International Association of Jewish
Genealogical Societies - Cemetery Project
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand is made up of two narrow islands called North Island
and South Island.
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
Auckland Jewish Community Centre
108-116 Grey's Ave.
Auckland, New Zealand
Phone : 732 908
Wellington Hebrew Congregation
80 Webb St.
Wellington, New Zealand
For information call : 845 081 or 850 429
source: http://www.jewishdirectory.com
(search for New Zealand institutions)
Also click on New Zealand at
http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/comm_asia.html
[August 2005]
currently broken in Netscape, view with Internet Explorer
The Australian Jewish Historical Society-Victoria Inc. indicated
that there were Jewish graves in the New Zealand. Almost none of
the cemeteries are exclusively for Jewish burials. Jewish graves
are found continually in out of the way cemeteries, particularly
in places populated for short periods as during a Gold Rush.
Further information may be obtained from the Honorary Secretary:
Mrs. Beverley Davis, P.O. Box 255, Camberwell, Victoria 3124
Australia. (Please include 3 International Reply Coupons if
requesting information.) All listings below (except where
otherwise indicated) were supplied by Claire G. Bruell, 36
Auckland Rd., St. Heliers, Auckland 5, New Zealand. Ph.
09.5757-305, Fax 09.575-5079.
New Zealand Jewish Archives
Michael Clements, President
C/- 125 Black Road
Newlands, Wellington
Tel 04-478-9060
nzjewisharchives@ihug.co.nz
Source for South Island of New Zealand is
Dr. Gerald L. Morris
90B Proctor Street
Christchurch 5.
Phone and fax: 03.352-4764
MILITARY BURIALS
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: http://www.cwgc.org/
"The Commission was established by Royal Charter in 1917
... to mark and maintain the graves of the members of the forces
of the Commonwealth who were killed in the two World Wars, to
build memorials to those who have no known grave and to keep
records and registers, including, after the Second World War, a
record of the Civilian War Dead." Name searchable from the site.
[March 2002]
-
- Main Office:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
2 Marlow Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 7DX
United Kingdom
Tel: (01628) 634221
Fax: (01628) 771208
Telex: 847526 Comgra G
E-mail: casualty.enq@cwgc.org
THE CEMETERIES
www.bd-bd.info
is the
online version of the Beverley Davis Burial Data compilation that lists
headstone details (only!) for over 40,000 Jewish graves in New Zealand,
Australia and Pacific Islands. The collection is large, but is NOT complete. There is no
inquiry service. Source: Dr Harvey Cohen, Digital Archivist, Australian
Jewish Historical Society.
webmaster@ajhs.info [July 2008]
SOUTH ISLAND
"OTHER SITES": South Island
Some graves at the sites of old Gold Rush settlements on the
West Coast of the South Island are now old and neglected areas,
with maybe a few people still living there. There are no Jewish
communities on the West Coast now. There probably are Jewish
graves at Charleston and Stratford.
ASHBURTON: South Island
- Old Public Cemetery {10901}: Information provided to Claire
Bruell by Mrs. Jean Cleave from Mid-Canterbury Gen. Society, 3
Smitheram St., Ashburton.
CHARLESTON & STRATFORD:
(and other small towns South Island). No synagogue. A few graves
here and at other small places that were 1800s Gold Rush
settlements.
CHRISTCHURCH: South Island
- Hereford St.: No longer exists. Used by Canturbury
Hebrew Congregation. Contact Dr. Gerald L. Morris (90B Proctor
Street, Christchurch 5. phone and fax: 03.352-4764) for
information about 34 burials in Hereford Street. All were
re-interred in Linwood Cemetery in one grave under a single
headstone in 1943. Active 1870 to 1885.
- Linwood Cemetery: {xxxxx} Situated in a suburb of
Christchurch, the site is still active and contains about 250
graves. The original cemetery was in Hereford St. and dates from
1870. Graves were moved in 1943 and re-interred in a single grave
with one headstone. The Jewish section is part of a larger
cemetery, which is now full and inactive. The Jewish area is set
apart and is consecrated ground. [This needs clarification:
Unfortunately, the dates of death were sent on a hand-written map
with the year given as 'xx.' A 19xx year was assumed, except for
those of 1999-entered as 1899. If you find a name from the wrong
century, assume the 1800s not 1900s.] Synagogue: Orthodox
community, situated at 406 Durham St., has about 120 members.
Contact: Dr. Gerald Morris (90B Proctor Street, Christchurch 5.
phone and fax: 03.352-4764)
DUNEDIN: South Island
- Southern Cemetery: Main South Road, Dunedin. Located
at the southern end of the city on a rise overlooking the south
end of the "Oval" playing fields and bounded by the roads, Main
South Road and Eglinton Road and the southern end of the "Town
Belt". This cemetery is now closed [1998]. The next burial will
be in a new cemetery on Brighton Road, 10 miles south of Dunedin.
{xxxxx} The 600 names from Dunedin were submitted to IAJGS before
2000 for one or both cemeteries.
Southern Cemetery has a total of 23,000 burials. The Jewish
portion of the non-denominational cemetery has approximately 179
burials. (164 burials are recorded in the burial register that
does not record the location of each burial. The Jewish Community
holds a book entitled Register of Burials Dunedin, Jewish
Congregation that presently is in the care of Mr. E. Friedlander,
5 Burwood Ave, Maori Hill, Dunedin. The first two entries in the
burial register are dated May l864, then followed by entries
beginning in April, l863. Information is brief, giving the name
of deceased, burial date, age (not always), sex, and parents
names (not always). This applies to the years 1863 to 1893. Some
entries have an additional line written in Hebrew that are
difficult to read. A gap then exists to one death each in 1942,
1945 and 1946. After that, the book probably is complete. From
1946 onwards, no parents names are given. That column instead
gives the place of burial. Thus, the burial register becomes that
of the Jewish Congregation, rather than that of the Jewish
Portion Southern Cemetery. Burials since 1946 take place at
Andersons Bay Cemetery, Dunedin, Invercargill, Christchurch and
cremations. Hugh Gourley Funeral Directors, 407 Hillside Rd.,
South Dunedin have records of burials 1893-1943 in Dunedin,
Invercargill, Christchurch as well as cremations.
The cemetery's main entrance is on the Main South Road. A
rather narrow roadway leads to the caretaker's cottage and car
park. On the Main South Road, just slightly uphill from the main
entrance, tall wrought iron gates form the entrance to the Jewish
portion of the cemetery. The visitor would find it convenient to
park on the Main South Road and use this foot access. (The
Dunedin City Council, Parks and Recreation Dept, Civic Centre
Building, George Street Dunedin.) There is an occupied
caretaker's cottage within the grounds of Southern cemetery. The
caretaker, who has a copy of this transcript, could assist a
visitor to locate a particular gravesite. However, the Dunedin
City Council has no official burial records for the Jewish
ground. These are in the hands of the Jewish Congregation.
This transcription was completed November 1982. A
transcription made in 1934, a copy of which can be seen at The
Early Settlers Association Museum, 220 Cumberland St Dunedin.
Some headstone records, which were visible and transcribed in
1934, have either deteriorated or are missing now. I am also
aware of a transcription undertaken in 1979 by a Mr. and Mrs.
Davis John and Beverley on behalf of the Australian Jewish
Historical Society, Victoria Branch, c/o 3 Alma Road, Camberwell
Victoria 3124, Australia. Though I think the researcher will find
this present transcript a substantially complete record of what
is now available, I mention the other known transcripts that may
prove helpful.
Headstone Dates: The earliest date on a headstone is that
of Adliner Symons, 8 Mar 1864, Entry Number 26. However, the
earliest date in the burial register is that of Louis Woolf, 6
Mar 1863. The Southern Cemetery was opened in 1857. The first
burial in the main portion of the cemetery was in March 1858.
Though the cemetery has been "closed" in the sense that it has
been many years since the last plot was sold, burials still take
place today in unfilled family plots. Dunedin Jewish Congregation
is a Liberal Community part of the Anzupt with about 50 members.
To the researcher interested in deaths between 1893 and 1946, the
following may be of interest. Hugh Gourley, Funeral Director
Dunedin, was engaged to arrange many of these burials. His
records survive, but are brief and do not record in which
cemetery a burial took place. (Hugh Gourley Ltd, Funeral
Director, 407 Hillside Road, South Dunedin) (or Gillions and Sons
Ltd, Funeral Directors of the same address) Both funeral homes
hold these early records and have indexed them for easy
reference. They are sympathetic toward genealogists and given a
name and date (approximate) of a death, may be able to confirm
same, which leads the researcher more confidently to a death
registration enquiry and death certificate.
Source for Dunedin: E.M. Friedlander; 5 Burnwood Ave.
Dunedin (letter to Claire G. Bruell) Most of the Jewish early
settlers in NZ are in the Southern Cemetery Dunedin, many via the
Andersons Bay Crematorium. Source: Pamela Broadbent, Wellington,
New Zealand: broadbent@clear.net.nz
GREYMOUTH: South Island {xxxxx}
Six graves date from the 1890's. No community exists now at this
site near the camping grounds by the sea. To find Jewish graves,
look for the Chinese tombstone. A list of names was sent of
people buried in the Jewish section. I doubt very much that they
are Jewish except for the very old ones. Only the Jewish sounding
names were taken. This confirmed that the Jewish burials were all
old.
HOKITIKA: South Island {xxxxx}
This small town on the West Coast of the South Island (pop.
7000) dates from early settlement days and the Gold Rushes of the
1840s and 1850s. 22 graves date from 1850 to 1960 with the 1960
burial being the last remaining Jew in the town. The Synagogue
was burnt down in 1922. (For further information see The
History of the Jews in New Zealand by Goldman. Names from
Westland District council located on the West Coast.
NELSON: South Island
- Wakapuaka Cemetery: {10903} A few graves date back to the
mid-1800's. No organised Jewish community is present now. The
graves are situated at the edge of the very old Nelson Cemetery
(municipal cemetery) on the Wakapuwaka Road.
QUEENSTOWN: South Island {10509}
- Municipal Cemetery: A few mid-1800's graves are on the
way to the skyride, on the left side of the road but set apart
from the rest of the markers of the old cemetery by a clump of
trees situated at the edge of the town cemetery. Contact: Dr.
Gerald Morris (90B Proctor Street, Christchurch 5. phone and fax:
03.352-4764). Queenstown cemetery is located on Brecon St. next
to the gondola terminal. The Lakes District Council, address
Private Bag 50072, Queenstown, administers the municipal
cemetery. However, the Jewish congregation once owned it. Bendix
Hallenstein was mayor of Queenstown and acquired the site. The
nearest synagogue is and always was in Dunedin. There are only 2
graves in the Jewish section. Source: Pamela Broadbent,
Wellington, New Zealand; e-mail: broadbent@clear.net.nz
STRATFORD: see Charlestown
TARADALE: see Napier
TIMARU: South Island
With no current Jewish population, Timaru has a few graves
parallel to the seashore by the side road in this site used in
the late 1800s? Contact: Dr. Gerald Morris (90B Proctor Street,
Christchurch 5. phone and fax: 03.352-4764).
NORTH ISLAND
AUCKLAND: North Island
- Karangahape Road Cemetery: part of Auckland
Municipal Cemetery {10292}: Symonds St. Auckland Hebrew
Congregation. Contact is Graham Resnick. (Auckland Hebrew
Congregation, P.O. Box 68224, Auckland. Resnick Ph. (09) 520
0801.) The cemetery was used: 1841-1938. In 1938, the Jewish
section was given to Beth Israel (Auckland Hebrew) Congregation
that still maintains it.
- Waikumete Cemetery: {10350} Great North Rd., Glen
Eden. Congregations: Auckland Hebrew Congregation and Beth
Shalom. Contact: Graham Resnick, Auckland Hebrew Congregation,
P.O. Box 68224, Auckland. Resnick Ph. (09) 502 2801. Contact: Don
Copland, Beth Shalom, 180 Manukau Rd, Epsom, Auckland. Phone:
(09) 444 1173. Cemetery was used 1921-present. Auckland Hebrew
Congregation has its own section. Beth Shalom has had its own
section since approx. 1960. Waitakere City Council, Auckland
administers cemetery. Many Jewish graves exist in other
cemeteries in the Greater Auckland area and North Island
generally, which are not recorded.
DANNEVIRKE: North Island
NAPIER: North Island {10913}
- Hawkes Bay Cemetery: Also called Park Island
Cemetery , the site is located between Napier and Taradale
(East Coast)
- Bluff Hill Cemetery:
PALMERSTON NORTH: North Island
- Kelvin Grove Cemetery: {10900}
- Terrace End: {10913}
PARK ISLAND: see Napier
WELLINGTON: North Island
- Bolton St. Cemetery: {10536} Bolton St. Memorial Park,
Wellington. Wellington Hebrew Congregation, 80 Webb St,
Wellington. Parks & Recreation Dept., Wellington City
Council, P.O. Box 2199, Wellington administers the site. Few
graves remain as part of the cemetery was taken for a motorway.
Records of headstones are held at the Alexander Turnbull Library,
Wellington. The site used from 1845-1901 had colonial/early
settlers' graves. Last year a sign was erected naming that small
area "The Abraham Hort Lawn". The first grave is that of a youth,
Benjamin Levy, who died on 3 February 1845. There are still some
graves of the 1890s and one dated from 1901 even though Karori
Cemetery opened in 1891. Source: Michael Clements, (President, NZ
Jewish Archives at 31 Vivian Street Wellington) and Claire
Bruell
- Karori Cemetery: Karori, Wellington. Synagogues: Temple
Sinai, P.O. Box 27-301, phone: (04) 385 0720; Fax (04) 385 0572.
Wellington Hebrew Congregation, 80 Webb St. Tel: (04) 384-3136.
The site was used by Temple Sinai beginning in 1960 [?] and is
administered by Wellington City Council, P.O. Box 2199,
Wellington even though the site was active from 1895-1969. Opened
in 1891 and the Wellington Hebrew Congregation's first Jewish
graves were 1895.
- Makara Cemetery: Used by Wellington Hebrew
Congregation since 1969. 80 Webb St, Phone (04) 384 3136. Temple
Sinai, P.O. Box 27-301, Phone (04) 385 0720, Fax (04) 385 0572
used the site since 1985. Administered by Wellington City
Council, Wellington; P.O. Box 21 99, Wellington.
- Wanganui: {10808} All Jewish graves are condensed
under a single marker, which contains the names of those buried
there. In the late 1960's, before there was a single marker, the
headstones in the Jewish part were all broken and piled up.
(Whether vandalism or just neglect is unknown). The woman
involved then has the transcriptions of what was on the
headstones (at least the English inscriptions. No one read
Yiddish so they did not try to copy it.) There might be some more
information available. The woman is keeper of all cemetery
transcriptions for New Zealand. The list has been published by
the New Zealand Society of Genealogists on microfiche. Aaron
Oppenheimer; Laaron@motu.com
.
For further information from Wellington, contact any of the
following: The Wellington City Council, The Wellington Hebrew
Congregation at 80 Webb Street, Wellington or Michael Clements,
President NZ Jewish Archives, C/- 8 McKeefry Grove, Tawa,
Wellington, clemclan@ihug.co.nz, Tel
04-232-6367
WELCOME BAY:
All individuals involved in the creation of this project are volunteers.
The right to make one copy for personal use with full citation is hereby granted;
however, no profit is to be made from the use of this website's information.
No reply will be made to inquiries about specific burials. All information that we possess is on the website. We have no other information so please do not write requesting any on either burial sites or individual burials.
Revised Sunday August 03 2008