Pandora’s Box II - You have found a letter reference of

Compiled by Dawn Chambers Last updated 6 Dec 2009 Page 1 of 15 [email protected] http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/registerroom.htm

Pandora’s Box II - You have found a letter reference of interest – so what to do next? All of these letters, subject to survival, are held at the Wellington office of Archives New Zealand. www.archives.govt.nz/visit/address-contact-details Question 1: Is there a ‘forward to’ on the line below the letter in question? No: Order this letter reference. Any previous correspondence will also come with the letter. Yes: This letter will have been physically placed with the next letter received on the same subject. Locate the next reference and continue moving forward until there is no forwarding reference. Order the last letter reference in the sequence. Question 2: Why was the letter not found? It may have been lost or destroyed. It may also be misplaced especially if letter sequences involve more than one government department. The record keeping as contained in the correspondence registers is not always complete. A forward reference may have been omitted from the register. A letter may also be referred (ie physically sent) to another government department then not returned. This is usually indicated in the register – but has not been captured as part of the abridged register transcripts. If the letter had not been returned then an ‘inwards’ entry may have been made in the register of the government department to which it was referred. Question 3: If the letter really does escape being found is there any hope of finding any more information? Yes: A summary of its content may have been included in the reply and these can be found in the outwards correspondence records of the government department concerned. Although outwards letters are potentially more likely to survive due to the governments policy of keeping copies – these same copies may suffer the problem of reduced readability due to thin paper and ink bleed through. Regardless of this it is still worth looking as each outwards letter book will vary with regard to condition. The following pages are a guide to extracting information from Archway that will be needed in order to request the relevant inwards letters.


Ordering Civil Secretary Inwards letters – Date ranges for specific boxes containing the inwards letters


Ordering Civil Secretary Inwards letters – An example

CS

1

Box 1 - 1848/42

Petition of Andrew Stanton


Ordering Colonial Defence Office Inwards letters

AD

3

Box 5 1868/37

Capt Percy of Ireland certifies that he is alive


Ordering Colonial Secretary’s Office Inwards letters


Ordering Colonial Secretary’s Office Inwards letters – Listing of item references for 1844 inwards letters


Ordering Colonial Secretary’s Office Inwards letters – An 1844 example

IA

1

Box 27 1844/12

Petition of A. Heese


How to find similar Colonial Secretary’s Office inward letters listings for other years using Records Advanced Search in Archway


Archway Advanced Record Search results


Ordering Commissioner of Crown Lands – Nelson Inwards letters

LS-N

1

Box 1 1851/69

Sir W. Congreve’s Run


Ordering Customs Inwards letters Prior to 1876 very few letters survive. Information may be found in the outwards letterbooks. The following is a summary of surviving inward letters. 1865/487, 1866/658, 1867/133 and 703, 1868/233-765, 1869/322 and 599, 1871/551 and 596, 1872/622 and 673, 1873/26-442 1874/17-413 and 1875/293-1067

C

1

Box 1 Year/letter #


Ordering Deputy Adjutant General Inwards letters

AD

50

Box 1 1859/17

Taranaki Volunteers


Ordering Marine Department Inwards letters – series 16612

M

1

Box 1350 1871/874

Papers re Snares Light


Ordering Nelson Province Superintendent’s General Inwards letters

NP

7

Box 2 1857/209

Relative to Immigration


Ordering New Munster Inwards letters

NM

8

Box 1 1844/28

Site of Lockup at Nelson

Documents

Pandora’s Box II - You have found a letter reference of