Unearth the history of your Wellington house

Antrim House in Wellington, a heritage building where the event will be held. Photo / Wikimedia

Wellingtonians with an itch to find out more about their houses are in luck.

Heritage experts are coming together for the first time, for one day of decoding your home's history.

Organisations including Heritage New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, and the Victoria School of Architecture have banded together to give one-on-one advice to those who want to know more.

The experts will look at anything from land deeds, photographs, old newspapers, and rates records, in order to work out the home's backstory.

Heritage NZ Central Region Area Co-ordinator David Watt said there's always the possibility of grisly discoveries being made.

"Sometimes there have been murders, that's always interesting too.

"But more often it's more about the people who have lived there, they can get that from the archival records.

"There are properties in New Zealand that go back to the mid-1800s, they have a really rich history.

"People can also find out the heritage values of their property, and what they should conserve if they're renovating."

It's the first such event in Wellington, but they've proved successful when held in other regions including Christchurch and Dunedin.

"More and more people are coming in and asking for advice," Mr Watt said.

"They want to know about titles, land records, what councils might have in their resources.

"All of that information isn't readily available, you do need someone to help you, really.

"So we're bringing it all together, making it a one-stop shop, if you like."

The workshop will also teach locals how to search land records, online resources, and archives, so they can continue investigating on their own.

The event will be held on Saturday March 11, from 10am-1.30pm, at Antrim House 63 Boulcott St, Wellington.

Tickets cost $20, and can be bought through http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/research-your-house-workshop/wellington/tickets