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Jessie Mackay was born on 15 December 1864 at Double Hill station, above the Rakaia Gorge in Canterbury, New Zealand. She was the eldest child of Elizabeth Ormiston and her husband, Robert Mackay, a shepherd who managed…

William Arthur Moffatt (Māwhete) was born at Tiakitahuna (Jackeytown), south of Palmerston North, on 4 March 1880, the son of Emiri Mōkena (Emily Morgan) and her husband, William Moffatt. His mother, also known as Ārani…

John Alexander McCullough was born at Belfast, Ireland, on 17 January 1860, the eldest of five children. He was the son of Sarah Davison and her husband, William John McCullough, a seaman, staunch unionist and Orangeman…

Angus McLagan was born in Mid Calder, Midlothian, Scotland, on 30 December 1891, to Angus McLagan, a limestone miner, and his wife, Agnes Campbell. He began work as a pit boy at the age of 14 and emigrated to New…

James Shelley was born on 3 September 1884 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England. His father, also James, was a potter turned policeman; his mother, Ellen Walton, was a weaver's daughter. From this artisan culture – which…

Pineāmine Taiapa was born at Tikitiki on the East Coast on 6 June 1901. His mother, Maraea Te Iritawa, and his father, Tāmati Taiapa, were of Te Whānau-a-Hinerupe, a hapū of Ngāti Porou. His mother was also connected to…

Born in Wellington on 3 October 1901, Lettie Annie Skinner was the fourth and youngest child of Sarey Stuart and her husband, Edward Pond Skinner, a post office linesman and former seaman. She grew up in Berhampore,…

William Appleton, the eldest of nine children, was born to Yorkshireman Edwin Appleton and his young Scots wife, Margaret Bruce, on 3 September 1889. They were living at Alexandra South (present-day Alexandra) in…

The Bettjemans were among the first settlers to take up land at the ill-fated soldiers' settlement in the Mangapurua valley in the Wanganui River hinterland. They were also among the last to leave. Frederick Charles…

John Christopher Bradshaw was born at Adlington, Lancashire, England, on 23 June 1876, the son of John Bradshaw, a chemist, and his wife, Louisa Ward Jackson. He was educated at Rivington Grammar School and studied the…

Hēni Materoa, also known as Te Huinga, was born at Makauri, a few miles to the north-west of Tūranga (Gisborne); her birth date could have been either 27 October 1852 or 29 October 1856. Her father was Mīkaera Tūrangi…

Arthur Cook was born at Campbelltown, Tasmania, on 30 November 1885, the son of Martha (Mary) Eberhardt and her husband, Alfred Cook, a labourer and later a station manager. He spent his early years in Australia working…

Freda Mary Pym was born on 9 November 1896 at Alvescott, Oxfordshire, England, one of four children of Emma Bertha Harrison and her husband, Samuel Arnott Pym, a solicitor. Freda attended Cheltenham Ladies' College from…

Frederick Riley Cooke (registered as Cook) was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, on 28 April 1867, the son of Samuel Riley Cook, a tailor, and his wife, Mary Schorah. He started work at the age of seven and was almost…

William Turakiuta Cooper (sometimes known as Wiremu Te Apatū Cooper) was born at Muriwai, Poverty Bay, probably in 1885 or 1886, one of twin sons of Robert Cooper and Mere Morera (or Christie). Both parents were of…

Betsy Vickery (better known as Bessie) was born on 10 June 1860 at Daylesford, Victoria, Australia, the daughter of Susan Emma Maunder (née Dungey) and her husband, Henry Vickery, a butcher. When Bessie was eight her…

Harry Delamere Dansey and Roger Ingram Dansey were sons of Englishman Roger Delamere Dansey, a postmaster, and his wife, Wikitōria Ngāmihi Kahuao. Harry was born at Tapuae-haruru (Taupō) on 7 November 1874 and Roger at…

Muriel Helen Easterfield was born in Wellington on 26 February 1900 to Thomas Hill Easterfield and his wife, Anna Maria Kunigunda Büchel, who came from Bavaria. Her father, who was English, was foundation professor of…

Alexander Drennan was born on 16 December 1899 in Greenock, Scotland, to Flora Wingate and her husband, Alexander Drennan, an engine fitter. He began work in the Clyde shipyards and became an active member of the…

Eileen May Duggan was born on 21 May 1894 at Tuamarina, near Blenheim, the youngest of four daughters of John Duggan, a plate layer for New Zealand Railways, and his wife, Julia Begley, both from County Kerry, Ireland.…