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Alice Mary Peters was born in Dundee, Scotland, on 19 November 1887, the daughter of Mary Ann Reynolds and her husband, William Peters, a baker. Little is known of Alice's early life, but she trained as a tailoress in…

Samuel Edger was born probably in 1822 or 1823, at East Grinstead, Sussex, England, the third of eight children of John Edger, a devout Particular Baptist, and his Congregationalist wife, Susannah Ann. Samuel preached…

Ellen Maher, called in religion Mary Cecilia Maher, was the founder of the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, Auckland. She was born probably on 13 September 1799 at Freshford, County Kilkenny, Ireland, the daughter…

Annabella Mary (known as Mary) Webster was born on 19 May 1864 at Mangungu on the Hokianga Harbour, one of twins born to William Webster, an interpreter and sawmiller, and his wife, Annabella Gillies, whose mother was…

Robert Haldane Makgill was born on 24 May 1870 at Stirling, Scotland, the son of Margaret Isabella Haldane and her husband, Captain Sir John Makgill of the Royal Engineers. His mother came from a distinguished family:…

Carl Gustav Schmitt was born on 9 December 1837 at Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the fifth child of Aloys Schmitt, a celebrated composer, pianist and teacher, and his wife, Auguste Caroline Wohl. His uncle, Jacob Schmitt…

Arthur George William Sparrow (Bill to his colleagues and friends) was a large, heavily built man of friendly, boisterous disposition. One of five children, he was born in Caversham, Dunedin, on 27 January 1896. His…

Edward Earle Vaile was born on 3 March 1869 at Hampstead, London, England. His father, Samuel Vaile, was a successful Auckland merchant and land agent who had emigrated to New Zealand in 1843. He lived in the United…

Valentine Jackson Chapman was born on St Valentine’s Day (14 February) 1910, at Alcester, Warwickshire, England, the son of Thomas Jackson Chapman, an Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Amy Evelyn Wynn. He was educated…

James Hugh Buchanan Coates was appointed general manager of the National Bank of New Zealand in 1893, at a time when confidence in the banking sector in New Zealand had reached a very low ebb. His reputation in the…

Mary Manson Bain was born in Dunedin on 31 March 1887, the first of thirteen children of Alexander Manson Bain, a cabinetmaker, and his wife, Hanna Kiely. Her parents, he a Scottish Presbyterian and she an Irish…

Little is known of Carl Frank Fischer's early life. He was of German origin and told contemporaries that he had lived for some time in Munich. He claimed to have gained the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Martin…

Born in Cambridge, New Zealand, on 26 July 1890, Frances Irwin Hunt was the second of four children of a farmer, Nicholas Irwin Hunt, and his wife, Annie Lilian Souter, a former schoolteacher. Around 1901 the family…

Alfred James Mitchell was born in Plymouth, England, on 19 January 1853, the son of Alfred Adolphus Mitchell, a Royal Navy post captain, and his wife, Nelly Stanley. He served as a police constable in England before…

Horace Jones was born  on 3 February 1868 at Malvern, Worcestershire, England, the third of 10 children of Sarah Ann Garner, a schoolteacher, and her husband, David Jones, an engineer. He arrived in Auckland, New…

Annie Christina Morrison was born on 27 February 1870 at Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand. Her parents, Donald Morrison and his wife, Christina Ross, had been Free Church of Scotland missionaries in the New Hebrides (…

Patrick Smyth was born at Pungaere, Bay of Islands, on 21 October 1893, the ninth of eleven surviving children of Irish-born Patrick Francis Smyth, a farmer, and his wife, Katherine Mangu Wheoki. His mother was from…

Christopher Vincent Cosmo Stanich Homer was born in Sydney, Australia, on 9 March 1902, the son of Ernest Matthew Homer, a grocer’s assistant, and his wife, Florence May Lillian Pritchard. After education at the North…

Martin Gloster Sullivan was born in Auckland on 30 March 1910, the son of Dennis Sullivan, a stationer, and his wife, Ellen Connell. Both parents were from County Kerry, Ireland. After attending Auckland Grammar School…

Thomas William Croke was born in the parish of Ballyclough, County Cork, Ireland, probably in 1822 or 1823. He was the third of eight children of William Croke, an estate agent, and his wife, Isabella Plummer, daughter…