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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…

George Gage, or Hōri Te Kou-o-rehua Keeti as he was known to Māori, was born probably in 1895 or 1896 at Kihikihi, Waikato. His father, John Gage (Hōne Keeti), was of Ngāti Maniapoto. His mother, Rea Waitāuhi Nikorima…

Te Kiato Rīwai, or Kia, as she was more commonly known, was born in the Chatham Islands, on 21 November 1912, to Mere Ngautanga Dix of Ngāti Mutunga and Te Oti Rīwai, a farm labourer of Ngāi Tahu; her father’s hapu was…

Te Kāhui Kararehe lived at a time when Māori–Pākehā relations in Taranaki were at their most critical. Born on 14 January 1846 at Te Ahoroa pā, Pungaereere, he was the eldest surviving son of Minarapa Rangihatuake, also…

Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana was the founder of a Māori religious movement which, in the late 1920s, also became a major political movement. He was the latest in a line of prophetic descent which included Te Ua Haumēne,…

David Stanley Smith was born in Dunedin on 11 February 1888, the first child of John Gibson Smith, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Ann Gibb. His primary education began in Dunedin, but was completed at the Middle…

Rangitaamo Tiahuia Taiuru was born at Waimoho, near Rangiriri in the Waikato district, on 24 July 1901. Her mother, Paretauhanga Rīwhero, was of Ngāti Hine of Waikato; her father, Moroati Taiuru of Rata in the…

Henry Thomas Joynt Thacker was born at Okains Bay, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, on 20 March 1870. His parents, Essy Joynt and her husband, John Edward Thacker, a former editor of the Sligo Guardian, had come to…

Millicent Amiel Macmillan Brown was the elder daughter of Helen Connon, an early woman graduate of Canterbury College, and her husband, John Macmillan Brown, one of its founding professors. She was born in Christchurch…

William Herbert Guthrie-Smith was born William Herbert Smith in Scotland, at Helensburgh, Dunbartonshire, on 13 March 1862. He was the eldest child of John Guthrie Smith, a wealthy insurance broker, and his wife, Anne…

Taurekareka (Tau) Hēnare was a Ngāpuhi leader noted for his commitment to the welfare, land rights, culture and education of his people. His first name was that of a Ngāti Whātua and Ngāpuhi ancestor, and he was closely…

Courtney Nedwill was born at Ballyronan, County Londonderry, Ireland, probably on 14 August 1837, the second son of John Nedwill, a farmer; his mother's name is unknown. He was educated in Belfast, and entered Queen's…

Pinepine Te Rika was born probably in 1857 or 1858 at Rāhitiroa, an old settlement of Ngāti Kuri just east of Te Waiiti, in the Bay of Plenty. Her father was Te Rika Te Wheura (sometimes known as Te Mīkaera Te Rika or…

Carl Sylvius Völkner was born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany, probably in 1819; his parents' names are unknown. Trained at the missionary college at Hamburg, Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand by the…

Henry William Cleary (baptised William Henry) was born on 15 January 1859 at Oulart, County Wexford, Ireland. His Catholic father, Robert Cleary, a farmer, came from the neighbouring county of Wicklow and settled in…

Humphrey Francis O'Leary was born at Redwoodtown in the Wairau Valley, Marlborough, on 12 February 1886, the son of Irish parents Mary Falvey and her husband, Humphrey John O'Leary, a blacksmith. Before he reached…

Takurua Tamarau, who sometimes used the name Takurua Mākarini, was born probably in 1871 or 1872 at Kohimarama in the Ruatāhuna district, shortly after the cessation of hostilities between the Tūhoe people and…

According to tradition, Tuakana Āporotanga was born about 1852. His mother was Mākawa, daughter of Te Āporotanga, who was a leader of Ngāti Rua, a hapū of Te Whakatōhea of Ōpōtiki. His father was Charles Frederick…

Alexander Galbraith was born on 15 February 1883 at Allday, near Otepopo, Otago, the youngest son of William Galbraith and his wife, Leah Rodgers. His Scottish parents had emigrated to New Zealand with their first three…

Rīpeka Wharawhara Love was through descent and marriage kin to Te Āti Awa chiefs whose mana continued to extend over the Wellington region after the arrival of Pākehā settlers in 1840. As an heir to that mana, she was…