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Lindsay Poole was a forester and senior public servant who guided the New Zealand Forest Service, first as assistant director then as director, during the middle decades of the twentieth century. His career followed an…

Leon MacIntosh Ellis was born on 17 July 1887 in Meaford, Ontario, Canada, to Mary A. MacIntosh and her husband, James A. Ellis, an architect. He attended school in Toronto, then graduated BSc with honours in forestry…

One of a family of five daughters, Mary Sutherland was born in London on 4 May 1893 to Nellie Miller Sutherland and her husband, David Sutherland, a medical wine manufacturer. Four of the sisters pursued careers: two in…

David Hendry was born the third of four children to Robert Hendry, a labourer, and his wife, Agnes Stevenson, on 24 November 1888 at Juniper Green, Midlothian, Scotland. His mother died when he was young. On leaving…

Alexander Robert Entrican was born at Devonport on 28 January 1898, the son of Robert John Entrican, a merchant, and his wife, Annie Isabella Lamb. Known as Pat, he was educated at Auckland Grammar School and in 1915…

Arnold Hansson played a major role in New Zealand forestry during the 1920s and 1930s. Born Arnold Maria Hansen in Drammen, Norway, on 10 November 1889 to Hans Arnold Hansen, a chemist, and his wife, Marie Christine…

John Thorpe Holloway was born at Oxford, in rural North Canterbury, on 15 November 1914, the son of Margaret Brenda North and her husband, John Ernest Holloway, an Anglican vicar. In 1916 the family moved to Hokitika…

Thomas Kirk was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, on 18 January 1828, the son of George Kirk, a nurseryman, and his wife, Sarah West, a nurserywoman and florist. He showed a keen interest in botany from an early…

Francis John Carter was born at Moutoa, northern Manawatū, New Zealand, to Elizabeth Julian and her husband, John Carter, a farmer, on 13 December 1869. Nothing is known of his education and early life, but as a young…

William Roy McGregor was born in Thames on 8 July 1894, the son of Peter McGregor, a draper, and his wife, Susan Melville Rea. He attended Auckland Grammar School in 1909, then – it is understood – briefly took up…

Norman Lascelles Elder was born on 6 April 1896 in Wellington, the son of Henry Richardson Elder and his wife, Anne Wildman. He grew up in a frontier farming environment at Waikanae, where his father cleared the bush to…

William James Butler was born at Leamington, Warwickshire, England, on 18 March 1858, the son of Jane Matilda Long and her husband, James Butler, a master linen draper. His brother Joseph was born at Leamington on 1…

Lancelot William McCaskill (registered at birth as Lancecot) was born at Winchester, South Canterbury, on 8 May 1900, the son of Janet Bisset and her husband, Daniel McCaskill, a wool scourer. His father died when he…

Henry John Matthews was born on 19 September 1859 at Dunedin, New Zealand, the fourth surviving son and youngest child of George Matthews, a nurseryman, and his wife, Elizabeth Pressly. His parents emigrated from…

Henry Douglas Morpeth Haszard was born on 16 January 1862 at Mangonui, Northland, New Zealand, the eldest surviving son of Moore Hunter Morpeth and her husband, Robert Haszard, a farmer and former goldminer. His parents…

Ernest Valentine Sanderson was born in Dunedin on 8 February 1866, the second of five children of Jane Sanderson and William Walter James Spreat, a lithographic draughtsman. By 1874 the family had moved to Wellington,…

David Miller, one of New Zealand’s leading scientists, shares with R. J. Tillyard the distinction of founding professional entomology in New Zealand. Their work was based on the contributions of several great amateurs.…

Eliza Amy Campbell was born at Havelock North, Hawke’s Bay, on 10 October 1888, the fourth child of Hugh Campbell, a station manager, and his wife, Amy Allott. Amy died in 1890, and Hugh married her younger sister,…

Hans Heinrich Suter, known in New Zealand as Henry Suter, was born on 9 March 1841 near Zürich, Switzerland. He was the son of Heinrich Suter, a silk manufacturer, and his wife, Susanna Mahler. After training in Zürich…

James Hudson was born on 13 October 1854, in Clerkenwell, London, England, the son of artist Charles Hudson and his wife, Emily Jane Carnal. James attended Devizes Grammar School and at 14 became apprenticed to a doctor…