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Years before the establishment of major hand-loom weaving guilds in New Zealand, two sisters, Sybil Mary and Josephine Mulvany, were operating a successful weaving business in Auckland. They helped revitalise the craft…

Born in Ponsonby, Auckland, on 13 May 1894, Daniel Joseph Augustine O'Connor was the son of Lena Agnes Martin and her husband, Timothy Beehane O'Connor, a contractor. Part of a large Irish Catholic family, he grew up in…

Duncan McFadyen Rae was born at Glenham, Southland, on 2 June 1888, the son of Scottish parents Susan Ann McIntyre (née McFadyen) and her husband, William Rae, a shepherd, who was later a farmer. After attending…

Ēria Tūtara-Kauika Raukura was the leading tohunga of the Ringatū church, founded by Te Kooti Arikirangi. His father, Raukura, from Ngāi Tahupō of Māhia Peninsula, was taken prisoner by Tūhoe after tribal fighting. His…

Wilfrid Joseph Sim was born in Dunedin on 3 November 1890, the son of William Alexander Sim and his wife, Frances Mary Walters. His father was a solicitor and later became a judge of the Court of Arbitration and the…

Frederick Sinclaire was born in Papakura Valley near Auckland on 10 July 1881, the son of Irish parents Mary Carson and her husband, John Sinclaire, a farmer. The Sinclaires were poor, but at 11, Frederick, a pupil at…

William Sullivan was born on 8 December 1891 in Inglewood, Taranaki, the sixth and youngest child of Samuel John Sullivan and his wife, Sarah Maria Acton. His parents, both of southern Irish farming stock, had emigrated…

Eruera Hāmiora Tumutara, also known as Eru Hāmiora Pio, was probably born in 1859 or 1860 in the Te Whāiti district south-east of Murupara in the Bay of Plenty. He was the third child of Hāmiora Tumutara Te Tihi-o-te-…

Kenneth Stuart Williams was the youngest of a remarkable quartet of second-generation descendants of the missionary brothers Henry and William Williams. Kenneth, his first cousin Thomas Sydney Williams, and his second…

Michael Savage was born on 23 March 1872 at Tatong, near Benalla in Victoria, Australia, the youngest of eight children of Irish immigrants Richard Savage and his wife, Johanna Hayes. Michael's mother died in 1878 when…

Norris Frank Davey, who would in adult life change his name to Frank Sargeson, was born in Hamilton on 23 March 1903, the second of four children. His father, Edwin John Davey, had taken over his father's general store…

Hoani Te Heuheu Tūkino, sometimes known as Hoani Te Rerehau or John Heuheu, was the youngest of five children of Tūreiti Te Heuheu Tūkino V of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and his wife, Te Rerehau Kahotea (also known as Mere Te Iwa…

Vincent Aspey, popularly known as Vince, was the first leader of New Zealand’s National Orchestra. He was born in Hindley, Lancashire, on 5 January 1909, the second of two sons of Thomas Aspey, a coalminer, and his wife…

Maud Ruby Taylor was born in London, England, on 30 August 1879. Known as Daisy from soon after her christening, she was the daughter of Eliza Taylor and her husband, Robert Taylor, a carpenter, who died when she was…

Jeannie Begg was born on 7 October 1886 at Port Chalmers, one of 10 children of Scottish parents Eliza Johnstone and her husband, John Begg, a tanner and rug-maker. Her close-knit Presbyterian family considered her the…

Agnes Elizabeth Lloyd Bennett was born on 24 June 1872 at Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia, the sixth of seven children of William Christopher Bennett, an exceptionally able engineer and commissioner of roads and bridges…

William Noel Benson was born at Penge, Surrey, England, on 26 December 1885, the son of William Benson, of independent means, and his wife, Emma Elizabeth Mather. Shortly after their son's birth the couple moved to…

Constance Alice Rawcliffe, known as Connie, was born on 27 July 1898 at Haydock, Lancashire, England, the daughter of Catherine Williamson and her husband, John Rawcliffe, a police constable. Measles as a baby left…

William Watson Bird was born on 8 February 1870 at Crookham Common, Crondall, Hampshire, England, the sixth child of Harriet Hale and her husband, Alfred Bird, a carpenter. The family emigrated to Dunedin, New Zealand,…

Rosina Buckman was born in Blenheim, New Zealand, on 16 March 1881, the second child of Henrietta Matilda Chuck, a skilled singer and organist, and her carpenter husband, John Buckman. Rosina showed early signs of a…