Heritage
Petone heritage centre
A black and white photograph showing the Lower Hutt clocktower and looking down over the courthouse and Dowse square.

Hutt City Libraries hold a range of resources of interest to those researching their family and the history of Lower Hutt.

Collections include books, newspapers, school magazines, electoral rolls, photographs and archives on local people and families, businesses, societies and clubs.


Heritage centre

The collections are kept at our Heritage Centre at the Petone Neighbourhood Hub and in an offsite store.

Search the library catalogue to find out what is in the collections or contact staff.

All material at the Heritage Centre is Reference only. Items stored offsite will be retrieved on demand.

Items may be copied in accordance with copyright requirements.

Specialist staff are available to assist with enquiries.

Visit the Heritage Centre at 7 Britannia Street, Petone or contact us by email.

We recommend getting in touch with us before you visit.

Email:  Petone Library - Heritage PetoneLibrary-.Heritage@huttcity.govt.nz


Online heritage resources

Hutt City Heritage

A database of photographs, printed items and ephemera about Lower Hutt’s past. Includes items from the collections of Hutt City Libraries, Petone Settlers Museum and the Council’s Archive. New content is added weekly. View this collection online.

Family History

Ancestry.comFindmypast, and the British Newspaper Archive are available to access within our libraries.

Historical Society of Eastbourne

Information about the collections of the Society is available via the library catalogue.

Hutt Heritage Blog

Our Heritage team blogs about family and local history topics of interest over on the Hutt Heritage Blog.


Heritage photographs