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Thomas Frederick Anderson was born at Kirkdale, Liverpool, England, on 30 December 1888, the son of Monica Kelly and her husband, Thomas Weldon Anderson, an actor and comedian. After leaving school Tom joined the…

Freda Ellen Jacobs, who was always known as ‘Fuzz’ because of her exceedingly curly hair, was born on 12 August 1902 in Lyttelton, the eldest of six children of English-born parents Jane Ellen Ransley and her husband,…

Gordon Alexander Brown was born at Turakina, near Wanganui, on 28 November 1907, one of 12 children of Annie Cains and her husband, John Robert Brown, a flaxmill worker. Gordon initially attended Tokomaru School, but…

David Buddo was born on 23 August 1853 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of Euphemia Stevenson Dorward and David Buddo, a surgeon in the Indian civil service. A rural childhood gave him a lifelong love of farming and…

Randal Mathews Burdon was born at North Ambersham, near Haslemere, Sussex, England, on 4 August 1896, the son of Mildred Yatman and her husband, Cotsford Mathews Burdon, described as being of independent means. In 1902…

Harold Herbert Williams was born at Wairoa, northern Hawke’s Bay, on 25 January 1880, one of several children of Elizabeth Carroll and her Welsh-born husband, Herbert Joseph Williams, a county clerk and former constable…

Frank Livingstone Combs was born on 19 July 1882 at Napier, the son of Annie Clara Coles and her husband, Willis Edmund Combs, a draper. The family knew hard times during the late 1880s and early 1890s, and Frank’s…

Alexander Wellington Croskery was born in Swansea, Wales, on 19 December 1878, the son of Mary Ann Mortimer Thomson and her Irish-born husband, Alexander Brown Croskery, a provision merchant and later an accountant. He…

Lance Cross was born in Dunedin on 12 November 1912 to Elizabeth Stewart and her husband, Cecil Thomas Cross, a fireman. Named John (and then, 12 days later, Cecil) Lancelot Stewart Cross, he was educated at Douglas…

Pearl Howard Dawson was a leading figure in the formative years of women’s team sports in New Zealand, particularly hockey, both as a player and administrator. She sought to raise the status of women’s sport by…

James George Donald was born at Tauherenīkau, Wairarapa, on 4 June 1898 and his brother Quentin Donald was born at Featherston on 13 March 1900. They were the sons of Quentin Donald, a farmer, and his wife, Alice Ford.…

David Archibald Victor Clive Drummond was born at Mārahau, near Motueka, on 4 August 1890. Always known as Clive, he was the son of Sarah Elizabeth Stillwell and her husband, Peter Drummond, a sawmiller. After attending…

John Evelyn Duigan was born at Whanganui on 30 March 1883, the son of Mary Emily Broad and her husband, James Duigan, a miller and later editor of the Wanganui Herald. He attended Wanganui Collegiate School in 1894, but…

George Edgecumbe was born on 4 January 1845 at Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, the son of Martha Eyles and her husband, Henry Edgecumbe, a grocer and later a brewer. After his mother's death from smallpox in 1856,…

William Ferguson was born in Clerkenwell, London, England, on 15 June 1852, the son of William Ferguson, a chemist and later a brewer, and his wife, Louisa Ann Du Bois. William was educated at King Edward VI Grammar…

Charles Reginald Ford was born in London on 4 February 1880, the son of Charles Matthew Ford, a butler, and his wife, Ellen Catherine McDonald. Little is known of Reginald’s early life. It is thought that he joined the…

John Fuller was born at London, England, on 26 June 1850, the son of Mary Walter and her husband, Benjamin Fuller, a cabinet-maker. After leaving school he worked as a compositor for various newspapers. On 7 October…

Hopeful Gibbons, the founder of one of New Zealand's largest family businesses, was born at Launceston, Tasmania, on 4 October 1856, the sixth of twelve children of Robert George Gibbons, a shipbuilder, and his wife,…

Janet Speed was born on 31 January 1864 in Whanganui, New Zealand, the fifth of eight children of James Speed and his wife, Janet Montgomery. James had business interests and land at Whanganui, but soon after Janet's…

William Henry Gummer, the sixth child in a family of eight, was born in Auckland on 7 December 1884, the son of Thomas George Gummer, an accountant, and his wife, Jane Taylor Moginie. After attending Mount Eden School,…