Palmerston North Genealogy

03/10/2026

What an interesting video!
https://youtu.be/gHdjE5BoC4o?si=siCETK1NKuoUvCmo
Its an AI generated coverage of the history of Greek migration to NZ, made by Australians. So it has its film limitations. But we have no NZ made historical film record like this. But sadly NZ hasnt made any good videos on our NZers of diverse heritage.
At the end it just says that the history of Greek migration is unknown in NZ because small numbers came.
I think it is far more complicated than that, but this is an Australian video and they have done a pretty reasonable job.
The main reason that this migrant (and DP) history to NZ is not known is that NZ had an Assimilation Policy (1870 to 1970s) and accompanying popular conservative attitudes, and so, being foreign was frowned upon and non British migrants were expected to quickly become NZers. So, the migrants tried hard to fit in. So therefore it wasn’t important to officially record the history of these different people as they were all supposed to be fitting in.
However both the Greeks and the Polish in NZ, because of reasonable migration numbers, managed to retain and pass on cultural heritage.
After WW2 5000 displaced persons came to NZ from central eastern and southern Europe to fill the skill labour gap. Some of us are only writing up that history now - that is the purpose of the Untold Stories projec

In the years after the Second World War, a small but determined wav...

01/10/2026

A bit of self-promotion here. Someone contacted me about an old blog post and it has sent me on a new search to see if his Malone line, and my Malone line, from the same townland, might be connected. Still at an early stage, but it seems like we might be. ~Margaret

While I had extra time at home during Covid lockdowns, I researched more into my Malone family in Ballinadrideen, Co Cork, Ireland, descended from Jeremiah Malone and Margaret Riordan. I made a blog post summarising what I had learned about the children of the family, who were siblings of my grandmo...

30/09/2026

Good news if you have some Whanganui family in your past!

📰 More newspaper content on Papers Past! 🎉🗞️

The latest newspaper release is now available.

👉 https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers

This contains:
• Chatham Islander (Sep 1992-2010)
• Devonport Gazette and Greater North Shore Advocate (Nov 1921-Nov 1924)
• North Shore Gazette (misc. issues Nov 1924-May 1948)
• Opotiki News (1951-1972, misc. issues 1981)
• Taranaki Daily News (1946-1953)
• Wanganui Herald (1928-1950)

With this release, we now have more than 200 newspaper titles in Papers Past, as well as our first title from the Chatham Islands!

Additionally, the Wanganui Herald adds to the major papers with coverage extended to include the year 1950.

Thanks to the Preserving Local History and Educational Trust (Your Stories) and to Puke Ariki, the New Plymouth District Council and Len and Heather Jury, for their support in the digitisation of these titles.

Thanks also to the publishers for their permission to extend the date ranges of their titles.

30/09/2026

2.5 weeks to go and so exciting – Celebrating Our Stories! Oct 17/18. We have 100+ registered and they cover the following heritages: Polish, Greek (Greek Romanian), Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Italian, Yugoslav republics, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Belarusian, Czech and others. We have 3 generations attending. Some are coming from overseas to attend. Family stories have come in, and there are still a few late ones arriving. What fantastic stories of resilience. They are really diverse stories as well. We are really looking forward to meeting you all and I am sure you are looking forward to meeting each other. For some it will be a family reunion, for others it is an opportunity to meet others who have had your experience or share your heritage. For those few people who came as child displaced persons it will be an honour to meet you. Look out for the info email to be sent out this week to all delegates.
If you have any questions then contact us asap at [email protected]
Warmest greetings – Tania, Mary, Susie, Bruno and Mychelle, the Untold Stories project team
Thank you to PN Genealogy for your wonderful support.

Celebrating Our Stories - WW2 Era Displaced Persons, Welcome ..., Distinction Hotel and Conference Centre, Palmerston North, Manawatū / Whanganui, 17 O

28/09/2026

Congratulations Marilyn for your huge contribution.

Congratulations Marilyn, we are so proud. Feilding Feilding - Archives and Genealogy

26/09/2026

If you're doing Irish research, you need to keep this document handy!!!

IGRS Top Research Tip #226: The genealogy microsites on the website of the National Archives of Ireland are currently off offline, but alternatives are available while we wait their return:https://accreditedgenealogists.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/NAI-Genealogy-Microsite-Replacements.pdf
*PLEASE FOLLOW, LIKE & SHARE* *

25/09/2026

There is an excellent webinar by Jonny Perl available for a week on Legacy Webinars, about using his WATO Plus tool. He gives excellent explanations but there is a lot to take in!! (I'll probably watch it again.)https://familytreewebinars.com/webinar/using-what-are-the-odds-plus-wato-to-solve-dna-mysteries

23/09/2026

A fascinating read and a wonderful record of NZ country life and farming in the 1930s and 1940s

Ron Vine's crisp, observant and sometimes intimate black and white photos capture New Zealand farming at a turning point.

22/09/2026

Amazing what archivists can achieve!