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Lydiard and his system The gregarious, dogmatic, hyperactive running coach Arthur Leslie Lydiard is one of the few New Zealand sportsmen to have influenced millions of people around the world. His system of training…

William Arthur Satchell was born on 1 February 1861 in London, England. He was the son of Hannah Mordey and her husband, Thomas Satchell, a civil servant who became surveyor general of the Inland Revenue. Thomas…

Colin Graham Scrimgeour was born at Wairoa on 30 January 1903, the son of John Graham Scrimgeour, a farmer, and his wife, Robina Maud Clunie. He left school at the age of 11 and unsuccessfully tried to enlist for…

Leonard John Cronin was born in Aramoho, Whanganui, on 16 November 1900, the son of Joseph Henry Cronin, an engineer, and his wife, Margaret Edwards. He was educated at Woodville District High School and began work as a…

Hector Edwards Gray, the greatest New Zealand jockey of his era, was born in Albert Town, Otago, on 18 November 1885. He was the son of Joseph Gray, a contractor, and his wife, Margaret Hoad (née Edwards). The family…

According to family information John Williams Harris was born in Cornwall, England, in 1808. He joined the Royal Navy while still a boy, although ill health forced him to quit. He emigrated to Australia to join…

Ida Mary Withers was born in Wellington on 1 May 1903, the daughter of Elizabeth Robins and her husband, John Talbot Withers, a decorator. She grew up at Duvauchelle on Banks Peninsula and was educated at Christchurch…

Peter Garth Mander was born in Sumner, Christchurch, on 4 July 1928, the son of Nina Pretoria Hoglund and her husband, Stanley Augustus Mander, an accountant and New Zealand hockey representative. The eldest of three…

John McCaw was born on 4 October 1849 at Morriston, Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander McCaw, a farmer, and his wife, Hughina McLachlan. McCaw was educated at the Kirkoswald parish school and at the Ayr Academy.…

Norman Macdonald Richmond was born in Wellington on 23 October 1897, the son of Flora Hursthouse Macdonald and her husband, Maurice Wilson Richmond, a barrister and later a professor of law at Victoria College. Norman…

Harold Montague Rushworth was born at Croydon, Surrey, England, on 18 August 1880, the son of Gertrude Wheeler and her husband, William Rushworth, an architect. He was educated at Rugby School and Jesus College,…

Te Mahuki, also known as Te Manukura, was born at Te Kumi, north of Te Kūiti, probably in the 1840s. He belonged to Ngāti Kinohaku, kin to Ngāti Maniapoto. Little is known of his parentage or childhood, but he came to…

Yorkshireman Kenneth Cumberland was the first qualified geographer to teach the subject at university level in New Zealand. He joined the new Department of Geography at Canterbury University College in 1938, and soon…

Work and relationships Barry Crump was one of New Zealand’s most popular writers. In total, his novels sold more than a million copies domestically, equating to one book sold for every four New Zealanders. He was also…

Joan Donley was a midwife whose advocacy of home births and natural childbirth helped shape modern midwifery in New Zealand. She argued that women should have the right to reject medicalised maternity care, and helped…

June Opie was a polio survivor, clinical psychologist, writer and broadcaster who overcame discrimination against the disabled to achieve professional and personal success. Her memoir, Over my dead body (1957), was an…

Hugh Francis Carleton was the son of Francis Carleton and his wife, Charlotte Margaretta Montgomerie, of both Clare More, County Tipperary, and Greenfield, County Cork, Ireland. He is said to have been born on 3 July…

Mary Ann Parker was born in London, England, on 5 July 1817, the daughter of William Parker, an Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Ann. Very little is known about Mary's childhood and education, although she later…

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…

James Charles Robertson was born on 10 July 1912 in Hastings to Dorcas Mary Skerrett, of Ngāi Tahu ancestry, and James Robertson, a salesman. He was fostered by Arthur and Ada Bellwood and grew up in Christchurch. He…