The Family Archives

The Family Archives Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The Family Archives, Genealogist, Mairangi Bay, Auckland.

Kia ora, my name is Zoe Pullman, and I firmly believe that your family history and whakapapa (genealogy) are taonga tuku iho – treasures from your ancestors that deserve to be nurtured, protected and passed on to those who come after you.

Interrupting the usual   programming to bring you... wildflowers! Wow! 📸 me
15/06/2026

Interrupting the usual programming to bring you... wildflowers! Wow!

📸 me

Lovely time at the Family History meeting of the Yorkshire Archeological and Historical Society on Friday. A warm welcom...
14/06/2026

Lovely time at the Family History meeting of the Yorkshire Archeological and Historical Society on Friday. A warm welcome, hot tea, a gifted book, and an amazing talk about industrial housing models. All easy ways to this girl's heart!

I'm currently doing a Pharos genealogy course on Apprenticeships, and the very helpful Leeds Central librarian brought t...
11/06/2026

I'm currently doing a Pharos genealogy course on Apprenticeships, and the very helpful Leeds Central librarian brought this book over for me to look at. Published in 1797 and aimed at parents looking to find their sons a trade apprenticeship, it details the ins and outs of apprenticeship practices, as well as estimates of the costs to be paid to the master. I don't particularly fancy the idea of being a 'cat gut spinner' but for between 2 - 5 pounds it was a bargain! Compared to becoming a surgeon for between 60 - 400 pounds. Of course many people had no choice.

Favourite paragraph is the one about mother's spoiling their sons with too much good food thus setting them up for disappointment once their apprenticeship begins. Another highlight was the etching by L Barlow on the inside of the cover. The top strip of pictures shows a good apprentice who ends up Mayor of London (true story!), and the bottom one shows an idle apprentice who ends up being sent to Botany Bay (Kamay) aka NSW Penal Colony.

Folks. I cannot emphasis enough how mind-blowing it is for me to see, handle and read books that are this old! Being from Aotearoa New Zealand, where the indigenous knowledge of Māori has its own ancient wisdom, but it was not traditionally passed on in writing. Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) was passed on orally via pūrākau (stories), visually via whakairo (carving), and physically via kawa (customs), to name a few examples. So reading a book that is older than the colonisation of my country is quite something.

It's  ! Anyone care to take a guess at which year this one took place? It took place in   (for context). Featuring some ...
10/06/2026

It's ! Anyone care to take a guess at which year this one took place? It took place in (for context). Featuring some special ancestors of mine, which I will tell you all about after the guessing bit!

Ahhh Leeds Central Library. You beauty! They have a lovely, well-resourced and friendly family history room. Can see mys...
09/06/2026

Ahhh Leeds Central Library. You beauty! They have a lovely, well-resourced and friendly family history room. Can see myself spending plenty of happy research hours here.

Escaped the UK heatwave last week by visiting the cool interior of Harewood House in  . Loved seeing their little   touc...
08/06/2026

Escaped the UK heatwave last week by visiting the cool interior of Harewood House in . Loved seeing their little touches around the place, and could spend hours in their libraries (yes, plural!). Was it fun to imagine sleeping in this bed and waking up to this view? Yes. Would I get any sleep there knowing their wealth was built on slavery? No.

Views from my new office in  . Sure beats my old view of an abandoned chicken coop haha.
07/06/2026

Views from my new office in . Sure beats my old view of an abandoned chicken coop haha.

Recommend a visit to Ilkley Toy Museum! Spent hours playing with my dollshouse as a child, so possibly enjoyed it more t...
06/06/2026

Recommend a visit to Ilkley Toy Museum! Spent hours playing with my dollshouse as a child, so possibly enjoyed it more than my girls! Most of the dollhouses were 200+ years old. We played "find the oldest toy" and the one from 4th century BC won 😆. 😳

True!
04/06/2026

True!

Address

Mairangi Bay
Auckland
0630

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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