Bruce Biggs had a distinguished career as a scholar but he was also that rarer thing, an exceptional builder of academic institutions. In academic Māori studies he was the most influential figure of the twentieth…
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Mira Szászy emerged from a humble upbringing to become one of the greatest Māori leaders and proponents of mana wāhine in the twentieth century. Throughout her life, Mira pushed for education, health and social reforms…
David McKee Wright was born at Ballynaskeagh, County Down, Ireland, on 6 August 1869, the second son of William Wright, a Presbyterian missionary, and his wife, Annie McKee. His mother remained only briefly in Ireland…
Images and media for 'first woman' in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB)
See 155 results in Te Ara Images & Media
See 155 results in Te Ara Images & Media
Hugh John Dyke Acland, known as Jack, was born at Christchurch on 17 January 1904, the eldest son of Hugh Thomas Dyke Acland and his wife, Evelyn Mary Ovans. John Barton Arundel Acland, his grandfather, had arrived in…
William Frederick (Fred) Alexander was born on 20 July 1882 at Little River, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, the eldest child of William Francis Alexander, a storekeeper, and his wife, Elizabeth Sarah Phillips. Alexander…
Rachelina Hepburn Stewart was born on 22 April 1873 at Dunedin, New Zealand, to Rachel Hepburn and her husband, William Downie Stewart, a barrister. She displayed a strength of character and sense of determination from…
Evelyn Gertrude Brooke, usually called Eva, was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, on 13 September 1879, the daughter of Thomas William Brooke, a carpenter, and his wife, Kate Theresa Coad. Her father died, probably in…
Edward Tennyson Conolly was born at Chichester, Sussex, England, probably on 31 August 1822, into a family of Irish origin. He was the only son of Elizabeth Collins and her husband, John Conolly, a professor of medicine…
The matriarch of the Wong Doo clan in Auckland, New Zealand, was born sometime between 1873 and 1875 in Xinhui county, Guangdong province, China. Her given name was Chan Yau-nui, which was later simplified to Unui. She…
Mary Victoria Gibson was the eldest of 10 children of Frederick Denhame Gibson and his second wife, Mary Fox Rodd. She was born on 28 October 1864 at Lyttelton, New Zealand, where her father was port officer. Her sister…
Eliza (known as Leilah) Urquhart was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 29 January 1877, daughter of Margaret Wright and her husband, Robert Maurice Urquhart, a ship's steward. In 1880 Robert Urquhart brought his family to…
Amy Maria Briscoe was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, on 3 February 1864, the fifth of six children of Elizabeth Bishop and her husband, John Briscoe, a master cabinet-maker. By February 1868 her mother and all…
Grace Jane Joel, the sixth of nine children and first daughter of Kate Woolf and her husband, Maurice Joel, was born at Dunedin, New Zealand, on 28 May 1865. Her parents were both born in England and had married in…
John James Meikle was born in Linlithgow, Scotland, probably in 1844 or 1845, the son of John Meikle, a general labourer, and his wife, Jannet Jamieson. Nothing is known of Meikle's early life. In October 1869 he and…
Kahupāke (Kahupaake) Rongonui, also known as Hāriata Whareiti and Kahupāke Potatau, was born in Tāmaki-makau-rau (the Auckland isthmus), probably in 1868 or 1869. She was a member of Te Akitai, a subtribe of Te Wai-o-…
Helen Hay Smith was born at McMaster's Flat, South Otago, on 29 August 1873, a daughter of Jessie Haigie and her husband, James Smith, a farmer who had come to New Zealand from Ayr, Scotland. Helen was educated at…
Freda Beatrice Stark was born on 27 March 1910 in Kaeo, Northland, the daughter of James William Stark, a storekeeper, and his wife, Isabella Matilda Bramley. Soon after, her parents moved to Auckland, where Freda…
Jane (known as Jean) Stevenson was born in Dunedin on 7 November 1881, the eldest of 13 children of William Stevenson, a grocer, and his wife, Barbara Irvine. Her father was a successful businessman, who went into…
Donald Sutherland was born at the port town of Wick, Caithness, Scotland, probably in 1843 or 1844, the son of Isabella Strachan and her husband, Donald Sutherland, a ropemaker. Of an adventurous temperament, by the age…
Selina Sutherland (whose name at baptism was Sutherland Sutherland) was born on 26 December 1839 at Culgower, Sutherlandshire, Scotland, the third child of Jane McDonald and her husband, Baigrie Sutherland, a farm…