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Owen Woodhouse was a distinguished judge and the architect of New Zealand’s no-fault accident compensation system. After naval service in the Second World War, Woodhouse worked as a lawyer until his appointment as a…

George Grey is believed to have been born in Lisbon, Portugal, on 14 April 1812. His father, Lieutenant Colonel George Grey, had been killed eight days before, during an attack by the Duke of Wellington's army on…

Paul Holmes was New Zealand’s best-known and most influential late twentieth-century broadcaster, straddling the line between serious current affairs presenter and entertainer. He succeeded in the three mass media…

Early life and marriage Sylvia Constance Ashton Warner (whose pen-name was Sylvia Ashton-Warner) was born in Stratford, Taranaki, on 17 December 1908. Her father, Francis Ashton Warner, had arrived in New Zealand at…

James Busby was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 7 February 1802, the second son of Sarah Kennedy and her husband, John Busby, a mineral surveyor and civil engineer. James Busby studied viticulture in France before…

Elsie Locke was a writer, environmentalist, historian, peace activist, one-time communist, and a battler for women’s rights. She is best known as a writer for children, though her writing encompassed adult non-fiction,…

New Zealand's first chief justice, William Martin, the youngest son of Henry Martin, a manufacturer, and his wife, Mary Martin, was baptised on 22 May 1807 in Birmingham, England, where he received his early education…

Hōne Heke Rankin, also known as John Rankin, was born at Gisborne on 13 January 1896 to Matire Ngāpua of Ngāpuhi, and her husband, John Claudian (Claudius) Rankin, a Kaikohe storekeeper. Matire was the daughter of…

Te Wherowhero was born in Waikato towards the end of the eighteenth century. He was the eldest son of a Waikato warrior chief, Te Rauangaanga, and Parengāope of Ngāti Koura. He belonged to the senior chiefly line of…

Charles John Abraham is said to have been born on 17 June 1814 at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, England, and was baptised there on 3 July 1814. He was the son of Captain Thomas Abraham and his wife, Louisa…

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…

Thomas Noel Brodrick (known as Noel) was born to Mary Anne Potts and her husband, Thomas Brodrick, a stock and share broker, at Islington, London, England, on 25 December 1855. He came to New Zealand with his family on…

Henry Samuel Chapman was born in Kennington, London, England, on 21 July 1803, the son of Henry Chapman, a civil servant in the Barrack Department, and his wife, Ann Hart Davies. He was educated in schools at Bromley,…

Russell Stuart Cedric Clark (registered as Cedric Russell Stuart) was born in Christchurch on 27 August 1905, the son of Mary Elizabeth Wyatt and her husband, William Clark, a plumber and tinsmith. He was educated at…

Charles Andrew Cotton, born in Dunedin on 24 February 1885, was the only son of Scottish-born Margaret Thomson McCallum and her husband, Charles Henry Cotton, a Cornish mariner. His parents had met while sailing to New…

Walter D'Arcy Cresswell was born on 22 January 1896 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the son of Hannah Reese and her husband, Walter Joseph Cresswell, a solicitor. After attending Elmwood School, Christchurch, and boarding…

Elizabeth Geertruida Agatha Weersma, known as Hedda, was born at Ginneken, in the Netherlands, on 15 January 1897, the daughter of Joziena Regiena van Haeften and her husband, Tiemen Weersma, an army officer. She had a…

Robert Nettleton Field was born in Bromley, Kent, England, on 3 March 1899. His father, Horace Banks Field, was an insurance clerk and would have liked his eldest son to follow suit, but Robert showed artistic ability…

John Te Herekiekie Grace was typical of a group of Māori leaders that emerged in the 1950s. They represented a second generation of well-connected men who prided themselves on their loyalty to the Crown and their…

James Lawrence Hay was born at Lawrence, Otago, on 17 May 1888, the son of Scottish parents Isabella McLean and her husband, William Hay, a blacksmith. His father was accidentally killed when James was seven. He was…