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Samuel Horatio Moreton was born probably in London, England, sometime between 1843 and 1845, the son of Ann Spence and her husband, Samuel Moreton, said to have been a captain in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Joining…

Charles Adnam Mountfort was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 9 February 1854. He was the eldest of six children of Charles Wheeler Mountfort, a farmer and civil engineer, and his wife, Mary Eliza Adnam. Charles's…

Edith Louisa Monteath was born at Edendale, Southland, on 12 January 1890, the second of seven children of Catherine Kavanagh and her husband, Thomas Monteath, a schoolteacher. Although registered as Alice, she was…

Patrick John O’Connor, known as Pat and sometimes publicised as ‘Irish Pat’ in American wrestling, was born at Raetihi on 22 August 1924, a son of sheepfarming parents John Frederick O’Connor and his wife, Isabella…

Garnet Hornby Saunders was born in Hamley Bridge, South Australia, on 14 June 1880, the son of Caroline Charlotte Sparshott and her husband, Richard Saunders, a brickmaker. He was educated at an Adelaide public school…

Bernard Sladden was born in Oxford, North Canterbury, on 28 October 1879, the eighth child of Dilnot Sladden, a sawmiller, and his wife, Elizabeth Letitia Coster. The eight brothers and three sisters in the family were…

Mariano Vela was born probably on 15 February 1855 at Macarsca, Dalmatia. He was the son of Matthaea Miličić and her husband, Andreas Vela, a farmer. Mariano left his home village and became a sailor, voyaging around…

Ann Day was baptised on 7 May 1837 in London, England. She was the daughter of Francis John Day, a merchant, and his wife, Margaret Tilley. On 4 July 1855, while she was a student at Melbourne Mechanics' Institute, Ann…

Matilda Alice (known as Alice) Jeffrey was born at Alexandra, Victoria, Australia, on 5 January 1875, the fifth child of Ann Scale and her husband, John Jeffrey, a farmer. Growing up in extreme poverty, she absorbed…

From the late 1950s through to the first decade of the twenty-first century, Peter Beaven was one of the most prominent figures in New Zealand architecture, both as the designer of instantly recognisable buildings and…

Horace Belshaw was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, on 9 February 1898, the son of James Belshaw, a master greengrocer, and his wife, Mary Pilkington. His father was one of the first Labour councillors in Britain and…

Charles Chilton was born on 27 September 1860 at Little Marstone, Pencombe, Herefordshire, England, the son of Thomas Chilton, a farmer, and his wife, Jane Price. The Chilton family emigrated to New Zealand in 1862,…

Alexander Lawrence Herdman was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 17 July 1869 to Emma Hepburn Brown and her husband, Alexander Herdman, an accountant. He was educated at Otago Boys' High School from 1883 to 1885. He then…

William Joseph Jordan, widely known as Bill, was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England, on 19 May 1879, the son of a fisherman, William Jordan, and his wife, Elizabeth Ann Catt. The decline of the local fishing industry soon…

Himiona Tūpākihi Kāmira, sometimes known as Tākou, was born in 1880 at Reena in north-western Hokianga. He was to live there, or at Mātihetihe, on the coast south of Mitimiti, most of his life. His father, Tūpākihi…

Doris More Lusk was born on 5 May 1916 in Dunedin, the daughter of Thomas Younger Lusk, an architect, and his wife, Alice Mary Coats. Her childhood was spent mostly in Hamilton, where the family had a house on the banks…

William George Malone was one of New Zealand's outstanding soldiers of the Gallipoli campaign. He was born in England at Rushey Green, Lewisham, Kent, on 24 January 1859, the third of five children of Louisa Childs and…

Arthur Edward McDonogh (or MacDonogh) was born probably in 1809 or 1810 in Ireland; his parents' names are unknown. As a young man McDonogh served as an officer in the 5th Fusiliers. By the middle of 1840 he had…

Peter David Mulgrew was born on 21 November 1927 at Lower Hutt, the elder son of Edith Matthews, a woollen industry worker, and her husband, William John Mulgrew, a boilermaker. He attended Petone West School and Epuni…

John (Hoani) Te Rangiāniwaniwa Rangihau, known to his hapū and iwi as Te Nika and in the wider Māori world as Te Rangihau, was born at Kūhā, south of Waikaremoana, on 5 September 1919, to Karu Rangihau, a labourer, and…