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Wellington Harbour Board Arrival Books and Tonnage Registers
Descriptive Data
Archives IdentifierAC033Date RangeApril 1879 - June 1988DescriptionA daily record of ships entering Wellington Harbour from April 1879 – June 1988. Information was recorded under the following columns:
- Date of Arrival in Harbour
- Name of Vessel
- Arrived From
- Registered
- Tonnage (includes ‘Colonial’ vessels broken into 2 categories, Sailing Vessels or Steamers, and ‘Foreign’ vessels)
- Remarks
The Remarks column is used very little at the beginning of the series, usually only for ‘Foreign’ vessels, where the Captain’s name would be recorded. Towards the end of the series, this column is used more frequently to record which wharf they berthed at. At the end of each month, the Registered Tonnage columns were tallied, and the total tonnage recorded for each of the various columns.
The following is a description of the changes made to the columns over time.
- Volume 18 (May 1935-Mar 1938) has a new column added for Manifest Book Folio.
- Volume 24 (Jan 1955-Dec 1957) the column ‘Sailing Vessel’ changed to ‘Australian Vessels’
- Volume 26 (Jan 1961-Sep 1963) the columns now read: Date of Arrival in Harbour Name of Vessel Arrived From Registered Tonnage (includes ‘Coastal’, ‘Australian’, ‘U.K.’, ‘Overseas O.B.P ’and ‘For’) Remarks
- Volume 30 (Mar 1972-Oct 1974) the columns now read: Date of Arrival in Harbour Name of Vessel Arrived From Registered Tonnage (includes Coastal – Nett and Excess. Australian – Nett and Excess. Overseas – Nett and Express) RemarksQuantity (Linear Metres)7.25MediumBound VolumeSystem of ArrangementChronologicalCollection TypeWellington Museums Trust
- Date of Arrival in Harbour
- Name of Vessel
- Arrived From
- Registered
- Tonnage (includes ‘Colonial’ vessels broken into 2 categories, Sailing Vessels or Steamers, and ‘Foreign’ vessels)
- Remarks
The Remarks column is used very little at the beginning of the series, usually only for ‘Foreign’ vessels, where the Captain’s name would be recorded. Towards the end of the series, this column is used more frequently to record which wharf they berthed at. At the end of each month, the Registered Tonnage columns were tallied, and the total tonnage recorded for each of the various columns.
The following is a description of the changes made to the columns over time.
- Volume 18 (May 1935-Mar 1938) has a new column added for Manifest Book Folio.
- Volume 24 (Jan 1955-Dec 1957) the column ‘Sailing Vessel’ changed to ‘Australian Vessels’
- Volume 26 (Jan 1961-Sep 1963) the columns now read: Date of Arrival in Harbour Name of Vessel Arrived From Registered Tonnage (includes ‘Coastal’, ‘Australian’, ‘U.K.’, ‘Overseas O.B.P ’and ‘For’) Remarks
- Volume 30 (Mar 1972-Oct 1974) the columns now read: Date of Arrival in Harbour Name of Vessel Arrived From Registered Tonnage (includes Coastal – Nett and Excess. Australian – Nett and Excess. Overseas – Nett and Express) RemarksQuantity (Linear Metres)7.25MediumBound VolumeSystem of ArrangementChronologicalCollection TypeWellington Museums Trust
Access Information
Restriction StatusOpen
Related Agencies
Controlling or Creating AgencyWellington Harbour BoardRelationship Date Range1880-1989
Related Series
Predecessor SeriesWellington Harbour Board Arrivals and Departures Port Nicholson
Wellington Harbour Board Arrival Books and Tonnage Registers. Archives Online, accessed 01/04/2026, https://archivesonline.wcc.govt.nz/nodes/view/2245








