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Stephen Shepherd Allen was born at Cheadle, Staffordshire, England, on 2 August 1882, the seventh of ten children of MP William Shepherd Allen and his wife, Elizabeth Penelope Candlish, herself the daughter of an MP.…

Roger Shepherd Duff was born in Invercargill on 11 July 1912, the son of Jessie Barclay and her husband, Oliver Duff, a schoolteacher who later became well known as a journalist and first editor of the New Zealand…

William Grant was born on Kirkan farm, in the parish of Contin, Ross-shire, Scotland, on 23 September 1843, the son of Ann Tait and her husband, Donald Grant, a shepherd. With an older brother, Andrew, William set out…

Elizabeth Ormiston was born in Scotland, probably in Sutherland between 1842 and 1847, the daughter of Mary McKenzie and Walter Ormiston, a shepherd. She married Robert Mackay, a shepherd, at Dalharald, Strathnaver,…

The story of James Caddell, who was taken prisoner by Māori on Stewart Island in 1810 and then grew up among his captors, is an extraordinary one.James Caddell is said to have been a lad of only 16 when he arrived off…

James Little was born on 22 October 1834 into a farming family at Powbeat, Midlothian, Scotland. He was the son of Margaret Tait and her husband, Henry Little, a shepherd descended from early Presbyterian Covenanters…

James Mackenzie has become one of New Zealand's most enduring folk heroes. Few facts are known about his life or his brief public appearances, and doubt surrounds even his name: the correct spelling of Mackenzie is…

William Victor McIntyre (better known as Victor or Mac) was born on 24 May 1887 at Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, New Zealand. He was the son of Robert McIntyre, a labourer, and his wife, Eliza Ann Cochrane. McIntyre…

Oliver Duff was born at Waitāhuna Gully, Otago, on 28 May 1883, the 10th of 13 children of English-born William Duff and his Scottish wife, Margaret Shepherd. His parents had kept a general store at Waitāhuna since the…

Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort was born on 13 March 1825, according to family information, and was baptised at Birmingham, England, on 1 September 1825. He was the eldest child of Thomas Mountfort and his wife, Susanna…

George Chamier, the son of William Chamier and his wife, Emily Crookenden, came from a prominent Huguenot family that had been in England since 1691. His great-grandmother's brother, Anthony Chamier, a prominent civil…

George Maurice O'Rorke was born on 2 May 1830 at Moylough, County Galway, Ireland, the third son of John O'Rorke, an Anglican clergyman and large landowner, and Elizabeth Dennis, his third wife. George O'Rorke received…

William Rickarby Campbell was born at Ratnagiri, in the Bombay Presidency, India, on 6 February 1840, the son of Agnes Campbell and her husband, Adam Campbell, of the Bombay civil service. William was educated in…

Sarah Ann Rigelsford was born in London, England, probably in 1821 or 1822. Her mother's name is unknown; her father was John Rigelsford, a labourer. She was clever at needlework and as a young woman she set up her own…

Lizzie Frost Fenton was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 22 March 1855, the daughter of Mary Lister and her husband, John Albert Fenton, an Anglican clergyman. She was educated in England and France, then returned to…

Edward Joshua Riddiford was born on 7 August 1842 at the Hutt, Wellington, the third of 12 children of Harriot Stone and her husband, Daniel Riddiford, an emigration agent in the New Zealand Company. Around 1845 the…

David John (known as Davey) Gunn was born on 18 September 1887 at Station Peak, Waimate, the fourth of five children of Scottish parents Isabella Grierson Robertson and her husband, Alexander Gunn, a shepherd. He…

Patrick John O’Connor, known as Pat and sometimes publicised as ‘Irish Pat’ in American wrestling, was born at Raetihi on 22 August 1924, a son of sheepfarming parents John Frederick O’Connor and his wife, Isabella…

Louis Wellington Parore was born at Te Houhanga marae, Dargaville, on 26 December 1888. According to tradition, he was the first of his people born in a European-style house and was known to his family as Te Rūma (the…

Frank Norman Aplin was born at Crofton, Wellington, on 17 September 1901, the son of local farmer William Aplin and his wife, Edith Mary Woodhouse. He worked as a shepherd and farm labourer on Brancepeth station, near…