Papua New Guinea Civil Registration

Online Collections

 * 1884-1967 - Birth index (New Guinea) 1884-1967. The records for this index are currently on film only and cannot be circulated to family history centers.
 * 1892-1974 - Marriage records, 1892-1980; indexes 1892-1978. Records are mostly for Europeans living in Papua and New Guinea. Only the indexes fro 1892-1974 are online. The records are currently on film only and cannot be circulated to family history centers.

Offices to Contact
Location: National Archives and local civil registry offices.

Historical Background
Time period: 1884-present Prior to 1967 most entries are for non-natives. Records for the Territory of (German) New Guinea were destroyed during the Second World War, however, reconstructed registers were compiled afterwards. The available records have been indexed.

Coverage and Compliance
Population coverage before 1967 is 5%; after 1967 is 80%

Births

 * Child’s name
 * Birth date and place
 * Parents’ names, residence, and occupation
 * Witnesses’ ages, relationships, residences

Marriages

 * Bride and groom names
 * Ages
 * Residences
 * Occupations
 * Marriage date and place
 * Sometimes ages and/or birth dates and places
 * Parents' names; residences, occupations
 * Witnesses and officer who performed ceremony
 * Former spouses

Death registers

 * Name of deceased
 * Age
 * Death date and place
 * Occupation
 * Name of surviving spouse
 * Informant’s name and residence
 * Cause of death
 * Sometimes birth date and place
 * Parents’ names
 * Children’s names