🔍 Archway-style Collections Search

This series appears to have been have served as a successor to the Department of Land and Survey's main multiple number subject system (series 6095) although in practice it seems to have operated concurrently with series 6095 from the mid-1970s until the disestablishment of the department in 1987.

The ADM (administration) and CL (Crown Land) sub-series appear to have been set up in the mid-1970s. Files regarding Crown Land issues in the department's multiple number subject system (series 6095) were top-numbered into the new alphanumeric Crown Land sub-series at this time - a file list giving the old and new numbers is on National Archives appraisal job file 93/54. It is likely that files were also top-numbered into the ADM sub-series, although file examination would be required to demonstrate this.

A number of the sub-series document the administrative processes leading up to the restructuring of the department in 1987. Most of these files cover a mixture of financial, legal and land-related material and range in date from 1984 to 1987. Occasional papers continued to be added to files up until 1989 by the successors of the Department of Lands and Survey.

In 1987 all files relating to the Sub-antarctic Islands were transferred to the Southland Conservancy Office of the Department of Conservation.

There are also a number of files with a 'LINZ' prefix which relate to the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) Programme initiated by a cabinet directive in 1983. This programme should not be confused with the agency of the same name established in 1996.

This series comprises the inwards correspondence files of the Crown Lands Office. The records were registered into an annual single number system (described in further detail in section 6).

Papers include plans, ministerials, correspondence regarding claims and compensation, and extracts from the New Zealand Gazettes. Access was originally controlled through a register and index system.

When the Crown Lands Office merged with the Department of the Surveyor-General in 1891 to form the Department of Lands and Survey, the annual single number system was abandoned in favour of a straight number system (series 7609). However, existing Crown Lands Office files continued to be used when the subject/project of the file continued. Papers continued to be added to existing files up to at least 1972.

The Hope Gibbons fire of 1952 destroyed or damaged many files from this series. Surviving inwards correspondence files held at Archives New Zealand are listed in both this series [7608] and the Record Group Finding Aids. See:

LS Series 1 (box 1337)

LS Series 2

Controlling Series:

Intellectual access to the correspondence files is provided by series of registers and indexes. Please refer to the following lists for details:

Series 8077 Registers of Crown Lands Office Inwards Correspondence

Series 8078 General Indexes to the Registers of Crown Lands Office Inwards Correspondence

Series 8079 Departmental Indexes to the Registers of the Crown Lands Office Inwards Correspondence

Series 8878 comprises a Reference Book which tracks papers from one file system which were top-numbered into a subsequent file system. Some files from Series 7608 are documented in this register.

For a time, correspondence referred to other government departments was tracked through a series of Reference Books. Please refer to Series 8080 for further details.

Related Series:

Only 4 volumes of Outwards Letter Books appear to have survived and they are partially burned. These volumes are described in the Record Group finding aids. Please refer to LS Series 7 for details.

Copies of Legal Opinions relating to issues raised in correspondence were maintained in separate volumes. Refer to Series 8089 and Series 8119 for further details. Similarly, copies of papers filed in Series 7608 are also found in Series 8901, Warrant Book of Appointments.

The Department of the Surveyor-General was established in 1876 and from 1877 the Department assigned consecutive numbers to its correspondence files. Each subsequent letter on the same subject was assigned the same number, e.g.

15681 School site

15681/1 Complaint re. school site.

This straight number system [Series 7609] was the central correspondence system used by the Head Offices of the Department of the Surveyor-General, and by its successor agency, the Department of Lands and Survey until 1908.

Many files in this series contain papers which are dated earlier than the systems that created the files. This is due to the practise of removing papers from earlier files, or top numbering files from predecessor series. Although no new file numbers from this series were registered after 1908, new parts to existing files continued to be opened, resulting in some files containing papers up to the early 1990s.

The Hope Gibbons fire of 1952 destroyed or damaged a number of files from this series. Surviving inwards correspondence files held at Archives New Zealand are listed in both this series (7609) and the Record Group Finding Aids. Please refer to the following lists for details:

LS Series 1, boxes 1e-996 file numbers 251-58869

LS Series 1, boxes 1285-1343 file numbers 155-58771

Predecessor Series:

For the first year (i.e. 1876) the Department used an annual/number system to register its correspondence. This correspondence can be found in the Record group system [LS Series 1, boxes 1a-1d].

The straight number system also succeeded the annual/number files of the Crown Lands Office [Series 7608] when this Office merged with the Department of the Surveyor-General in 1891, to form the Department of Lands and Survey.

Controlling Series:

Intellectual access to the correspondence files is provided by series of registers and indexes. Please refer to the following lists for details:

Series 8082 Registers of Surveyor-General's / Department of Lands Inwards and Correspondence [Straight Number files]

Series 8084 General Indexes to the Registers of Surveyor-General's / Department of Lands Inwards and Correspondence [Straight Number files]

Series 8085 Special Indexes to the Registers of Surveyor-General's / Department of Lands Inwards and Correspondence [Straight Number files]

Series 8088 Registers of Papers presented to Parliament

Because papers continued to be added to the Straight Number files well into the twentieth century, references to Series 7609 are also found in later indexes. For further details refer to the following series documents:

Series 8098 Alphabetical [Subject] Slip Index to the Department of Lands and Survey Central File System

Series 8099 Nominal Slip Index to the Department of Lands and Survey Central File System

Series 8100 Numerical Slip Index to the Department of Lands and Survey Central File System

Series 8101 Special Slip Indexes to the Department of Lands and Survey Central File System

Series 8878 comprises a Reference Book which tracks papers from one file system which were top-numbered into a subsequent file system. Some files from Series 7609 are documented in this register.

Related Series:

A small sequence of outwards correspondence has survived. Please refer to the following GAIMS and Record Group lists for details.

Series 8083 Surveyor-General's Outwards Letterbooks

LS Series 10 Surveyor-General's Outwards Reference Books

A further related series is 8089, Crown Law Opinions. Legal opinions were copied from files and bound into one sequence of volumes. Please refer to the list for details. A separate volume of legal opinions relating to the Midland Railway Company is listed in Series 8119. Similarly, copies of papers filed in Series 7609 are also found in Series 8901, Warrant Book of Appointments.

A small quantity of papers from the Straight Number System [7609] appear to have been 'top-numbered' into Reserve files and filed according to a separate running file number sequence [Series 7610]. Please refer to Series 7610 for details.

In 1987 files relating to the Sub-antarctic Islands were transferred to the Department of Conservation, Southland Conservancy Office.

Successor Series

By 1908 the running number system had become unwieldy, with file numbers exceeding 50 000. From 1909 the sequence reverted to 1 [Series 7611], with the year included as part of the reference to distinguish the first sequence from the second. There was no change in the function of the file series or in the agency.

This was the central subject filing system for the Department of Lands. The file references date from the period of the Lands Department's existence, 1987-1990.

However, many files in this series contain papers which are dated earlier than the systems that created the files. This is due to the practise of removing papers from earlier files, or top numbering files from predecessor series. Likewise papers also continued to be added to files and new part files were opened by the Department of Lands' sucessor agencies, but no new file references appear to have been issued after the disestablishment of the Department of Lands in 1990.

The records in this series document the core functions of the Department of Lands, and provide functional and administrative links between the Department of Lands and Survey and the Department of Survey and Land Information. The completion of accounts and reports, the winding up of discontinued functions, and the settlement of claims relating to Lands and Survey are documented within this series. The series also contains reviews and comments on legislation affecting Crown Land and the administration of land related functions not transferred to other agencies.

Scope and provenance of series

This series comprised the central subject filing system of the Department of Lands and Survey. Files were predominantly concerned with land administration, transactions, legislation and related organisations/bodies.

Many files in this series contain papers which are dated earlier than the creation of this series. This is due to the practise of removing papers from earlier files, or top numbering files from predecessor series. Papers continued to be added to files after the closure of the series, resulting in some files containing papers up to the early 1990s. The files in this series were also used by the Department of Survey and Land Information (DOSLI) and are still in use by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

The Department of Conservation also inherited a large amount of files regarding the management of public reserves. These files continued to be added to up untill the early 1990s.

Records from this series transferred to National Archives before 1987 by the Department of Lands and Survey are listed in the Lands and Survey Record Group (LS) under series 1.

File classification

Files were ordered into a multiple number subject system consisting of 48 sub-series (see Additional Finding Aids field for a list of these). The file references were generally broken down hierarchically into 2 to 3 subject-based sub-series, for example, all 13/- files concern legislation, all 13/378/- files concern the National Land Development Act 1979, and a 13/378/1 file will deal with a specific aspect of that Act. There are often several hundred files in each sub-series division.

The 'General' and 'Miscellaneous' sub-series (subseries 22/- and 23/- respectively) resemble two multiple number subject systems in themselves in that they contain every subject present in the main multiple-number-subject system plus material that would not easily fit into a main sub-series.

The 17/- sub-series consists of cartographic compilation files created during the production of maps. Every number following 17/- relates to a particular map series, for example, all 17/319/- files relate to the production of New Zealand Map Service (NZMS) series 2 'Topographical Maps'.

Controlling Series

A large index system was maintained by the Department which recorded details of each file: when it was opened and closed, its location or transfer to another department, or if it was top-numbered into a different file system. These indexes also provided subject and nominal access to the files. Please refer to series 8098, 8099, 8900, and 8901 for further details.

Other small indexes or registers were also created for specific purposes, or possibly by individual staff members. Please refer series 8088 and 8877 for further details.

Related Series

Series 8089 and 8906 contain copies of papers relating to specific topics. The original documents are within files in series 6095.