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Frederic Wanklyn Williams was born at the Tūranga mission station at Whakatō, Poverty Bay, New Zealand, probably on 13 October 1854, the eldest of 10 children of the CMS missionary William Leonard Williams and his wife…

Born in London, England, on 18 January 1857, Henry Francis Wigram was the son of a barrister, William Knox Wigram, and his wife, Mary Ann Pomeroy, daughter of the fifth Viscount Harberton. After attending Harrow School…

Vernon Lawrence Clare was born at Wanganui on 17 April 1925, the son of Vera Mildred McNamara and her wool-store worker husband, Charles Henry Arthur Clare. He was educated at Wanganui East School and at Wanganui…

James Livingston, a founding settler of the Patea district, was born on 7 February 1840, at Darngarroch, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, the son of Janet Kelly and her husband, James Livingston, a farmer. His father died…

Percy Roy Angus was born in Wellington on 22 September 1893, the son of Matthew Angus, a railway clerk, and his wife, Ann Jane Bell, who were both originally from Auckland. He was educated at Greymouth District High…

In 1936 Rosemary Rees described herself, with a mixture of pride and self-deprecation, as 'the "best selling’’ New Zealand author'. This claim may have been debatable, but there was no questioning her international…

One of just four men to have both captained and coached the All Blacks in test matches, Fred Allen was arguably New Zealand’s best rugby coach of the amateur era. He was certainly the most successful; the team lost none…

Maharaia Winiata, commonly known as Maha, was born on 29 September 1912 at Ngāhina pā, near Rūātoki, in the eastern Bay of Plenty. His parents were Winiata Piahana and his wife, Te Ruakawhena Kohu, both of Ngāi…

Henry Samuel Chapman was born in Kennington, London, England, on 21 July 1803, the son of Henry Chapman, a civil servant in the Barrack Department, and his wife, Ann Hart Davies. He was educated in schools at Bromley,…

An experienced lawyer and judge, Justice Peter Mahon is best known for his report on the 1979 Erebus air crash, which killed 257 people. Mahon concluded that Air New Zealand’s inadequate safety processes led directly to…

The artist known in New Zealand as Edward Friström (sometimes Fristrom) was born Clas Edvard Friström on 23 January 1864 in the parish of Torhamn, near Karlskrona in southern Sweden. His parents were Clas August…

Alister Murray Linton was born in Halcombe, northern Manawatu, on 12 March 1904, the ninth of eleven children of Francis Robert Linton, a stock dealer, and his wife, Emma Maria Bray. Murray, as he was known, was brought…

Henry Dewsbury Alves Major was born in Plymouth, Devonshire, England, on 28 July 1871, the son of Mary Ursula Alves and her husband, Henry Daniel Major, a clerk in the Admiralty. The family emigrated to George Vesey…

Leslie Bourneman Neale was born at Devonport, Auckland, on 26 June 1886, the sixth child of Isabella Selby and her husband, William Henry Neale, a bootmaker. After attending Ponsonby School, which he left at the age of…

Thomas Broham is said to have been born on 20 July 1840 into a Roman Catholic family in County Limerick, Ireland, the son of Bridget Corney and her husband, William Broham, a farmer. After a good education he emigrated…

James and Denis Joseph Cummings, together with their sister Catherine and brother Timothy, were members of the New Zealand Police Force during the first half of the twentieth century. They were four of the twelve…

Worley Bassett Edwards was undoubtedly the most controversial man to have sat on the Bench of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Character flaws dogged his judicial career and earned him the fierce dislike of many…

Eric Hall McCormick was born in Taihape on 17 June 1906, the second child and only son of William James Hall McCormick, a boot merchant, and his wife, Ellen Powrie, who had been a dressmaker before her marriage. His…

William Lee Rees was born probably on 16 December 1836 at Bristol, England, the son of James Rees, a surgeon, and his wife, Elizabeth Pocock. Rees's father died when he was young, and he was brought up by his mother and…

Merekotia Amohau was born at Ōhinemutu, Rotorua, on 16 April 1898, the youngest child of prominent Te Arawa leader Hēnare Mete Amohau and his wife, Tūkau Te Hira of Ngāti Pikiao. Known as Mere, she was educated at…