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The Wairarapa
Archive’s new genealogical tool, access to the webpage
for Ancestry.com, has proven to be very popular with
Wairarapa’s family historians.
Archivist Gareth Winter says the webpage, which allows
family historians to search through biographical records
from around the world, has been very useful for
researchers stuck when searching for their United
Kingdom ancestors.
“Most
New Zealanders have British ancestors, and the records
available on the website are invaluable for those trying
to find details of the ancestors’ lives. By using the
census records they can find where their ancestors were
living, who they were living with, and what they were
doing to earn their keep.
In
fact, we have to be on our toes, as we come across all
sorts of odd occupations, from cordwainer (old term for
a shoemaker) to fewster (someone who made saddletrees).
It is enough to keep us guessing at times.”
Researchers will find a good selection of family history
information within the archive, with a concentration on
New Zealand records. The New Zealand Society of
Genealogists Wairarapa Branch has rooms alongside the
archive, open on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and on
Saturday.
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The
Wairarapa Archive has been gifted some
remarkable maps over the past few months.
The
first of these is a large scale map of the
entire eastern portion of the Wellington
province, produced by the Wellington Provincial
Council in 1872. It shows the individual land
blocks, and shows the extensive lands still
owned by Maori.
A more
recent donation brought a collection of maps
from a long-established Wairarapa farming
family. The maps are largely from the lower
Wairarapa valley area.
One map
gives a clue to the location of the sought for
Maori paa, Pehikatea.
Archivist Gareth Winter says the map has Maori
researchers excited.
“We
have always known the approximate location of
the Pehikatea paa, but have never found it on a
map. The paa is very important is it is the
site of the deciding battle between local
tangata whenua and the invading Wellington-based
iwi in the 1820s. Following this battle many
locals took refuge on Mahia Peninsular.”
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