Company information: History
Recent or still existing companies
Websites
- Company website
- Many company websites provide contact details, product information, news, and some history. If the company is publicly listed the annual report may also be available on the website.
- New Zealand Companies Office
- This government office maintains a searchable register of companies in New Zealand. Provides contact details, shareholder and director information. Complete records are available on payment of a small fee.
Other
Some big companies might have their history published in books about them or their industry. These can be found by searching for the company on the catalogue.
Older or no longer existing companies
Most older company histories must be extracted from a variety of sources. These may include material in archives or old copies of directories, almanacs and yearbooks. This is a sample of these resources:
- A select bibliography of the business history of New Zealand
- Arrangement is by broad subject heading within which are listed articles, books and theses about companies and industries.
- The dictionary of New Zealand biography
- This gives useful information on the founders of New Zealand companies.
Main access is by person (Volume V) but each volume also has a categories index where people can be accessed under broad categories. Suggested categories to look under include: commercial activities, construction, manufacturing and trades and reform. - The directory directory and Penney's 1986 A check-list of Australian and New Zealand almanacs and directories
- The directory directory: the family, local and social historian's guide to contents and holdings of New Zealand almanac, business, postal and telephone directories, 1842-1960.
- The Southern provinces almanac, directory, diary and year-book
- Produced from 1854-92, Christchurch City Libraries has these for the years 1863-92. This has lists of central local government departments, the names of people who headed those departments (and sometimes much more minor personalities as well), the names of various types of businesses and the people who were in charge.
- Industries of New Zealand and Cyclopedia of New Zealand
- The 1898 Industries of New Zealand has information on businesses from all over New Zealand and on the proprietors. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (published between 1897-1908) is of a similar nature, more substantial but not comprehensive. The Canterbury volume was published in 1903.
- Index to G. R. MacDonald biographical dictionary
- This has many 19th century business people such as the Beaths, Ballantynes, Shands. We have a book and microform index showing who is in the dictionary but do not have the subject index, which is held by Canterbury Museum.
- The Community Archive
- The Community Archive (previously known as the National Register of Archives and Manuscripts NRAM), is used by archivists and researchers to signpost archival collections held in museums, local government bodies, libraries, and in-house business archives throughout New Zealand.
- Archives New Zealand
- Archives New Zealand have those older annual reports of the Christchurch branch of the Companies Office which survive. Many records were destroyed.
The Christchurch City Libraries Archives Collection contains some material related to local business.
