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Patricia Bartlett became a household name in 1970s New Zealand. Hers was a celebrity of an unusual kind: she stood against the tide of social change which promoted more relaxed attitudes to sexuality. A petite, neatly…

Leonard Monk Isitt was for many years the most prominent prohibition campaigner in New Zealand. He was born in Bedford, England, on 4 January 1855, the son of James Isitt, a butcher, and his wife, Rebecca Catherine Cole…

May Edith Evelyn Edwards was born in Islington, London, on 2 May 1891, the daughter of Isabella Rose and her husband, James William Edwards, a compositor. She was privately educated, spoke Italian, French and some…

Harold Wilfred Youren was born in Auckland on 23 April 1910 to Mary Philpott Pitcher and her husband, David Prinald Youren, a banker. He was educated at Wellington College and gained both Junior and Senior National…

James Copland was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 3 February 1834, the son of George Copland, a clothier, and his wife, Catharine Pearson. He studied arts and theology in Edinburgh and Berlin, obtained a PhD from…

Alice May Parkinson's conviction and imprisonment for manslaughter became a cause célèbre in New Zealand in the years before 1920. Born on 29 December 1889 at Hampden (Tikokino) in Hawke's Bay, she was one of at least…

Helen Lyster Nicol was born on 29 May 1854 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the sixth of 10 surviving children of Margaret Cairns Smith and her husband, David Nicol, head gardener at the Orphan Hospital in Edinburgh. When Helen…

Blanche Eleanor Carnachan was born in Cambridge, Waikato, on 23 November 1871. Her parents, David Carnachan and his wife, Elizabeth Friars, had arrived in Auckland with their first five children on the Helenslee in…

On 3 August 1870 17-year-old Marianne Allen Manchester arrived at Auckland on the Excelsior. She was one of a group of single women brought out from Britain on assisted passages by the Hawke's Bay provincial government…

Henry Wilding, born at Stepney in the East End of London, England, on 20 August 1844, was the son of Maria Gillard (née Loveday) and her second husband, Henry Wilding, a pawnbroker. Henry junior received sufficient…

Frederick Archibald de la Mare (universally called 'Froggy') was born on 6 August 1877 at Christchurch, New Zealand. His parents were William Henry de la Mare, a grocer, who had emigrated in 1864 from Guernsey in the…

William Griffin was born in Britain probably in 1810 or 1811, the son of John Griffin and his wife, Ann Bolt. Very little is known of his life in Britain, but he is said to have been active in the Chartist movement. He…

Henry Smith Fish was born in Pimlico, London, England, on 15 July 1838 to Mary Ann Passmore and her husband, Henry Smith Fish, a painter. Henry Fish, junior, as he was known for most of his life, received some education…

Robert Campbell Begg was born on 11 April 1886 in Dunedin, the son of Katherine Clarke and her husband, Alexander Campbell Begg, an accountant. He attended Kaikorai School, and then Otago Boys’ High School from 1898 to…

Reginald Miles was born on 10 December 1892 at Springston, near Christchurch, the son of local farmers William Miles and his wife, Mary Margaret Restell. He was educated at Rangiora High School and in 1910 was…

John Hector Luxford was born at Palmerston North on 28 May 1890 to William Lewis Luxford, a prosperous timber merchant, and his wife, Isabella Eleanor Carolina Gonzales. He attended schools in Palmerston North and…

Born at Foster, Victoria, Australia, on 12 March 1908, Henry Gordon Taylor was the son of William Taylor, a farmer, and his wife, Isabella Elizabeth Oliver Bremner. When Henry was 11 he and his family emigrated to New…

Elizabeth Russell was born in Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on 26 April 1832, the eldest child of David Russell, a carpenter, and his wife, Elizabeth Adam. According to family information the Russell family lived in…

Wī Te Tau was the third in a succession of Anglican Māori ministers from the Huata family, their careers spanning most of the history of Christianity in New Zealand. His father, Hēmi, and his paternal grandfather,…

Robert Stout was born on 28 September 1844 at Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, the eldest of the six children of Thomas Stout, a merchant, and his wife, Margaret Smith. His education began at kindergarten at about the age…