Find your ancestors in New Zealand Post Office Directory 1902 (Wise)

Directories are one of the most effective ways of tracing members of a family, especially tradesmen. Many small businesses needed to ensure the public was aware of their activity and one of the better ways to do this in an age before media dominated was via a directory. The value of directories as a research tool is enhanced when no census material is available.

Researchers are likely to find names and addresses listed in the following sections:

colony-wide alphabetical directory
town and district directories
city street directories—Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, Wellington
trades directory
Names can be found in the following sections sometimes accompanied with additional information:

manufacturers of English goods for export to New Zealand
banking and finance—bank managers
legal—judges and magistrates, court officials, coroners, crown prosecutors, sheriffs, barristers and solicitors, Justices of the Peace
ecclesiastical—clergy
insurance—company administrators
educational—administrators, tertiary educators, head teachers, private school teachers
medical—Otago University School of Medicine, medical associations, medical practitioners, hospital administrators, dentists,
chemists
pastoral and agricultural
municipal—county, town and borough clerks, harbour masters, road and river boards
government directories—elected members, ministers and government departmental administrators