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Story: Adoption

Order of Adoption, 1914

Once adoptions were regulated they had to follow proper legal processes. This document records the adoption of baby girl Kathleen Imelda Patten by William and Julia Pownall of Hastings in 1914. It notes that Kathleen was a 'legitimate child' – in other words she was the child of a married couple.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Kathleen Imelda Brown Papers

Reference: MS-Papers-5920

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Anne Else, Adoption – Māori and colonial adoption, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/zoomify/26043/order-of-adoption-1914 (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Anne Else, published 28 February 2011.