19 February 2002

Prime Minister and Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage Helen Clark this evening launched the online Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, saying it increases the availability of a major historical resource to many New Zealanders.

The new website, www.dnzb.govt.nz, makes available online all the biographies in the five volume series of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and its Maori language companion series.

The site contains all 3049 biographies from the five-volume DNZB series (and its parallel Maori-language volumes), over 2000 images, and a substantial new feature – Our Land, Our People – of historical events and trends with graphics and text. Much of this material was adapted under licence from the New Zealand Historical Atlas (1997).

“I believe strongly in the importance of New Zealanders learning about and taking pride in our rich history. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography project is a superb historical resource, and placing it online will make it vastly more accessible to many New Zealanders.

“The website is a vast repository of knowledge about our country. It contains 3049 biographies of New Zealanders who have made their mark on the country. The lives of these people chart the development of our country and help us understand our identity as New Zealanders.

‘Anyone interested in the development of New Zealand can look at the website. The important milestones of New Zealand history are reflected in the eventful lives of its people.”

The website has been developed by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage on contract to the New Zealand Historical Association, and with the assistance of Wellington company Click Suite.

It is fully searchable in a wide variety of ways, and is available without cost on the Internet.

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