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John Henry Davis Burnand (known as Harry) was born on 2 December 1850 at Paddington, London, England, the son of John Henry Burnand, gentleman, and his wife, Harriette Davis. The Burnand family emigrated to New Zealand…

Arthur Donald Stuart Duncan was born at Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), probably on 6 August 1875, the son of John Duncan, a merchant, and his wife, Emily Georgina Macartney. Duncan arrived in New Zealand in January 1881…

Thomas Aubrey Chappé Hall was born at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, England, on 16 June 1873, the son of John Hall, a medical practitioner, and his wife, Margaret Louise Chappé de Leonval. His father was Scottish and his…

Inger Kathrine Nielsen was born on 5 September 1867, at Tyrsted, near Horsens, Denmark, to Mette Katharine Mikkelsen and her husband, Søren Nielsen, a farmer. Of nine children only Inger and her sister Dagmar survived.…

Samuel Mitchell was born on 8 September 1841, at Aspley, near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, the son of William Mitchell, a labourer and later a Wesleyan minister, and his wife, Eleanor Field. Mitchell entered the Royal…

Thomas Rawlings Mould is said to have been born on 31 May 1805; his place of birth and parentage are unknown, as are the details of his marriage, although he is known to have had six daughters. Mould was commissioned as…

Daniel Louis Mundy was born, probably in 1826 or 1827, in Wiltshire, England, the son of James Mundy, a confectioner, and his wife, Sarah. Nothing is known of his early life, except that he married Louisa Rust at…

Marmaduke George Nixon was born probably in 1813 or 1814, in Valetta, Malta, the son of Henry Nixon, an army officer, and his wife, Elizabeth Browne. After graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was…

Patrick O'Reilly was born at Rosscarberry, County Cork, Ireland, and baptised there on 24 February 1843, the son of Peter O'Reilly, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Keane. Peter and Mary O'Reilly brought their family to…

Thomas Ryan, commonly known as 'Darby' Ryan, was born in London, England, on 12 January 1864, the son of Mary Ryan and Charles Aldworth, a gentleman. He was known by his mother's surname. Thomas Ryan and his mother left…

When she died in 1893, aged 31, Eleanor Catherine Mair, better known as Kate Sperrey, was acclaimed as 'one of the best portrait painters New Zealand has produced.' That she has since been virtually forgotten says less…

William Edward Vincent, one of the founding printer-proprietors of the Wellington Independent, was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, probably on 17 September 1823, and was baptised on 20 July 1829. He was the fourth…

Julia Nannie Wallace was born in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, USA, on 21 December 1907, the elder of two children of Carrie Pierpoint Currens and her husband, John Napier Wallace, an electrical engineer. He headed the…

John O’Shea occupies a decisive position in the development of the New Zealand film industry. He was responsible for the only feature production in New Zealand between 1940 and the early 1970s, and singlehandedly…

Hilda Phillips was one of the best-known and most persistent critics of the Māori land, resource rights and autonomy campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s. She attacked the foundations of Māori grievances against the Crown,…

Marie Bell was an educator and tireless campaigner for the rights of both children and parents, challenging educational orthodoxies to ensure more child-centred practices and an environment more supportive of parents.…

Thomas Bracken, the son of Margaret Kiernan and her husband, Thomas Bracken, was baptised a Catholic at Clonee, County Meath, Ireland, on 30 December 1841. His mother died in 1846, and his father, a postmaster, died in…

William Edward Barnard was born in Carterton, Wairarapa, on 29 January 1886, the son of Ellen Banks and her husband, Charles Leonard Barnard, a watchmaker. He attended Levin School and at 13 began work as an office boy…

Frank Langstone was born, probably on 10 December 1881, in Bulls, the fourth of five children. His father, Charles Walter Langston, had various occupations, including that of veterinary surgeon; his mother, Margaret…

William Nelson was born at Warwick, Warwickshire, England, on 15 February 1843, the son of Sarah Philbrick and her husband, George Nelson, a chemist and well-known manufacturer of gelatine and other meat extracts.…