26 October 2021
Lance Watson
[FYI request #16949 email]
Kia ora Lance
Official Information Act request: Historical Census records
Thank you for your Official Information Act request of 30 September 2021. You have asked about
the availability of individual data obtained from historical censuses, particularly:
Does the law (Privacy act and any other relevant legislation) allow Stats NZ to publish
individual census records after a certain period of time? Such as the Census from 1874 to
1916.
Does Stats NZ retain the individual household returns from these periods? If yes, how is this
information held? (i.e. is it in paper form in boxes, is it scanned, but not transcribed, or is it
fully transcribed in a usable database?) Under what circumstances is Statistics NZ allowed
to make this data publicly accessible?
The population of New Zealand has been enumerated from 1858 to the present. Up to 1966, Stats
NZ ensured that name-identified census data would remain absolutely confidential by routinely
destroying returned individual census forms. Accordingly, returned individual forms from censuses
between 1858 and 1966 no longer exist for the general population but some do survive for the Māori
population.
After 1966, Stats NZ kept returned individual forms for every 10th year. This timeframe was chosen
to reduce storage requirements for the paper forms. Stats NZ has retained individual forms for the
1966, 1976, and 1986 censuses, parts of the 2001 census, and every census from 2006 onwards.
These are stored in a variety of media, however the hard copies were destroyed in the demolition of
Statistics House following the Kaikoura earthquake. The Statistics Act 1976 requires that the forms
be retained for 100 years before they are publicly released, so material will not start becoming
available before 2066.
While access to the material prior to 2066 is unlikely to be granted for genealogical purposes, it may
be possible to get access to it to conduct public good statistical research. The process for obtaining
access to microdata is outlined at
www.stats.govt.nz/integrated-data/apply-to-use-microdata-for-
research/.
Since most returned census forms either no longer exist or are not publicly available, genealogical
researchers use substitutes such as
immigration records, almanacs and directories, electoral
rolls, lists of property owners and occupants, juror lists, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, and
school
records.
Details of the census records that are held by Stats NZ are provided below:
Individualised information from 1800s
The only document in our historic publications that contains person-level census-type information
i
s Fenton and Wilson's 1859 Observations on the state of the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand,
which lists names of members of Māori tribes.
You may also be interested in tribal registers from the 1800s as these contain individual details of
Māori, for exampl
e, East Coast District Tribal Register Includes Index (natlib.govt.nz). These are
not held by Stats NZ but are available from Archives New Zealand (www.archives.govt.nz).
Compiled (non-individualised) information from 1800s and 1900s
There is compiled information available on the Stats NZ website from the
19th-century statistical
publications list, from the
Digitised 1878 Census and results of the
1911 Census.
Published Census reports can be found i
n Stats Store House, and include the
Census of Population
and Dwellings 1871 - 1956. This is a selection of published reports, and includes:
•
Section XV - Māori Census (part of the 1916 Census)
• 1921 Census Appendices A – Māori Census
•
1936 Census
•
1951 Census
•
1956 Census
The Appendices to the Journal of the House of Representatives 1 January 1878 -
Papers relating to
the 1878 Census of the Māori population - contain counts of Māori by tribe, hapū and residence.
I trust this information is useful to you.
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to seek an investigation and review by
the Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
It is our policy to proactively release our responses to official information requests where possible.
This letter, with your personal details removed, will be published on the Stats NZ website.
Publishing responses creates greater openness and transparency of government decision-making,
and helps better inform public understanding of the reasons for decisions.
Ngā mihi nui
Kate Satterthwaite
Senior Manager, Executive and Government Relations
Stats NZ
