Hi, Could anyone advice me my grandma died in a Christchurch Hospital in 1910 very suddenly only 26 leaving three little girls. I have her death cert but hospitals name cut off where she died. I have just read her mums record who died in Seacliff Mental hospital in 1907 very sad but never had a photo of her even my late mum wandered what she looked like and to my surprise there was a photo of her with her records. I dont live in Christchurch but just wandered if the Christchurch main hospital would still hold records that far back . If by law that record would be over the 100yrs and could be read without any other member of family i would have to ask. Advice please. Thank you. Sue

Hi Sue: Re your ggmother, many Seacliff records are held at Archives NZ, Dunedin, although permission has to be obtained from the District Health Board. See address in Archives Research Guide No 6, Mental Health p7-8: http://archives.govt.nz/research/guides http://archives.govt.nz/research/guides/mental-health I don't know about Public Hospitals for your gmothers death in 1910. But some deaths in Public and particularly Mental Hospitals may result in an inquest. Deaths at Porirua and Avondale Mental Hospitals (and others?) resulted in regular batches of inquests every month or less in the early 20th century, even if the death was expected eg "senile decay", hence can be found in the index books for inquests at Archives NZ, Wellington. Records of all inquests are held there; some names can be found indexed in Archway, though I would not like to say how many years are indexed. I do not know of a hospital graveyard at Porirua Hospital, and think that burials would be in a public or perhaps church graveyard. But burial records (BR in the NZSG index) may be missing for burials a hundred years ago, and only a stone gravestone would survive until the 1980s when various NZSG branches did transcriptions of them (MI or Monumental Inscriptions in the NZSG indexes). Hence finding records of any burials a hundred years or more is less likely, though certainly possible for some. Yours, John Wilson Subject: [nz] RECORDS FROM CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL > Hi, > Could anyone advice me my grandma died in a Christchurch Hospital in 1910 > very suddenly only 26 leaving three little girls. I have her death cert > but hospitals name cut off where she died. I have just read her mums > record who died in Seacliff Mental hospital in 1907 very sad but never > had a photo of her even my late mum wandered what she looked like and to > my surprise there was a photo of her with her records. I dont live in > Christchurch but just wandered if the Christchurch main hospital would > still hold records that far back . If by law that record would be over > the 100yrs and could be read without any other member of family i would > have to ask. Advice please. > Thank you, Sue >