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Anne Titboald was born, probably in 1825 or 1826, at Exeter, Devonshire, England, the daughter of Thomas Titboald; her mother's name is not known. She arrived on the Cordelia at Wellington, New Zealand, on 29 September…

Arthur Hobbins Wright was born at South Hamlet, Gloucester, England, on 8 April 1861, the ninth and youngest child of Henry Wright, a prominent mechanical engineer, and his wife, Elizabeth Hobbins. In 1879 he arrived in…

From childhood, Augusta Wallace’s life was entwined with the law. She was the daughter, wife and mother of lawyers, had her own law practice, and became New Zealand’s first female district court judge in 1975. Despite…

Maurice Shadbolt was a leading figure in the growth of a New Zealand literature during the second half of the twentieth century. He was the first New Zealand author to earn a good living as a full-time writer, although…

Gilbert Edward Archey was born in Marygate, York, England, on 4 August 1890, the son of Thomas Archey, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Sarah Triffitt. In 1892 the family emigrated to New Zealand, where Thomas held several…

Harry Heaton Barker, one of eight children of John Heaton Barker, an accountant, and his wife, Martha Annie Johns, was born in Nelson on 18 July 1898. The family had moved to Wellington by 1902 and then to Auckland by…

William James Butler was born at Leamington, Warwickshire, England, on 18 March 1858, the son of Jane Matilda Long and her husband, James Butler, a master linen draper. His brother Joseph was born at Leamington on 1…

Edwin Coubray was born at Eastern Bush, Southland, on 19 October 1900, the third of four sons of Nicholas Coubray and his wife, Minnie Flowers. His father was a railway labourer and the family moved often. Edwin, known…

George Wallington Grabham was born in Rochford, Essex, England, on 1 September 1836, the son of John Grabham, a surgeon, and his wife, Sarah Fry. George and three brothers all studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital,…

Kathleen Anne Baird Hall was born in Napier on 4 October 1896, the fifth child in a family of seven. Her father, Thomas Hall, was the district land registrar in Napier; her mother, Helen Baird Hall (née Macky), was a…

Neil McLean was born on 4 August 1857 on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the third child of Mary McLean and her husband, John McLean, a shipwright. The McLeans belonged to Norman McLeod's religious community, and in…

Sister Mary Leo was New Zealand’s best-known singing teacher in her time. She was born Kathleen Agnes Niccol at Devonport, Auckland, on 3 April 1895, the eldest child of Henry Malcolm Niccol, a shipping clerk, and his…

Edna Bertha Pearce was born at Christchurch on 26 March 1906, the daughter of Lucy Elliott Allison and her husband, Ernest Walter Pearce, a farmer. She attended St Albans School until, aged seven, she moved with her…

William Allan Pyatt was born in Gisborne on 4 November 1916, the eldest of seven children of Albert Ernest Pyatt, a warehouseman, and his wife, Violet May Feldon. At Gisborne High School he was dux and head prefect, and…

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…

Cyril Charles William White was born in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay, on 7 September 1909. His parents, Ernest Alfred White, a carpenter, and his wife, Edith Mary Ritter, had four children; two, Cyril and his elder sister…

Joel Samuel Polack is said to have been born in London, England, on 28 March 1807, son of a successful Jewish painter and engraver, Solomon Polack, and his wife, Sarah. The family had migrated from Holland to Ireland…

Arthur John Seamer was born in Tongala, Victoria, Australia, on 10 June 1878, the fourth child of William Seamer, a farmer, and his wife, Jane Matilda Townley. His father had worked on goldfields in California and…

Edward Metcalf Smith was born probably on 10 January 1839 at Bradley, Staffordshire, England, the son of Charles Smith, a monumental sculptor, and his wife, Maria Joiner. He began work in the local iron industry and…

Alfred Jerome Cadman was born in Sydney, Australia, on 17 June 1847, the son of Jerome Cadman, a cabinet-maker, and his wife, Ann Hildyard. The family came to Auckland, New Zealand, in 1848. Jerome Cadman owned and…