Hi bejme,
I don't have ready access to the birth indexes to do your lookups, sorry, but wanted to pass on some information that might otherwise help you. (I know we've had some of this conversation privately, but want to share it here for others to find as well, so please excuse any repetition.)
The New Zealand birth indexes are found on microfiche, at libraries and genealogy groups around the country. Some libraries (including state libraries) and genie groups in Australia also hold it. Also check your local Family History Centre (LDS) in case they have them. Beyond that, I think the
SOG in
London has them, but I don't know of holdings in other countries.
The NZ birth indexes don't, prior to 1960, give any details about the parents. In 1960 the mother's first name is included.
To find out more, it is necessary to get a copy of the registration itself. See the document at
http://www.dia.govt.nz/pubforms.nsf/URL/FamilyRecordResearch... to discover what was recorded when, and more. Order the printout of the registration, not the legal certificate, from Births, Deaths & Marriages (BDM,
http://www.bdm.govt.nz/) for family history purposes.
If you are a member of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG,
http://www.genealogy.org.nz/) you could make use of their Research
Service to get lookups of the holdings in their library if you can't get to it (or are overseas and can't borrow from it). Also use the Certificates Collection before making purchases from BDM - if they are holding what you're after, it's much cheaper.
"Mid-late 1800's" is a pretty long time frame - can you narrow it down any further? It doesn't take long to check the fiche for any one year, but it does take a while to trawl through several decades. If you can be more precise, it might help someone to find your people.
Hope this helps. :-)
Kind Regards,
Wendy Howard
--
Kaiwaka, Northland, New Zealand
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wendyh65/