More than 180 people have registered their interest in five artefacts salvaged from the wreck of the SS Ventnor off Northland's west coast.
The ship sank off Hokianga Heads in 1902 with the loss of 13 lives and 499 coffins carrying the remains of Chinese gold miners back to their home villages for burial.
The wreck was discovered in 2012 and five objects - a porthole, a bell, a plate, a lamp holder and part of a ship's telegraph - were removed by divers.
After controversy in the Chinese community, who regard the wreck as a mass grave, the artefacts were handed over to police. In August, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage called for claims of ownership or submissions about the objects' future care.
Such was the interest that the deadline was twice extended, finally closing at 5pm on November 30.
Heritage operations manager David Butts said the Ministry had received a strong response, with groups and individuals filing 183 submissions.
"Our job now is to review them so we can provide advice to our chief executive on the long-term custody and care for these objects. During this process we will keep in contact with interested parties with updates and timings on next steps," Mr Butts said.
Among the submitters were descendants of the gold miners living in New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.