben House
Various records 1976-1989
[CANB CH232]
Kingslea Girls’ Home
● Roll Books – Admission List 1933-1985
[CAUR CH378/47]
● Various records – Files, Diaries, Dutybooks 19351987
[CAUR CH378/1-49]
McKenzie Residential School
● F Series (various files, mostly correspondence) 19711975
[CATB CH256/1]
● Miscellaneous files 1974-1980
[CATB CH256/1]
● Various records, mainly administrative 1979-1989
[CANB CH232/156 & 158]
Stanmore Boys Home (Christchurch Boys Home)
● Daily Diaries 28 March 1946-4 December 1974
[AADK CH438/2a-7a]
● ‘Duplicate’ Daily Diaries 5 September 1947-15
October 1952
[AADK CH438/7b-d]
● Menu Register 14 October1936-3 July 1941
[AADK CH438/7e]
Sumner School for the Deaf - Van Asch College
● Pupil Status, Admissions & Discharges 1944-1969
(including Titirangi 1943-1944 and Fendalton Road
1943)
[CAHK CH8/3]
● Kelston School for the Deaf 1946-1968
[CAHK CH8/12]
● 75th Jubilee Records (1955)
[CAHK CH8/15-26]
● Centennial history 1980
[CAHK CH8/27]
● Nominal Roll 1908-1913 (includes admission dates
from 1900)
[CAHK CH8/28]
● Nominal Rolls 1914-1924, 1925-1942
[CAHK CH8/29-30]
● Notes (names of pupils with notes) 1880-1916
[CAHK CH8/31-32]
● Register of Pupils in Special Classes at Wellington,
Auckland & Dunedin 1920-1961
[CAHK CH8/34]
● Registers of Children’s Heights & Weights 19491966, 1962 & 1968
[CAHK CH8/35a-b]
● Diaries 1948-1955, 1967-1973
[CAHK CH8/36-43]
Caversham Industrial School
● Industrial School Books, Children Committed to the
School 1886-1897
[COPY D REPRO 2]
(Copies of two volumes listing children committed to the
Caversham Industrial School from the Police
Commissioner’s District Office, Dunedin)
● ‘Register of Indigent Children Committed 1885-c1942’
[DAHI 20434 D284/55]
The Hocken Library in Dunedin has a ‘Roll of Indigent
Children Admitted 1884-1920’ for the Dunedin Industrial
School.
Brass band at Burnham Industrial School c1874
[CW 15/5]
8
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
MAINTENANCE, etc
A Maintenance Order is a court order requiring a person
to make regular payments towards the upkeep of a
family member, most often requiring a father to make
provision for his child/ren.
Archives New Zealand holds two main types of
maintenance records:
● Guard Books or Maintenance Orders (usually
indexed) include copies of all orders made under the
Destitute Persons Act, Child Welfare Act and
Domestic Proceedings Act. Sometimes Industrial
School orders are included.
● Maintenance Record Books, also known as
Maintenance Books or ledgers, which record all
maintenance payments made through the courts.
Access restrictions often apply.
Auckland Office:
Auckland
Maintenance Record Books 1957-1970 R
[BADW 10459/1a-37a]
Maintenance Orders Guard Book 1894
[BADW 10265/1a]
Maintenance Orders Guard Books 1900-1933
[BADW 10331/123a-160b]
Maintenance Ledgers (alphabetical) 1906-1924
[BADW 10268/1a-8a]
Maintenance Ledgers (alphabetical) 1912-1928
[BADW 10460/1-4]
Maintenance Record Book 1925-1953 some R
[BADW 10266/1-68]
Dargaville
Payment on Maintenance Order Record Books 19161947
[BADC 10805/1a-1b]
Maintenance Orders Guard Books 1925-1969 R
[BADC 10809/1a-2a]
Hamilton
Record of Payment Orders 1895-1917 one R
[BCDG 11260/1a-1b]
Family Guard Books (orders) Maintenance 1908-1969
2nd R
[BCDG 19834/1a-2a]
Family Guard Books (orders) 1920-1969 most R
[BCDG 15339/1-21]
Huntly
Guard Book of Maintenance Orders 1914-1958 R
[BAHB 11181/1a]
Kaikohe
Record of Maintenance Order Payments 1914-1948
[BADE 10723/1a]
Kaitaia
Record of Maintenance Order Payments 1910-1948
[BADD 10828/1a-2a]
Record Book: order varying a Maintenance order 19661970 R
[BADD 18816/1a]
Kawa Kawa
Maintenance Orders Guard Book 1936-1972 R
[BADF 10370 A1583/481]
Guard Book of Maintenance Orders 1965-1969 R
[BADF 10370/1]
Mangonui
Record of Maintenance Payments 1888-1939
[BADD 10853/1a]
Morrinsville
Guard Book 1929-1971 R
[BBAV 11564/1a]
Onehunga
Onehunga Maintenance etc Guard Book 1924-1951 R
[BADW 10581/1a]
Onehunga Record of Maintenance Payments 1917-1951
2nd vol R
[BADW 10582/1a-b]
Opotiki
Payments on Maintenance Orders 1948-1960
[BAHG 11202/1a]
Pukekohe
Maintenance Order Guard Books 1922-1964 2nd R
[BACM 10680/1a-2a]
Taumarunui
Maintenance Ledgers – Records of Payment 1907-1957
last R
[BAHH 11106/1a-2a]
Thames
Records of Maintenance Payments 1885-1945 (gaps)
[BACL 13825/1a-c]
Te Aroha
Guard Book 1924-1970 R
[BBAV 11566/1a]
Te Kuiti
Maintenance Order Books 1913-1954 2nd R
[BAHI 11074/1a-1b]
Waiuku
Maintenance Payments & Orders 1917-1948
[BACM 10700/1a]
Whangaroa
Record Book of Maintenance Payments 1891-1936
[BADE 10758/1a]
Wellington Office:
Dannevirke
Maintenance Orders 1912-1969 some R
[ABPQ W4287/73-76]
Record of Payment 1925-1941?
[ABPQ W4287/173]
Hastings
Maintenance Orders 1925-1969 some R
[AAMW W3155/76-77,96-97,103-106]
Manaia
Record of Payment on Orders, etc 1894-1921
[ABIB W3865/2]
Napier
Orders – Destitute Persons, Married Women’s Property
protection, Industrial Schools 1890-1928
[AAOW W3244/267-271]
Index – Orders - Destitute Persons, Industrial Schools
1916
[AAOW W3244/272]
Maintenance Books c1912-34 [AAOW W3244/282-284]
Otaki
Maintenance Ledgers 1888-1962 some R
[AAON W4370/49]
Pahiatua
Maintenance Order Guard Book & Adoptions Orders
1908-1969 R
[AAOY W3298/783]
Index to Maintenance Order Guard Books 1945-? R
[AAOY W3298/783]
Archives New Zealand
Palmerston North
Maintenance Guard Books 1945-1969 most R
[AAOY W3298/779-782]
Maintenance & Destitute Persons Orders 1908-1945,
1947-1951 some R
[AAOY W3298/777- 779]
Patea
Payments on Maintenance Orders 1891-1951 R
[ABIB W3865/36]
Stratford
Adoption & Maintenance Orders 1895-1935 R
[ABIB W4228/2]
Maintenance Orders 1928-1952, 1963-1972 R
[ABIB W4228/2]
Waipawa
Maintenance Orders 1910-1949
[ABJJ W4074/171]
Maintenance Ledger Book 1916-1951 R
[ABJJ W4074/165]
Waipukurau
Old Maintenance Orders 1913-1951
[ABIJ W4074/87]
Maintenance Ledger Book 1913-1949 [ABIJ W4074/88]
Guard Books 1964-1969
[ABIJ W4074/89-90]
Wellington
Maintenance Payments 1895-1929
[AAAU W3682/30-34]
Maintenance Record Books 1934-1949
[(ADEE 16537) JC-W 5/1-25]
Guard Books: Maintenance Applications & Attachment
Orders 1891-1949
[JC-W 6/1-43]
Christchurch Office:
Christchurch
Maintenance Orders 1914-1970 some R
[CAHS 12478 CH978/9-35 & CH937/7]
Indexes to Maintenance Order Guard Books 1914-1969
(gaps) some R
[CAHS 18283 CH978/89-92, 152]
Greymouth
Maintenance Order Books 1923-1953 R
[CAIF 3405 CH860/298-299]
Guard Book 1950-1969 R
[CAIF 3405 CH860/297]
Maintenance Order Guard Books 1953-1969 R
[CAIF 20275 CH993/100b-c]
Index (to above) -1969 R
[CAIF 20284 CH993/100a]
Kaiapoi
Miscellaneous - Orders - Adoption, Maintenance &
Committal 1930-1947 R
[CAHP CH14/52]
Timaru
Maintenance Order Guard Books 1924-1969 some R
[CAHY 18035 CH969/83-86]
Indexes (to above) 1924-1958 some R
[CAHY 18036 CH969/86]
Waimate
Miscellaneous – Order Book 1907-1940
[CAHY CH24/194]
Maintenance Order Guard Book 1937-1969 R
[CAHY 18038 CH969/86]
Dunedin Office:
Arrowtown
Order for Maintenance 1904
[DAAC D256/1066r]
Dunedin
Maintenance Orders Books 1881-1927
[DAAC 19579 D437/420-438]
Record of Payment on Maintenance Orders 1890-1938
[DAAC 19588 D437/412-419]
Foreign Order Guard Books c1920-c1961 R
[DAAC D137/76-78]
Indexes to Maintenance Order Guard Books c1922-1969
R (for 1948-1966 use Transcript [DAAC 183/1] )
[DAAC D137/48c, 85a-b]
Maintenance Order Guard Books 1926-1969 R
[DAAC D137/49-75]
Index to Foreign Order Guard Books 1931-1954 R
[DAAC D137/78b]
Maintenance Order Case Files c1940-c1967 (organised
alphabetically) R
[DAAC D256/876-884]
Police Station – Maintenance Orders Record Book 19461988 R
[DAJO 9241 D366/18b]
Lawrence
Orders for Maintenance (records of payment) 1882-1947
R
[DACM 20777 D443/69a]
Otago Hospital
Maintenance Cash Books 1911-1928 R
[DAHI 20476 D284/235-240]
Maintenance Journals 1931-1946 R
[DAHI 20461 D284/212-213]
Seacliff Hospital
Maintenance Outward Letterbooks 1903-1914 some R
[DAHI 20233 D264/21a-23b]
Kumara
Miscellaneous – Maintenance Book 1893-1929
[CAIF CH446/551]
Rangiora
Orders for Maintenance etc 1924-1969 R
[CAHP CH14/31]
Reefton
Court Orders 1908-1952 R
[CAIF CH302/10]
Temuka
Maintenance Order Guard Book 1944-1961 R
[CAHY 18037 CH969/86]
9
Seacliff Hospital, near Dunedin c1890
[DAHI 20271 D266/520d]
10
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
VACCINATION REGISTERS
Under the Vaccination Act 1863 every child born in New
Zealand was to be vaccinated within 6 months of birth.
Local Births, Deaths & Marriages registrars acted as
Vaccination Inspectors, recording vaccination details or
exemptions for all children born in their districts.
Some vaccination details were entered in the Register of
Births rather than in a separate Vaccination Register.
Vaccination Registers are arranged by Register of Births
number. Entries give the names of child and parents, the
child’s dates of birth and vaccination, and the medical
practitioner. Many registers are indexed.
Auckland Office:
Coromandel
Register 1874-1888
[BACL 14408/1a]
Hikurangi
Register 1911-1915
[ABQU 15417/1a]
Huntly
Register 1894-1913
[BAHB 11180/1a]
Owhango
Register 1912-1917
[BAHH 11124/1a]
Waihi
Registers 1895-1915
Waipu
Register 1874-1915
[BAFV 13779/1]
[ABQU 15416/1a]
Wellington Office:
Ashhurst
Registers 1896-1921
[AAXX 21517 W5462/111-112]
Dannevirke area
Norsewood Registers 1876-1913
[ABPQ W4287/100-101]
Wainui Registers 1887-1914
[ABPQ W4287/102]
Weber Registers 1897-1903
[ABPQ W4287/103]
Masterton
Registers 1873-1920 (gaps)
[AAOF 22010 W5447/472 & 612]
Mauriceville
Register 1895-1916
[AAOF 22324 W5447/472]
Napier
Registers 1877-1921
[AAOW W3244/252-255]
Christchurch Office:
Charleston
Register 1874-1910
[CAIF CH446/142]
Mt Cook/Fairlie
Record Books 1874-1917
[CAHY CH648/11]
Timaru
Registers 1890-1918
[CAHY CH24/147]
Waimangaroa Magistrates Court (near Westport)
Register 1894-1916
[CAIS CH620/6]
Dunedin office:
Balclutha
Register 1892-1921
[DACM 20723 D443/316]
GENERAL & ADULT
WELFARE
Background
The government was much less concerned with adult
welfare than with child welfare, and for much of the 19th
century private charitable aid was the main form of
welfare for adults and families. Churches were a main
source of aid, but Hospital Boards, through Charitable
Aid Boards, also helped the destitute.
A number of concerns helped lead to the first small
governmental measures concerned with adult welfare,
such as Maintenance Orders and Old Age Pensions.
There were fears that poverty would lead to criminal
activity and a concern that children would not be brought
up properly if their parent, often an abandoned wife, was
destitute. Some older people also suffered from illness
and destitution in the later 19th century.
CHARITABLE AID
Before there was any government aid for the poor and
destitute Charitable Aid might be available. In the 19th
and 20th centuries it was administered by both Charitable
Aid Boards and by Hospital Boards.
The records of Charitable Aid are usually to be found in
Hospital records, and ARCHWAY searches should be
made under specific Hospital Boards or Charitable Aid.
A few Benevolent Society records are listed.
The principal Charitable Aid records which might mention
individuals are Minute Books, but they are not indexed.
Some 19th century cases are listed individually on
ARCHWAY, mainly in the form of letters about the cases.
Records held in the Christchurch office are most
comprehensively listed on ARCHWAY, but listings from
all offices can be found.
DESTITUTE, AGED & INFIRM
Archives New Zealand holds a few record books and
files relating to Destitution and the Aged and Infirm.
A few cases are individually listed on ARCHWAY and
can be found through surname searches – first names
are not usually included.
Auckland Office:
Education Dept – Northern Regional Office
Destitute Childrens Home Record Books 1870-1882
[BAAA 1954/1-2]
Rotorua
Destitute Persons Registers 1912-1969 most R
[BAZY 10992/1a-16a]
Tokoroa
Destitute Persons Registers (Guard Books) 1963-1969
R
[BBQU 15065/1a-1b]
Archives New Zealand 11
Wellington Office:
Auckland Office:
Napier
Orders (including some Maintenance & Industrial
Schools) 1890-1928
[AAOW W3244/267-271]
Index – Destitute Persons & Industrial School Orders
1916
[AAOW W3244/272]
Auckland
Judge’s Notebook Old Age Pension Court 1899
[BADW 10496/1a]
Old Age Pensions Book 1901-1903
[BADW 10511/1]
Palmerston North
Orders 1908-1945
Pahiatua
Orders 1945-1969 R
[AAOY W3298/777-779]
[AAOY W3298/783]
Wellington
Registers – Destitute Persons Act (Maintenance Guard
Books) 1891-1949 some may be R
[JC-W 6/1-43]
Christchurch Office:
Christchurch
Inwards Correspondence to Provincial Secretary 18611876
[CAAR 19936 CH287]
Destitute Persons Criminal Record Books 1937-1949 R
[CAHX 20320 CH132/223-249]
Destitute Persons Criminal Record Books 1950-1953 R
[CAHX 20320 CH612/77-78]
Indexes to Destitute Persons Criminal Record Books
1937-1950, 1953 R
[CAHX 20321 CH132/250-251]
Christchurch Supreme Court
Aged & Infirm Persons Protection Act files 1921-1968 (6
cases only) R
[CAHX 20492 CH243/1]
Kaiapoi
Orders 1892-1926
[CAHP CH14/51]
North Canterbury Hospital Board
Outdoor Relief Register Destitute Children 1885
[CATV CH384/400]
Timaru
Orders (includes some Industrial School) 1918-1926
[CAHY 18039 CH969/86]
Waimate
Orders 1902-1930
[CAHY CH24/196]
PENSIONS & BENEFITS
Archives New Zealand holds very few pension and
benefit records. Those held are far from complete and
Access may be restricted.
Old Age Pension Registers & Minute/Letter Books 1898c1920 may give some information about early
beneficiaries. There are also some records of War &
Widows Pensions and of various benefits, such as:
Invalids, Unemployment & Sickness, Orphans, War
Veterans, Family Benefit/Allowance.
Coromandel
Claims 1897
[BACL 14481/1a]
Claims Applications 1897
[BACL 14482/1a]
Claims Register 1899-1903
[ZAAN 14137/1a]
Letterbook, Deputy Registrar of Old Age Pensions 18991907
[ZAAN 14138/1a]
Dargaville
Old Age Pensions Minute Book 1898-1903
[BADC 10789/1a]
Registers of Old Age Pension Claims 1898-1917
[BADC 10792/1a-1b]
Old Age Pension Claims sent to the Registrar 1902-1910
[BADC 10793/1a-1b]
Helensville
Old Age Pensions 1903-1904
[BADW 10511/1a]
Paeroa
Old Age Pensions Minute Book 1899-1906
[ZAAP 13788/1a]
Te Aroha Wardens Court
Old Age Pension Claim Register 1899-1909
[BBAV 11503/1a]
Thames
Old Age Pensions Instalment Books 1910-1939
[YCAH A431/44 & 56]
Warkworth
Old Age Pension Claim Register 1896
[BACN 10646/1a]
Wellington Office:
Imperial Pensions
Treasury Department Registers 1865-1891
[(ADRK 17399) T 9/1-7]
These large volumes held in the Register Room record
the pensions paid to British soldiers who took their
retirement in New Zealand (including Fencibles and also
some retired police & civil servants). There may be
details of physical description and service. The original
book is missing, so those who died before 1865 are not
recorded. Personal details for men whose pensions
started before 1865 and continued after that date were
not usually transferred to later books.
Published Lists: Pensions − Civil Service
Nominal Rolls, giving details of Civil Service pensions
paid, appeared in some 19th century AJHR (Appendices
to the Journal of the House of Representatives). Details
may include: name, date pension was granted, annual
amount, position held and length of service.
1866 D-3 (p74)
1882 B-23
1873 I-1
1888 B-18
1878 H-16
1896 H-26
Personal data for Thomas Boyle
Imperial or Chelsea pensioner [T 9/1 p1022]
12
Research Guide 11 –Welfare – January 2011
New Plymouth
Old Age Pensions Outward Letterbooks 1901-1908
(Taranaki district) R
[AADK 7892 W4883/5]
Old Age Applications Register 1902-1909 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/23]
Widows Pension Registers 1912-1926 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/1]
Old Age Pension Registers 1899-1926 (Taranaki district)
R
[AADK 7917 W4883/24-27]
New Plymouth Pension Claims Register 1912-1926 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/22]
Stratford Pension Claims Register 1898-1926 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/22]
Hawera Pension Claims Registers 1898-1907 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/22]
Names of Old Age Pensioners in New Plymouth District
1920 R
[AADK 7917 W4883/7]
Social Security Department – War Pensions
Card Index 1912-1985
[ABNU 6825/1-94]
Card Index (Maori)
[ABNU 6826/1-4]
These cards may include: address, next of kin, birth date,
type of benefit.
Stratford & Eltham
Widows Pensions 1912-1921
[ABIB W4228/1]
Minute Book Stratford Old Age Pension District 18991904
[ABIB W4228/9]
Wanganui
Old Age Pension Registers 1899-1902
[AADK 7916 W4883/6-7]
Widows Pensions 1912-1981 (gap) R
[AADK 7916 W4883/1]
Family Benefit & other records 1928-1982 R
[AADK 7916 W4883/2-4]
Weekly Benefits – Applications Registers 1945-1985 R
[AADK 7916 W4883/19-21, W4309/1]
War Veterans (various records) 1951-1985 R
[AADK 7916 W4883/2 & 18]
Christchurch Office:
Department of Social Welfare, Christchurch
War Pensions Miscellaneous Registers (10 vols) 19461988[CAVP CH485/1]
Timaru
Old Age Pensioners Outwards Letterbooks 1914-1916
[CAHY CH24/81]
Waimate
Miscellaneous – Registrar of Old Age Pensions Outward
Letterbook 1899-1904
[CAHY CH24/194]
Dunedin Office:
Balclutha, Owaka, Kaitangata, Tapanui
Old Age Pensions Court Book 1910-1916
[DACM 20736 D443/31c]
Clyde
Old Age Pensions (various records) 1899-1913
[DAEQ D574/16c, 19b-20c]
Naseby
Old Age Pensions Letterbooks1902-1916
[AAJH 21283 D560/35a-b]
Otago Hospital Board
Old Age Pensioner Refund Accounts Ledgers 1912-1937
(gap)
[DAHI D284/216a-b]
Outram
Record of Awards of Old Age Pensions 1909-1916 R
[DAAC 21190 D437/808]
Palmerston
Old Age Pensions Certificate Register 1897
[DAAC D256/1040]
Queenstown
Old Age Pension Outward Letterbooks 1898-1917
[AEPG 20958 D554/31a-32b]
PROTECTION
Wellington Office:
Wellington
Registers of Protection Orders 1879-1891
[JC-W 8/1-5]
Dunedin Office:
Dunedin
Protection Orders 1877-1883
[DAAC 20897 D437/439]
UNEMPLOYMENT
Archives New Zealand holds many files about
unemployment, but most relate to policy, administration
and statistics. Few are about people on relief or the
unemployment benefit.
Christchurch
Unemployment Benefit Registers (some Sickness also)
1939-1985 R
[CAVP CH454/1-37, 39, 41-42, 53]
Department of Social Welfare
Unemployment Benefit Registers (various) 1979-1983,
1988-1992 R
[AADK W4752/1-6]
Masterton
Applications Register (including unemployment) 19401962 R
[AAZX W3575/1]
New Plymouth
Unemployment (& sickness) Application Registers 19391963 R
[AADK 7916 W4883/4]
Palmerston North
Applications Register 1939-1947 R
[AAYB W4522/16]