Resources at Waimakariri Libraries

Family history resources at Waimakariri libraries

Genealogy is a rapidly growing hobby. The library has a variety of books that might help with your research. General guides to genealogical research can help you get started - you will find these on our library shelves at 929.1.

The library has access to Memories.

Cemetery and births, deaths and marriages records

  • Waimakariri District Burial Records CD is available at all libraries. This covers 17,260 entries from public and private cemeteries in the District, including headstone transcriptions.
  • Cemetery transcriptions for the South Island 1910-1950 are held on microfiche at the Rangiora Library. The transcriptions consist mainly of headstone inscriptions and burial records.
  • Cemeteries administered by the Waimakariri District Council can be searched on the Council's Cemeteries Database.
  • Cemeteries administered by the Christchurch City Council can be searched on their Cemeteries Database

Rangiora Library has copies of the District Keys to the New Zealand Registration Indexes for births and deaths. The following microfiche are available at Rangiora Library:

  • Births 1840-1950
  • Marriages 1840-1950
  • Deaths 1848-1950

Microfiche is currently unavailable.

Online resources

Our online local history resources include general histories of the District, family histories, church and school histories and more. There are numerous sources of genealogical information on the internet. We have compiled a list of web links of particular relevance on our Genealogy page.


Ancestry Library edition

Ancestry Library edition can be accessed free within the libraries via our wi-fi or on the library computers, and for a limited time only through our website with library card and pin number.

Usually Ancestry Library Edition is only available when you visit the library - but for a limited time the kind people at ProQuest are making it available to all our library customers at home.

Ancestry: At Home Edition is now extended until 31 December 2021.

Ancestry will help you trace your family history and build your family tree. It contains extensive records from the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand including births, deaths, marriages, shipping records and census data.

To access Ancestry Library Edition for free simply log in using your library barcode and PIN.

Need a little help using Ancestry or with your family research? Please get in touch and we’d be happy to help. Email or use the Book-a-Librarian form on our website.

Other resources

You might like to join the Waimakariri branch of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists to learn from other genealogists. They meet at 7.30 pm on the third Tuesday of each month at the Rangiora Brass Band Rooms, Northbrook Road, Rangiora. The Canterbury branch of NZSG also has a very extensive library collection.

The local museums and historical records societies also have valuable resources such as photographs and old local newspapers.

Waimakariri District cemetery records

In the libraries you can access the Waimakariri District Burial Records CD compiled by the Waimakariri branch of the NZ Society of Genealogists in 2006, covering 17,260 entries from public and private cemeteries, including headstone transcriptions. This is available for searching in the libraries only, or email your query via our contact form. Locations and histories of cemeteries within the district and also burial plot maps can be found on our Cemeteries within the Waimakariri District page. There is also an alphabetical listing for St Barnabas Church cemetery in Woodend on that page. Cemeteries administered by the Waimakariri District Council can be searched on the Council's Cemeteries Database.