Puke Ariki offers a variety of digital resources, including searchable databases, digitised historical newspapers and online archives. These cover a wide range of research topics such as local heritage, genealogy and New Zealand history. Additional digital collections include scanned maps, photographs and rare publications, making it easier for researchers to access primary sources remotely.


Local History

Puke Ariki Heritage Collection  

Search our collection of archives, photographs, artworks and interesting objects.
Search the Heritage Collection 

Te Rangi Aoao Nunui

Te Rangi Aoao Nunui is Puke Ariki’s place to tell historical and cultural stories from the Taranaki district and to explore the items in our collection. 
Te Rangi Aoao Nunui includes:

Explore Te Rangi Aoao Nunui


Family History / Whakapapa

Ancestry Library Edition  

Discover your family history with Ancestry.com. There are billions of items to search from all over the world. The Ancestry Library edition is available to use at any of our libraries.

Learn more about Ancestry Library Edition
Access Ancestry Library Edition 
(only available onsite in our libraries)

FamilySearch

Create a free FamilySearch account to access a huge collection of historical documents including New Zealand passenger lists and probates as well as build your own family tree online.

Explore FamilySearch 

New Plymouth District Council Cemetery Search 

Locate the cemetery records of people buried or cremated in the New Plymouth District.

NPDC Cemetery Search

Births, Deaths and Marriages Online 

Search 10+ million historical New Zealand birth, death and marriage records dating from 1848.

Search BDM Historical Records

Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph

A biographical database that allows researchers, enthusiasts, veterans and their families to explore, contribute to, and share the records and stories of those who served for Aotearoa New Zealand.  

Explore Online Cenotaph


Newspapers

Papers Past 

Digitised New Zealand newspapers, periodicals, letters, diaries and parliamentary papers. Coverage includes

  • Taranaki Daily News 1900-1945
  • Taranaki Herald 1852-1920

Search Papers Past

Taranaki Daily News

Explore the Taranaki Daily News 1954-1975 in high quality scans taken from newspapers held in Puke Ariki’s archive. Note: not text-searchable but available from home

Taranaki Daily News 1954-1960

The Daily News 1961-1975

Newsbank - Access New Zealand

Explore credible, vetted news sources from across New Zealand to stay informed on events, people and issues related to business, government, economy, sports, culture, and more. Features a variety of local, regional, and national news and information, including Taranaki Daily News searchable from 1996.

Access Newsbank online

PressReader

Read full-colour versions of recent national and international newspapers from your PC or device by logging on with your library card, including the Taranaki Daily News.

Learn more about using PressReader
Download the app or read PressReader online

Index New Zealand (INNZ)

Summaries and subject headings for articles from 1400+ New Zealand journals, magazines and newspapers between the 1980s and 2024.

Search INNZ


Aotearoa New Zealand Research Resources

Australia / New Zealand Reference Centre Plus  

Newspaper and magazine articles with an emphasis on New Zealand and Australian titles.

Explore Australia / New Zealand Reference Centre Plus

DigitalNZ

Search over 30 million New Zealand items across the collections of 300+ libraries, museums, galleries and government departments, including Puke Ariki.

Explore DigitalNZ

Māori Land Court Minute Book Index (MLCMBI)  

Search the index of Māori Land Court proceedings from 1865 to 1910 then contact the Taranaki Research Centre to find the minute books on microfilm or in hardcopy.

Search the MLCMBI

New Zealand History Collection

Over 30 years of award-winning history publishing by Bridget Williams Books combines into an authoritative resource of life on these islands, from earliest beginnings to present day.

Search the New Zealand History Collection

Te Pouhere Korero Collection

Te Pouhere Kōrero 10 focuses on the new history curricula launched across all schools in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2023. The first volume of the journal Te Pouhere Kōrero – Māori History, Māori People was published in 1999, with ten volumes in total published by 2023.

Te Pouhere Korero Collection

Treaty of Waitangi Collection 

The new home for Treaty scholarship online, combining award-winning histories with diverse commentary.

Explore the Treaty of Waitangi Collection