Find and Submit Dominion Post Death Notices Wellington

There’s a moment when the phone rings and the news reorganises your day — suddenly you need to find a death notice in The Post, formerly the Dominion Post, and you need it now. Wellington families navigating this moment will find the newspaper’s death notices section still works much as it has for decades, though the tools to search it have quietly moved online — this guide walks through the actual workflows: where the notices live, how to search them, what information a notice carries, and how to place one yourself.

Newspaper name: The Post (formerly Dominion Post) ·
Primary service area: Wellington, New Zealand ·
Death notice section name: Death Notices ·
Online archive partner: Legacy.com ·
Print frequency: Daily ·
Online update: Daily, with archive search

Quick snapshot: key facts

Here are the essential facts about The Post death notices, compiled from the newspaper and funeral home sources.

The six rows above condense what matters most: the publisher identity shifted from Dominion Post to The Post, but the notice workflow — daily print, online archive, funeral-home involvement — stayed consistent.

What Are the Dominion Post Death Notices?

Death notices in The Post are paid announcements, placed by families or funeral directors, that inform the Wellington community that someone has died. They run in the newspaper’s classified section every day and are published simultaneously on the online archive hosted by Legacy.com at deaths.dompost.co.nz.

Death notice vs. obituary in The Post

• A death notice is a paid classified listing — it states name, age, date of death, funeral arrangements, and sometimes a short message. It runs once by default.
• An obituary is a longer editorial piece, often written by the newspaper’s staff or submitted as a feature, with biography and commentary. The Post does not typically publish obituaries in the same way; death notices are the standard format for families.

Typical content of a death notice

• Surname and first names, optionally with a nickname in brackets (Lychgate Funerals — newspaper notice guide).
• Age, date of death, and circumstances — peaceful, sudden, after illness.
• Funeral service details: place, date, time, or “funeral details to follow”.
• Optional extras: photograph, life story, acknowledgements, donation requests.

The implication: a standard notice is concise — roughly five words per line, charged per line — so families must prioritise the essentials.

The pattern: families should plan the notice text carefully to balance detail and cost.

How Do I Find Death Notices in The Post?

Two channels exist: the print edition and the online archive. For most readers the faster route is the Legacy.com portal, which holds all notices published since the partnership began.

Using Legacy.com for The Post death notices

• Go to deaths.dompost.co.nz — this is the Post’s dedicated Legacy.com page.
• Enter the deceased’s name in the search box, or leave blank to see the latest notices.
• Results display name, age, date of death, and a link to the full notice.

Searching by date or name

• Legacy.com filters let you search by date range (last 7 days, last 30 days, or custom).
• The default view shows the 7 most recent notices. For older notices use the advanced search.
• Print edition notices are also available — check the classified section of The Post under “Death Notices”.

Why this matters: the Legacy.com archive is the only central repository. If you cannot find a notice there, it likely ran only in print.

Where Can I See This Week’s Death Notices for Wellington?

The Post updates its death notices daily in print and online. Most Wellington residents find the Saturday edition especially useful because it often publishes a roundup of the week’s notices.

This week’s notices on The Post website

• On Legacy.com, the default “Latest” view shows notices from the past 7 days.
• Print readers: the daily classified section under “Death Notices” lists new notices each day.
• Saturday edition: tends to contain more notices as families aim for weekend publication.

Saturday edition death notices

• The Post publishes on Saturdays, and the death notice section often includes notices from Friday’s late submissions.
• Some families specifically request Saturday publication because more people read the weekend edition.

The catch: Saturday publication is popular, so early submission (before Thursday) increases the chance of appearing that weekend.

How Do I Search Dominion Post Death Notices Online?

Searching the archive is straightforward once you know the right portal. Here is the step-by-step process.

Step-by-step search on Legacy.com

1. Visit deaths.dompost.co.nz.
2. Type the full name or a partial name into the search bar. The system searches the full text of all notices.
3. If you know the date range, use the date picker to narrow results.
4. Click on a name to read the full notice, which includes burial or cremation details.

Using the advanced search filters

• Location filter: narrow to notices from Wellington or other New Zealand regions.
• Date range: custom start and end dates.
• Keyword: search for a specific funeral home or suburb.

For Wellington families this method is the fastest way to confirm a death and find service details.

The takeaway: use the online archive as your first port of call, but verify against print if necessary.

What Information Is Included in a Dominion Post Death Notice?

Standard death notices in The Post follow a predictable format that Wellington funeral homes have standardised over years.

Typical fields: name, age, date, service details

• Name: surname first, then given names, optionally a nickname in brackets.
• Age: at time of death.
• Date of death: full date or “passed away peacefully on [date]”.
• Funeral service: venue, date, time. If not yet confirmed, “funeral details to follow”.

Optional elements: photo, life story

• Many families choose to include a photograph at additional cost.
• A brief life story paragraph (up to about 50 words) is common in longer notices.
• Acknowledgements, donation requests, and contact addresses can also appear.

The pattern: a basic notice runs 4-10 lines in the newspaper. Extras like photos and life stories push the cost higher.

What this means: families should work with the funeral home to finalise details early to meet the print deadline.

How Do I Submit a Death Notice to The Post?

Two common pathways exist: through a funeral director or direct to the newspaper.

Submission via funeral director

• The funeral home gathers details in person, by phone, or by email.
• They draft the notice in the standard newspaper format.
• They send a proof to the family for review and sign-off.
• They submit the final notice to The Post before the deadline.

Direct submission online or by email

• Families can contact The Post classifieds directly to place a death notice.
• The deadline for the next day’s print edition is typically mid-afternoon.
• Pricing is not publicly listed; you must request a quote from The Post.

For most Wellington families the funeral director route is simpler: the cost is included in the overall funeral package and the funeral home handles the timing.

“Each newspaper has a deadline, usually about 3 pm or 4 pm the day before publication. The funeral notice text must be sent to the paper before the deadline or it cannot be included.”

— Wellington City Funerals (funeral home guide)

“Newspaper notices are charged per line. Approximately five words fit in one line.”

— Broadbent and May (newspaper notice guide)

For Wellington families navigating the process for the first time, the key deadlines are real and the cost per line adds up quickly. The smartest move is to speak with the funeral director early and request a copy of The Post’s current rate card before writing the notice. The trade-off is straightforward: careful planning avoids a rushed submission that misses the print deadline, leaving the family waiting another day.

Frequently Asked Questions

For Wellington families, the practical path divides into two: searching for a notice using the free Legacy.com archive, or submitting one through a funeral director to avoid missed deadlines. The cost-per-line structure and the daily deadline mean that the difference between a smoothly placed notice and a stressful scramble is often just a phone call to the funeral home 24 hours earlier. For anyone new to this process, the clearest action is to contact Wellington City Funerals or your chosen funeral home first — they know the Post’s timings and pricing better than the newspaper’s own website shows.

Related reading

• Wairarapa Times-Age Deaths Today: Find Notices
• What’s On in Wellington Today & This Weekend