Tearful first meeting as David Lomas helps Wellington woman track down the family she never knew

A Wellington woman who learned in her teens she'd been conceived via sperm donor has enjoyed an emotional first meeting with her biological father's family.

Khandallah mother Courtney Boderick learned as a 16-year-old that her parents had struggled to get pregnant and had gone to a fertility clinic to conceive her.

The 26-year-old always wanted to meet her donor father's family, but was told she couldn't know his name as he'd died. All she's ever known is that he was a manufacturing jeweller based in Wellington who passed away in 2012.

After perusing more than 200,000 names on electoral rolls and cross-referencing them with death notices, investigative journalist David Lomas has managed to identify her biological father and track down his family.

In an emotional episode of Three's David Lomas Investigates that aired on Tuesday night, Boderick learned her father's name - Vernon Avery - and got to meet his family.

Sadly, just after tracking down Vernon's brother Warrick and hearing how much he'd like to meet his long-lost niece, Lomas was notified Warrick had died in hospital.

But it wasn't all bad news. Boderick was able to meet her cousin Lesley and also got the chance to meet her other uncle, Murray.

"You've brought joy to an old man's life," he told her as they shared their first embrace. "This is brilliant - 82 years I've waited for a real niece, and look what I've found."

Boderick spent another day with Murray and his wife Liz, where photos and stories about Vernon were shared and she got to know them both better.

Boderick said meeting her biological father's family had changed her.

"I know who he was, I know where I come from and who I come from - and it completes me as a person."

Watch the full episode of David Lomas Investigates at ThreeNow. The next episode airs at 7:30pm next Tuesday on Three.