The Archive seeks to acquire, preserve, manage and make accessible to everyone, archives collected from the family/whānau of New Zealand Baptists.
We provide a rich archival resource for better understanding the New Zealand Baptist community and provide a framework for exploring the collected memory of our individual, local, and national New Zealand Baptist identity. The collection includes archives from New Zealand Baptist churches, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society – NZBMS now called Arotahi, the Baptist Union, Baptist Union Associations, Baptist Community Ministries, Carey Baptist College, and groups currently or formerly part of the Baptist Union of New Zealand.
The archive was formerly managed by the Carey Baptist College Library, and is now managed by the Baptist Archivist located within the Baptist National Support Centre.
Services We Offer
We partner with New Zealand Baptist organisations in collecting and archiving all types of archives. Anyone can come in person to view the archives, however since the start of our shift to new premises in Greenlane, Auckland (August 2025), access is restricted. Full access should be available this coming summer. You can search using our online catalogue below or contact us. We provide research services for a small fee. Please see the fee schedule or contact us for information.
Search the Archives
The New Zealand Baptist Archive materials are located on Ehive – a web-based catalogue and collection system. Click on the button below to search and explore the collection:
We’d love to add your archives to the New Zealand Baptist Archive national archive collection. You can send both physical and digital records and images. Digital resources are archived on our live server and selected digital items can be added to our on-line catalogue. Contact us for information.
Transfer Guidelines
We’re a small Archive, so we need your help to keep your valuable archives in good condition. Before you begin archiving it’s essential you download and read these documents:
These documents give you information on how to send your archives. Suitable packaging information is on pages 7-14 in the Archive Transfer Guidelines. We really appreciate the work you do and please contact us for help.
Copyright
If you’re sending your archives to us we assume you want your archives to be as usable as possible. For instance, maybe you’d like us to be able to digitise items or make your photographs available for publications.
To enable this to happen please complete the copyright section of the Donor Agreement and use Creative Commons copyright. Feel free to contact us if you’d like us to go through what this is, or you can learn more by visiting Aotearoa New Zealand Creative Commons.
Our earliest archives are from 1851.
Our treasures include:
- A complete set of digitised NZ Baptist magazines from 1876.
- The diaries of Emma Beckingsale, providing an unrivalled insight into the missionary experience in India (missionary nurse and member of the NZ Baptist Missionary Society 1895-1935).
- Samples of Rev. Charles Carter’s work (Ceylon 1860s), Sinhalese Bible translator and producer of the first dictionary, instrumental in establishing the NZ Baptist Missionary Society.
We hold collections from:
- Baptist Churches
- The Baptist Union and Associations
- The NZ Baptist Missionary Society
- Carey Baptist College
- District Associations
Baptist archives are also held by other Archives. For more information see these web pages:
- Waitaki Museum (Oamaru Baptist Church)
- Hocken Collections (Otago region Baptist churches including Dunedin City, Dunedin, Caversham, Mosgiel)
- Christchurch City Libraries (several Canterbury region Baptist churches)
- Ashburton Museum (Ashburton Baptist Church)
- The Alexander Turnbull Library (includes Wellington Central Baptist Church, Brooklyn Baptist Church)
- Taieri Historical Museum, Outram (furniture relating to F. Boreham, ex Mosgiel Baptist Church)
Contact the Baptist Archivist for assistance with your archiving needs.
Baptist Archivist
[email protected]
Postal Address
PO Box 12149
Penrose
Auckland 1642
The New Zealand Baptist newspaper
For 135 years, the New Zealand Baptist served as the official monthly publication of the Baptist Union of New Zealand connecting the members of each local church. Held at the New Zealand Baptist Archive, the New Zealand Baptist remains an indispensable account of Baptist life on these islands. As the longest continuing religious periodical in Aotearoa, it is a significant historical resource for wider Christian history in New Zealand.
The Digital Baptist
Since 2010, the digitised records of the New Zealand Baptist have been available as the Digital Baptist and is a fully word searchable catalogue of the Baptist newspaper in its full run, right from 1876-2011.
The Digital Baptist is currently available online via a National Library of New Zealand archive of the former Baptist Research website. It is freely available as PDF files that can be downloaded – click the button below (we are grateful to the National Library for providing this service).
The Baptist magazine
In 2011 The New Zealand Baptist transitioned into to a bi-monthly magazine format until 2021. Digital versions of these are not yet available online, but much of the content is on the current Baptist NZ platform (this baptist.nz website and the Baptist NZ app).
Baptist content today
From 2022 a new way of connection and communication began with the Baptist NZ app being the central depository of content, which feeds the baptist.nz website, and Baptist NZ on Facebook. We also collate this content in a bi-monthly printable newsletter for local churches to print out for their people who are not online – a bi-monthly email newsletter is also sent out highlighting the printable newsletter and the last two months of contact – this can be subscribed to at the footer of this webpage (the white button “Sign up to our newsletter”).
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