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Lauris Edmond was 51 when she began to publish poetry, and quickly won attention as a voice that was both mature and fresh. Identified at first with the 1970s upsurge of poetry by women, she was later recognised for her…

Erwin Leonard Guy Abel was born on 23 October 1911 at Ohakune, the second of four children of Leonard Guy Abel, a bush contractor and farm worker, and his wife, Rosa Hunt. Known as Wynn, he spent his school years in…

Chan Hock Joe was born, according to family information, in 1882, at Ha Kei, Tsengshing (Zengcheng) county, in China's Guangdong province. He was the son of Chan Yook Ngan, the principal of the local school, and his…

Born in Wellington on 18 August 1897, John Aitken Allan was the son of Scottish-born parents Eliza Ann Steel and her husband, William Allan, a prosperous draper and founder of the firm Veitch and Allan. His Presbyterian…

Robin Sutcliffe Allan was born at Dunedin on 7 September 1900. His father, Joseph Allan, was a farmer at East Taieri, and later agricultural editor of the Otago Witness. His mother, Emily Salmond, Joseph’s second wife…

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…

Isabel Annie Michaelsen was born on 18 March 1887 in Waipawa, Hawke's Bay. Her early family life was marred by tragedy. Her father, Harald Michaelsen, a Danish clerk, committed suicide by poisoning himself three months…

Constance Alice Barnicoat was born on 27 November 1872 in Richmond, Nelson, New Zealand. She was the last of seven children of Rebecca Lee Hodgson and her husband, early farming settler John Wallis Barnicoat, a member…

Nina Agatha Rosamond Greensill was born in Picton on 9 August 1879, the youngest of seven surviving children of Selina Rebecca Downes and her husband, John Abraham Roberts Greensill. Her mother died in 1883 and Nina was…

Charles John Wright Barton was born, according to family information, on 6 February 1852 at Daventry, Northamptonshire, England, and was baptised there on 2 March. He was the son of Charlotte Kinder and her husband,…

James Abbott Mackintosh Bell was born at St Andrews, Quebec, Canada, on 23 September 1877, the son of Andrew Bell, a civil engineer and architect, and his wife, Marianne Rosamond. The family moved to Almonte, Ontario,…

James Alexander Bonar and his twin sister, Anne, were born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 12 June 1840, the children of Archibald Bonar, a banker, and his wife, Sophia Robertson. James was educated at the Edinburgh Academy…

James Bragge was baptised on 12 June 1833 at South Shields, Durham, England, the son of Harriet Wigglesworth and her husband, James Bragge, a mechanic and later a builder and architect. Of his early life little is known…

Samuel Charles Brees was born probably in Great Britain in 1809 or 1810. There is no record of his parents' names. He married Ann Taylor; the date and place of their marriage are unknown. They had two sons and two…

Although Maggie Briggs's deeds as a show-jumper have been exaggerated and romanticised by her biographers, she was undoubtedly an outstanding horsewoman. Born Margaret Jane Briggs on 17 April 1892 at Ōtākeho, near…

George Edmund Butler was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, on 15 January 1872. In 1883 he emigrated with his parents, Joseph Cawte Butler and his wife, Jane Tiller, to New Zealand where his father established…

John Bartholomew Callan was born in Dunedin on 15 August 1882, the son of Ellen Mary Brophy and her husband, John Bartholomew Callan, a solicitor. John senior had left Ireland in 1859 for Melbourne, where several of his…

Ronald Alan Candy was born in Wanganui on 25 August 1903, the second child of Hubert Edward Candy, a farmer of Manaia, Taranaki, and his wife, Isabella Braid Christie. He was educated at Manaia School and New Plymouth…

Bill Carson was honoured in sport as the fifth person to represent New Zealand in both cricket and rugby, and in war as a recipient of the Military Cross for bravery. The son of the Gisborne harbourmaster, Alexander…

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…