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Sarah McAuley, the daughter of William McAuley, a farmer, and his wife, Elizabeth Atkin, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, probably in 1817 or 1818. She sailed to Canada with her family at the age of seven and grew up…

Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert was born at Waerenga-a-hika, near Gisborne, on 2 February 1894, the only surviving son of Hetekia Te Kani Pere (or Halbert), a farmer, and his wife, Riripeti Rangikohera Ranginui. He was of Te…

Alfred Patchett (Patiti) Warbrick told the historian James Cowan in 1934 that he had been born on 24 February 1860 near, and given his first bath in, the warm water basins of Te Tarata, the white terrace at Rotomahana.…

Film buff, archivist, award-winning radio producer and film critic Jonathan Dennis had a sardonic wit, a brutal honesty and a genuine passion for his work. As founding director of the New Zealand Film Archive he…

Theodore Minet Haultain was born according to family information on 27 May 1817 at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of Second Captain Francis Haultain, Royal Artillery, and his wife, Eliza Ann Dean. He…

Tipi Tainui Rōpiha was of Ngāi Toroiwaho of Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne. He was born in Waipāwa on 8 August 1895, the second child of Reginald Pinckney, an English-born clerk, and Mihi Mere Pānapa, the daughter of…

Stuart Newall (baptised as Stewart) was born in the parish of Durrisdeer, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on 9 May 1843, the son of Thomas Newall, a tailor, and his wife, Anne Dalziel. Nothing is known of his early life. In…

Samuel Williams was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, on 17 January 1822, the third child of the Anglican clergyman Henry Williams and his wife, Marianne Coldham. Nearly eight months later the family left…

Whāea (mother) Betty Wark worked with ‘at risk’ Māori youth in Auckland for more than 30 years. The product of a difficult childhood, she struggled to provide a family environment to many young people whose lives had…

Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie was a Ngāi Tahu (or Kāi Tahu) leader and woman of mana, and a prominent activist in the fields of Māori welfare and health from the 1970s to the 1990s. She was a long-serving member and president…

Noda Asajiro is said to have been born on 17 January 1868 at Tomioka, a small fishing village on the island of Amakusa-Shimo-shima, near Nagasaki, Japan. His father was Noda Kakashi, a carpenter and shipbuilder. His…

Jack Raharuhi Hēmi was born on 23 August 1914 at Te Whiti-o-Tutāwake, east of Masterton, the eldest surviving son of Hineipikitia-ki-te-rangi (Piki) Reiri, of Te Whiti, and her husband, Paraikete (Blanket) Hēmi, a…

Sholto Kairākau Black was born in Ōpōtiki on 13 January 1902, the seventh child and youngest son of John Black, a farmer at nearby Ōtara, and his wife, Polly Matuakore (Pare Pīkake) Delamere, who was also known as Mary…

Tāpihana (Dobson) Paraire Paikea, known as Dobbie, but registered at birth as Poata Paikea, was a great-great-grandson of the paramount Te Uri-o-Hau chief Paikea Te Hekeua. As such, he had his roots deep in Tai Tokerau…

John Whiteley was born at Kneesall, Nottinghamshire, England, the son of James Whiteley, a grocer, and his wife, Elizabeth Rainor. He was born on 20 July 1806, which was also the day of his baptism. He went to primary…

William Jenkins, known as 'Bill the Steward', was born on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, on 13 September 1813, the first child of William and Catherine Jenkins. Following his father's calling, William went to sea…

Hāmiora Wiremu Maioha, of Ngāi Tawake hapū of Ngāpuhi resident in the Bay of Islands, was often known as Hāmi, as Tahi to his intimates, and as Sam Maioha junior to his Pākehā business associates. He was the son of…

Margaret Pattison Thom, who was later widely known as Mākereti (or Maggie) Papakura, was born at Matatā, in the Bay of Plenty, on 20 October 1873. Her father was an Englishman, William Arthur Thom, a storekeeper who…

Roly Earp was a pioneer kiwifruit orchardist of the 1960s and 1970s, and an influential advocate for grower control. He supported and encouraged the growth of the industry through the development of equipment to assist…

Arthur Hamilton Gordon was born in London, England, on 26 November 1829, the youngest son of George Hamilton Gordon, fourth earl of Aberdeen, and his second wife, Harriet Douglas, daughter of the Honourable John Douglas…