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Hirini Rāwiri Taiwhanga was born probably at Kaikohe, west of the Bay of Islands, in 1832 or 1833. His mother was Mata Rawa of Te Arawa. His father, a mission worker and farmer, was Rāwiri Taiwhanga, leader of Ngāti…

Hongi Hika was born near Kaikohe, in northern New Zealand: he told French explorers in 1824 that he had been born in the year of Marion du Fresne's death, which was in 1772; and he was a mature man at the height of his…

John Eldon Gorst is said to have been born at Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire, England, on 24 May 1835 and was baptised on 30 May. He was the second son of Elizabeth Nesham and her husband, Edward Chaddock Gorst (later…

Thomas William Potter was born in Streatham, Surrey, England, on 2 August 1843, the son of John Potter, an agricultural labourer, and his wife, Jane Phipps. He later changed his name to Porter and claimed to have been…

Charles Bathurst was born in London, England, on 21 September 1867, the son of Charles Bathurst, a barrister of Lydney Park, Gloucestershire, and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Hay. He was educated at Sherborne School, Eton…

Pirimi Pererika Tāhiwi was born on 16 September 1890 at Ōtaki. His father, Rāwiri Rota Tāhiwi, a Native Land Court assessor, was of Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Maiōtaki. His mother, Keita Koa, who was also known as Kapu…

William Carran was born on the family property at Bell Block, Taranaki, on 3 August 1898, one of at least 12 children of Ngārongo Kāhau (Kāhou), also known as Mary Bruce, and her farmer husband, Rāniera Kārena (Daniel…

Hirini (Sidney) Whaanga Christy, great-grandson of Ngāti Rakaipaaka and Ngāti Kahungunu leader Īhaka Whaanga, was born on 16 August 1883 at Nūhaka. His mother, Mihi Mere Whaanga, was the eldest daughter of Hirini Te…

Rona Marjory Hamilton was born in Gisborne on 2 October 1897, one of six children of Frederick Orton Hamilton, a commission agent for a hardware merchant, and his wife, Isabelle Porter. Her maternal grandparents were…

Arthur Saunders Thomson is said to have been born on 29 December 1816, and was baptised on 2 January 1817 at Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. He was the son of Margaret Saunders and her husband, James Thomson. Arthur Thomson…

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…

Tuai, of Ngare Raumati in the south-eastern Bay of Islands, was an early cultural intermediary between Māori and Europeans. His short, extraordinary adult life was spent in Australia and England as well as New Zealand,…

Charles Decimus Barraud was born in Camberwell, London, England, on 9 May 1822, the 10th child (of 12) of William Francis Barraud and his wife, Sophia Hull. Barraud wanted to become a doctor, but his father, a clerk in…

Edward John von Dadelszen is among those who shaped New Zealand's national institutions, but even at the height of his public service career more attention was paid to his brief, albeit romantic, adventures as a…

Henry Matthew Stowell was born at Waimate North, Bay of Islands, according to his own account on 4 February 1859, the son of John Shephard Stowell, a sawyer who had come to New Zealand from the United States, and his…

Hōne Riiwi Tōia was born probably sometime between 1858 and 1860 at Waimate North in the Bay of Islands. His grandfather was a Jewish trader called Levy (Riiwi), who, in different family traditions, jumped ship at…

Ruth Gray was born on 27 April 1908 at Pipiriki on the Whanganui River. She was one of many children of Robert Gray, a farmer of English and Māori descent, and his wife, Ngāraiti Tuatini of Ngāti Kura. Through her…

Apirana Turupa Ngata was born at Te Araroa on the East Coast on 3 July 1874. He had connections with the leaders of Ngāti Porou. His hapū included Te Whānau-a-Te Ao, Ngāti Rangi, Te Whānau-a-Karuai and Ngāti Rākairoa.…

The time and place of Hēnare Matua's birth are uncertain. It may have been at Nukutaurua, on the Māhia peninsula, in the 1830s. Airini Donnelly, his stepdaughter, said that he returned from Nukutaurua to Hawke's Bay '…

George Ferguson Bowen is said to have been born in Ireland on 2 November 1821, the eldest son of Edward Bowen, rector of Taughboyne, County Donegal. His mother's name is unknown. He was educated at Charterhouse, and won…