Some collections are available online.
For example, please refer to our section on Records of Births, Marriages and Deaths for information. Beginning at that time, all clergy were required to register with the government, every baptisms, marriage and burial conducted within their jurisdiction. Prior to 1891, no such central registry existed, so the only record of baptism, marriage or burial was the one held by the church. During the Commission of Government in the 1930's and 1940's, Sir John Charles Puddester was the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health and Welfare. In the early 1940's, Sir John was apparently disturbed by the fact that the original parish registers held by some churches were in a fragile condition and that the records of some other churches had already been lost through fire.