What are the main factors in my ancestors’ decision to immigrate to NZ?

Part 1

Present a family tree for at least five generations of your ancestors, in any format you like. Try to include dates and places of birth, death and marriage (if known). 

Try using an online tool such as  Family Echo, Geni, Ancestry (14 day free trial)

Part 2

Find out as much information as you can about one of your ancestors who immigrated to New Zealand. If your ancestors are Maori, then find out as much as you can about your ancestor’s Iwi and canoe. Your first option should be interviewing your parents or relatives. Here are some sample questions you can use to get to know your parents: Interview Questions. Once you have done this then you can branch out to stories of older relatives as you investigate further into the past.

If you can't identify one of your ancestors, investigate one of Tauranga Moana's first migrants - Tamatea Ariki-Nui - the captain of the Takitimu waka. Click this link to make a copy of the notes template.

RQ1: Who was my ancestor and how are they related to me? When did they migrate and from what country? 

Add as much biographical information as you can - date of birth/death, family including husband/wife, children, brother's sisters, job etc. Try to find out what else was happening in the year of their migration. Check out world timelines for modern history. More than just the country - do you know what town or city? What more information can you add? Language they speak, other cultural things like food, sports, religion etc.

RQ 2: What was their life like at that time and how did recent events shape them? (Write a short biography of their life - be creative in places to fill in gaps)

Biography writing tips:

• Write in the past tense

• Start with the facts e.g. James Edward Jones was born on 1 May 1800 in what is now Trumbull County, Ohio. He was the third son and fifth child of...

• Build a picture of their life journey:  How did they come to NZ? What work did they do? Who did they marry? How many children did they have? etc.

• Try to include a significant event in their life

• Conclude by explaining where and how they died 

How to write about an ancestor help.

RQ3: What were some of the challenges my ancestor faced in migrating?

Research what was happening where your ancestor was at that time in history. Consider how they would have had to travel to NZ (the challenges and difficulties). Consider factors like money, weather (climate), class systems, racism, employment, distance, leaving family, illness, age, traveling with kids, war, famine etc.

Part 3 - Push and Pull Factors

Find out what it was like where your ancestors came from. Compare and contrast the country they were leaving with what was being offered in New Zealand. Vague statements or guesses aren’t enough. Every statement you make must be supported by evidence you have found. Offer a possible explanation, supported by evidence, why you ancestors decided to leave their homeland.

You must create two climate graphs for New Zealand and the country your ancestor migrated from as part of this section. Use a web site like Climate Charts to help you.

Find out the main push and pull factors for your ancestor migration. 

• Push and Pull factors from Europe to the USA: These are applicable to New Zealand.

• Push and pull factors of Scottish emigration

• Gapminder – for information to compare two or more countries

Pro Tips 

✅ Use your family. Chances are your family will be a great source of information.  If you ask enough people in your extended family you are bound to find someone that has already done some genealogy work.  Cast the net wide; you may need to ask uncles, aunts, or grandparents.  Someone will enjoy having the opportunity to talk to you about where you come from.

✅ Refer to the Ancestry Rubric at the bottom of your document for what you will be assessed on.  

✅ Use your teachers as a resource for how to conduct your inquiry. If in doubt try to figure it out, discuss with your classmates, ask your teacher. Do not bury your head in the sand.

Resources

• New Zealand historical resources:

  • Genealogy Links: NZ history website with lots of useful links

  • National Library research: Guide to researching your family history in NZ

  • History of Immigration in NZ: What is it and how it affected immigration

  • Archives NZ – a number of migration search tools

  • NZ History – events browser

  • Matauranga - an interactive resource about the first people to come to Aotearoa

  • South Seas - a collection of resources on cross cultural encounters in the Pacific.

  • Papers Past – NZ newspaper search engine

  • Yesteryears – Passenger list for NZ bound ships

  • Tauranga Peninsular Kahui Ako: resource with numerous links to local iwi resources.

Extension

"To Musk, the parallels to the British colonization of the New World remain striking. “It’s just like America,” Musk said. “How many English ships went to America the first time? One. And then if you fast-forward two hundred years, how many ships went from England to America? Thousands. So it would be something similar. There was hope in the New World. It may as well have been Mars.”

Petranek, Stephen. How We'll Live on Mars. Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2015.