Please Note

A new section has been added to our website

The addition, is a memorial literary award created in honour of our past patron Jill Lord

Annual BBQ Sunday February 1 2026

The Family History year got off to a great start with our Annual BBQ held at our Patron's home, "Woodford." 

There were games of mini-golf and croquet as well as a roundtable discussing our latest research.

We look forward to our 1st. March meeting at the Bowling Club where Pauline Taylor will talk to us about her long term project "The Trials and Tribulations of Martin McNulty"

Sunday, April 6, 2pm

David Hill, “Lowering the Colours: The 1914 All England women's hockey tour of New Zealand”

Venue: The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

Our president will trace the little known All England women's hockey tour of Australia and New Zealand. He is employing all the tricks he can think of, in an attempt to trace the Canterbury and New Zealand players. It is likely this was the first New Zealand women's sports team ever selected.

Usual $3 entry (includes a raffle).

Sunday, March 2 - 2pm

Usual $3 entry.

The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

Adrienne Shaw, “A Descendant from the Chinese Camp, Lawrence”

Adrienne will talk about her discovery of her Chinese ancestry and her research into Chinese gold miners, which has led to a new book.

Sunday November 3rd  2:00pm. Usual $3 entry.

The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

David Hill, “Canterbury's 21st Birthday Present: Adventures in Astronomy in Colonial Christchurch 1871-96”.

Our president will talk about his research into the first Canterbury Astronomical Society, founded in 1871, the origins of the Townsend Observatory at the Arts Centre and Christchurch's connection to some astronomical observances in the 19th century.

Sunday May 5th  2:00pm. Usual $3 entry.

The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

Donald Hansen will talk to us about early New Zealand Censuses. Don is the author of “Forgotten but not gone: some early New Zealand census returns”

Sunday June 9th  2:00pm     Annual General Meeting

At our rooms 401A Papanui Road

Nominations are now open for all positions on the executive.

Please note that this is the second Sunday in June, the first being King’s Birthday Weekend.

An agenda for the meeting is included with this newsletter.

Following the AGM, David Hill, our Vice president will give a talk on “A Family Photo Collection”

When vice-president David Hill's Nana died back in 1986, the family said they would get together one day to go through Nana's two old suitcases of family photos.

That never happened, so in 1995, when David started doing his family history research, he went to visit his aunt and together they went through the photos.

Now that his aunt has moved into a retirement home, he has now inherited the photos.

David will bring the two suitcases of old family photos to the meeting and discuss them.

Do others want to bring along some old family photos?

March Meeting  Sunday  3rd march  2pm

Elmwood Park Bowling Club

Heaton St. 

$3 entry - includes a raffle.

Without the Nasty Bits: A Soldier's Story.

I will have copies of the book for sale for those who would like to buy.  The book retails for $35 and I will bring some cash for change for those who would like to purchase that way and I do have account details for any who wish to make an electronic bank transfer.

Alan Woods

December Meeting  Sunday  3rd December  (Christmas Meeting) 2pm

Our rooms 401A ‘The Office’ Papanui Road. No entrance fee!

Mum’s Biscuits. Most of us were brought up in an era of home baking. Some of our Mother’s baking became part of our heritage and we still use the recipes today. Bring along stories about your Mother’s baking. We would love to sample a biscuit or two!

Even if your Mother did not bake – after school treats were part of our heritage. Tell us about yours.

The rooms will close for the year on Saturday 16th December at 12 noon

The rooms will reopen at 10am on Saturday 20th January

October  Meeting

Sunday October 1st   2pm. Usual $3 entry. The Elmwood Park Bowling Club, 83D Heaton Street.

Evelyn McIver-Keeley talks about her new book on the history of three women in her Campbell clan family in Scotland, and how she approached the research and writing of her book “With Grace: Her Story and place in Campbell History 1642 – 1856.” Grace Buchanan Campbell is the central character; she was a published author in Edinburgh during the early part of the 19th century.

During the week, the committee and other volunteers undertook a small fundraising exercise - preparing advertising envelopes for AVO New Zealand.

Time for a well earned cuppa. Some of the ten strong team who helped out at the January working bee.

The Committee decided, at its meeting on Wednesday, that due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the Committee’s control, the Mid Winter dinner – due to be held this Sunday - is postponed until Sunday 7th . August.

Sorry for this late notice.

Sunday 7 August 2022 Annual Midwinter dinner 12:30 start at the Bowling Club 5 Donald Place Please contact Judith Munro Ph.3597228 with your meal selections The meal will be followed by a talk from a prominent historian Richard Greenaway on “The Canterbury Provincial Government Immigration Scheme 1853-1876”

Sunday April 3rd.  2pm The Bowling Club 5 Donald Place

Claire le Couteur (one of our own members) will talk about her latest book

Dodds’ Pharmacies

Claire will have copies of her book available at the meeting for $30 – a special discount for our members.

Usual $3 entry

There is parking behind the rooms if the street parking is full

For nearly a hundred years, the Dodds’ name has been synonymous with pharmacy in Merivale, Christchurch. Doug Dodds established his chemist shop there in 1924. When he retired in 1965, successive owners of the business honoured him by naming it Dodds Pharmacy.

Doug’s grandfather, George Fawcit Dodds arrived in New Zealand in 1877 and opened his first chemist shop in Port Chalmers before leaving it in his son Nicholas’s hands and moving to Akaroa in 1888. George bought a French chemist’s business in the town and operated it with another son, John, also a chemist. Doug, John’s son, was brought up in Akaroa and later served an apprenticeship in Christchurch before buying the Merivale business.

The medicines these men sold were often imported patent medicines supplemented by their own formulations. Each generation developed their own concoctions, many of which could never have lived up to their extravagant claims. This advertising was common practice by chemists in the years leading up to strict legislation obliging manufacturers to list the ingredients of their mixtures on their labels.

This is not a family history, nor is it a comprehensive study of pharmacy through the ages, but an interesting tale of three generations of one family of chemists and their experiences in pharmacy.

Claire le Couteur

We are all very aware of the danger COVID still holds,

especially for us older members, so please

Wear a mask

Keep a safe distance

Be prepared to show your vaccine pass

Congratulations to our Patron Jill Lord, who today became a well deserved recipient of the Queens Service Medal, QSM.

Christchurch Family Historians & Genealogists

Need help researching your Family History? Our team of Christchurch Family Historians & Genealogists are here to help. 

Our Research Rooms & Library are located at 401A Papanui Road and are open on a Monday & Saturday from 10am - 12 noon

The Aims of our Society are:

To foster an interest in Family History, Genealogy and Family Trees

To support members with their research into Family History

To provide research facilities for our members

To hold regular meeting on topics related to Family History

To produce an e-magazine and newsletters for our members

The Family History Society of New Zealand was awarded the Christchurch City Council  Ambassadors Heritage Award in 2016

We now have a Covid Tracer sign on the noticeboard in our rooms. Please use it to sign in.