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Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn was born at his parents' house beside the Auckland Domain on 2 February 1904. His mother, Teresa Harland, was a gifted musician; his father, Arthur Fairburn, became a music critic, but…

Philippe Viard was born in Lyons, France, on 11 October 1809, the eighth child of Claude Viard, a metal founder, and his wife, Pierrette Charlotte Rolland. He probably took Joseph as a religious name at confirmation. In…

Hirawanu Tapu (known also as Maitarawai and Taputehara Maitara) was born about 1824 at Te Awapātiki on the east coast of Chatham Island. He was a member of the Ōwenga Moriori tribe. His mother's name was either Rūnanga…

Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, known also as Katu, was the son of the great Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha and his fifth and senior wife, Te Ākau of Tūhourangi. He was born at Pukearuhe, a Ngāti Tama pā in northern Taranaki,…

William Daniel Barrett was born on 27 October 1878 at Riverton, Southland, the fourth of eleven children of Louisa Hunter and her husband, Henry Barrett, a labourer. His paternal grandparents were Richard Barrett, a…

Harold Herbert Williams was born at Wairoa, northern Hawke’s Bay, on 25 January 1880, one of several children of Elizabeth Carroll and her Welsh-born husband, Herbert Joseph Williams, a county clerk and former constable…

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…

Nada Hazel Ryan, or Nan, as she was always known, was born the eldest of four children in Sydney, Australia, on 10 October 1922. She was the daughter of Nada Naomi Nation and her husband, Richard Hazel Ryan, a general…

Edward John von Dadelszen is among those who shaped New Zealand's national institutions, but even at the height of his public service career more attention was paid to his brief, albeit romantic, adventures as a…

Henry Joseph Keliher was born on 2 March 1896 in Waikerikeri valley, Central Otago, the son of Mary Carter and her husband, Michael Joseph Keliher, a goldminer and later a farmer. Henry was educated at the public school…

Victor Leonard William Mitchell, always known as Leonard, was born in Palmerston North on 8 March 1925. He was the eldest son of Victoria Adelaide Cogswell and her husband, Leonard Cornwall Mitchell, an artist and…

Hēnare Pōtae was possibly born in the late 1820s. He belonged to Te Whānau-a-Ruataupare hapū of Ngāti Porou. His father was Te Pōtaeaute, also known as Ēnoka Pōtae, who signed a copy of the Treaty of Waitangi on 9 June…

Worley Bassett Edwards was undoubtedly the most controversial man to have sat on the Bench of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Character flaws dogged his judicial career and earned him the fierce dislike of many…

Rīpeka Wharawhara Love was through descent and marriage kin to Te Āti Awa chiefs whose mana continued to extend over the Wellington region after the arrival of Pākehā settlers in 1840. As an heir to that mana, she was…

Papahurihia, also known as Te Atua Wera, was a renowned Ngāpuhi tohunga. He belonged to both Te Hikutū and Ngāti Hau hapū. The date of his birth is unknown; in 1866 he was said to be about 50 years of age, but he was…

Nireaha Tāmaki was born at Te Pākawau on the Manawatū River probably between 1835 and 1837. His father was Matiu Tāmaki, a descendant of high rank of Rangitāne and Hāmua; Nireaha was sometimes known as Nireaha Matiu.…

Jessie Mackay was born on 15 December 1864 at Double Hill station, above the Rakaia Gorge in Canterbury, New Zealand. She was the eldest child of Elizabeth Ormiston and her husband, Robert Mackay, a shepherd who managed…

James Ronald Hugh Morrieson died at 50, a sad and disappointed man. His remark, ‘I hope I’m not another one of these poor buggers who get discovered when they’re dead’ became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Morrieson was…

Pinepine Te Rika was born probably in 1857 or 1858 at Rāhitiroa, an old settlement of Ngāti Kuri just east of Te Waiiti, in the Bay of Plenty. Her father was Te Rika Te Wheura (sometimes known as Te Mīkaera Te Rika or…

William Arthur Moffatt (Māwhete) was born at Tiakitahuna (Jackeytown), south of Palmerston North, on 4 March 1880, the son of Emiri Mōkena (Emily Morgan) and her husband, William Moffatt. His mother, also known as Ārani…