1 New Zealand, Death Index, 1840-2021 (MyHeritage), Surety: 4. Deaths have been officially recorded in New Zealand since 1848, and were originally under the jurisdiction of the Colonial Secretary. A law in 1913 required that Mäori deaths also be registered, andthese records were part of a separate registration system until 1961. The records in this collection are provided by the New Zealand <a id="" href="http://www.dia.govt.nz/" class="green" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Internal Affairs</a>.