Oh DRAT !!!
I had just typed a lengthy explanation re: the "District Keys" (index books referred to earlier by mckha) ... hit a wrong button and lost the whole lot !! So, glad you've swung by again mckha and clarified the situation.
To add .... the "District Keys" are designed to work
only with the microfiche-formatted NZ Birth and Death records ... and these can be found also in (usually) larger libraries and some other repositories.
[Note that the registration numbers appearing at the NZ BDM website for these events,
are not compatible with the District Keys. NZ BMD allocated new numbers 
to all their records at the time these went online. ]
[ * ancestry.com (subscription) records for NZ Births and Deaths, show
registration places for events but only from about 1873-74 onwards. Important to note also --
that the registration place isn't necessarily the same as the actual place of birth or death (- a printout version of the registration record, is the best means of verification). ]
~ Lu
