Surveyors use field books to record measurements. Field books show the bearings and distances between each survey mark involved in a survey.
Field books can date back more than 160 years. Older books may show place names and physical features, for example pa sites, hills and houses. They are typically bound volumes.
Where you can find field books
Toitū Te Whenua holds all field books, as part of the cadastral survey database.
You can view North Island Field books up to 1972 and some South Island field books on our Field Books website.
You can order particular pages from a field book. You will need the field book reference from survey plans or field registers and the page numbers.
In some cases, knowing the surveyor’s name can help you find the field book reference.
Search for and order field book pages:
