Hundreds of thousands of settlers came from the UK & Ireland to New Zealand in the latter half of the 19th century and onward. Here at Kiwi Heritage Tracers, we specialise in migration from the north of Ireland, but also have extensive experience with England, Wales, Scotland & the remainder of Ireland.

We comb a wide variety of data sources and newspapers to put together the history of your ancestors before their migration. It’s often possible to identify exactly where they lived, and to identify other lines of your ancestors' descendants who emigrated to other countries.

Genealogical DNA testing is a powerful tool for identifying your biological ancestors and relatives. You will test through commercial sites such as Ancestry.com – this usually involves spitting or swabbing into a tube, and posting it away. When the test results are complete, we will analyze your DNA match list using various advanced tools and methods:

• Verify your ancestors.
• Extend your tree upwards by identifying unknown ancestors; including biological parents of adopted people.
• Extend your family tree in other directions, linking to as many of your DNA matches as possible.
• Provide summaries and detailed explanations of what your DNA reveals.

Always wondered about something unexplained in your family tree? Be it national or international, we can look into it, including a free-of-charge preliminary assessment to determine if we will be able to help.

Although we specialise in NZ, the UK & Ireland; we have a few tricks up our sleeve for other countries! Contact us any time to find out where your question may take you.

We are able to work on your Ancestry.com tree (and other sites). Identify and fix mistakes; clear up duplicate profiles; extend the tree; add sources; add photos; and so on.

If you have a handwritten or printed tree, we can convert that to an online digital tree, with the appropriate privacy considerations. We can also scan photos and documents for preservation.

Of course, we can also start from scratch if you haven’t ventured into your family history before.

• We can conduct a face-to-face interview with you or your elderly relatives , in order to preserve their knowledge of their family history for benefit of future generations. The interview will be recorded and transcribed.
• We can look up records held physically in our local area (Canterbury, New Zealand); for example the Tūranga church BDM index cards; and records held at local libraries and museums.
• We can help with deciphering handwriting on old records and photos.
• We can visit local cemeteries to take photographs or search for graves.
• We can design a cemetery trail to visit as many of your relatives as possible – not just locally!
• We can produce short biographies suitable for a funeral eulogy.
• We can work with you to produce a longer-form family history dossier or booket, including your photos.

Pricing current as of December 2024.

After the initial free consultation, all research and activity is billed at a flat rate of NZD $50.00 per hour.

Extra charges will be passed through, such as travel, or purchasing historical records. Our office will discuss a research plan with you before we commence paid services, so there are no surprises.

New Zealand bank account: 02-0875-0193191-004, name “KHT”.

Powered by