Survey Uncovers New Zealand’s Hidden Family Secrets
Research reveals skeletons hidden in our closets are not as scary as they used to be in the search for the roots of the
family tree
14 December 2011 – Ancestry.com.au, New Zealand’s largest online family history website, has today released research revealing some of the nation’s hidden
family secrets – everything from scandalous affairs and illegitimate children, to cross-dressing relatives and bizarre
medical conditions.
Ancestry.com.au recently conducted the survey of 2,000 New Zealand and Australian residents, which asked a broad range
of questions about their family history.
The survey prompted respondents to share details about a rumour from their family tree that motivated them to research
their history – such as links to someone famous, children born out of wedlock or whether an ancestor was a convicted
criminal.
The results highlighted that the tradition of keeping family skeletons in the closet, while universal, is also being
re-evaluated in the modern era, as old family ‘sins’ are now seen as great family stories.
Brad Argent, content director for Ancestry.com.au, comments: “Time definitely has a healing quality. As attitudes and
social mores have shifted with the passing decades, hidden family secrets are now seen as fascinating historical
revelations rather than shameful skeletons to be kept in the closet.”
Argent says 51 per cent of respondents said they were motivated to research their family history to see what stories
they could pass down to their children.
“Fortunately, it would appear that you don’t have to shake the family tree too hard to uncover your own family secret,
as almost one third of respondents in both countries have discovered one by chance,” says Argent.
Some of the family rumours that respondents reported to be researching included:
• A member of a family who was committed to a lunatic asylum
• An affair that resulted in a sibling that other family members didn’t know about
• A woman who posed as a man and married a family member in the 1800’s
• A medical condition where a family member was born without a nose
• The honourable adoption of a baby conceived through rape
• Relatives with Native American, Asian or Italian heritage
• A murder / suicide pact that existed in the family
New Zealand trumps Australia in the celebrity stakes, with 16 per cent of Kiwis able to lay claim to someone famous in
their family tree, as opposed to 10% of Australians.
However, Aussies with their convict history, are twice as likely as New Zealanders to be related to ‘convict royalty’,
with almost one in five of the Australians surveyed claiming links to a convicted criminal or convict from Australia’s
early settlement days.
Interestingly, in both regions, almost 12 per cent of respondents said family members refused to discuss family secrets
or rumours at all.
Regarding this finding, Brad Argent comments: “One of the most common regrets I hear from people is that they didn’t ask
their elders questions about their family history when they had the chance.
“Knowing where we came from and how we got here are such fundamental questions for us all, and the fact that we have
such an extensive history at our fingertips through Ancestry.com.au now should encourage more people to do so.
“Every family has an interesting story to tell, and this research certainly proves that Kiwis are curious about their
past - even if they have yet to explore it.
“Christmas especially is a perfect opportunity for New Zealanders to sit down with their relatives and begin exploring
their family history, because it’s when you’re most likely to get everyone in the same room. Sharing your heritage with
younger generations now will give them a better understanding of their past, which will have great value for them in
future.”
To begin searching your family history, visit www.ancestry.com.au.
About Ancestry.com.au
Ancestry.com.au contains more than 1 billion records in its Australian, New Zealand and UK collections, including New
Zealand Naturalisations, 1843-1981, New Zealand City & Area Directories, 1866-1955, New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981, New Zealand Maori Voter and Electoral Rolls, 1908 & 1919, New Zealand Canterbury Provincial Rolls, 1868-1874, New Zealand Jury Lists, 1842-1862, New Zealand, Maori Land
Claims, 1858-1980, the Australia Birth, Marriage and Death Index, Australian Convict Transportation Registers, Australian Free Settlers, Australian Electoral Rolls, New South Wales
SANDS Directories, as well as the most complete online collection of England, Wales and Scotland Censuses and the
England and Wales Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes.
Ancestry.com.au was launched in May 2006 and belongs to the global network of Ancestry websites (wholly owned by
Ancestry.com Operations Inc.), which hosts seven billion records. To date, more than 29 million family trees have been created and 3 billion
profiles and 80 million photographs and stories uploaded. (December 1, 2011)
The Ancestry global network of family history websites: www.ancestry.com in the US, www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, www.ancestry.ca in Canada, www.ancestry.com.au in Australia and NZ, www.ancestry.de in Germany, www.ancestry.it in Italy, www.ancestry.fr in France, www.ancestry.se in Sweden and www.jiapu.com in China.
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