Search

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…

Richard Hutton Davies was born to the journalist Theophilus Davies and his wife, Mary Curtis Acton, in London, England, on 14 August 1861. He received his early education at St John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex,…

Mōnita (Mō) Eru Delamere was born on 17 June 1921 at Ōmāio, Bay of Plenty, the fifth of at least eight children. His parents were Hannah Te Au and her husband, Pāora (Paul) Kīngi Delamere, a farmer and leader of the…

James George Donald was born at Tauherenīkau, Wairarapa, on 4 June 1898 and his brother Quentin Donald was born at Featherston on 13 March 1900. They were the sons of Quentin Donald, a farmer, and his wife, Alice Ford.…

Arthur Leonard Downes was born at Warwick, England, on 27 May 1895, the son of Richard Downes, a fishmonger and game dealer, and his wife, Lavinia Tomlinson. He attended secondary school, then was employed by the…

John Evelyn Duigan was born at Whanganui on 30 March 1883, the son of Mary Emily Broad and her husband, James Duigan, a miller and later editor of the Wanganui Herald. He attended Wanganui Collegiate School in 1894, but…

Hopeful Gibbons, the founder of one of New Zealand's largest family businesses, was born at Launceston, Tasmania, on 4 October 1856, the sixth of twelve children of Robert George Gibbons, a shipbuilder, and his wife,…

Janet Speed was born on 31 January 1864 in Whanganui, New Zealand, the fifth of eight children of James Speed and his wife, Janet Montgomery. James had business interests and land at Whanganui, but soon after Janet's…

James Henry Gunson was born on 26 October 1877 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was the son of Jane Burton and her husband, William Gunson, a storeman who became a grain and seed merchant. Both parents were from the north…

Haerehuka, also known as Huka, was a chief of Ngāti Whakaue, of Te Arawa, and lived at Ōhinemutu. His mother's name is not recorded. His father was Taiki Haerehuka. He was a descendant of Taua. Taua's wife was abducted…

Reremoana Paratene was born at Manutūkē, near Gisborne, probably on 3 February 1889, the youngest of four children. Her mother was Hera (Sarah) Ngāikiha Halbert, whose parents were Keita Kaikiri of Ngāti Kaipoho, a hapū…

Kathleen Anne Baird Hall was born in Napier on 4 October 1896, the fifth child in a family of seven. Her father, Thomas Hall, was the district land registrar in Napier; her mother, Helen Baird Hall (née Macky), was a…

James Hargest, generally known as Jim or Jimmy, was born in Gore on 4 September 1891, the son of Mary Prosser and her husband, James Hargest, a labourer. He was educated at Gore and Mandeville schools, before joining…

Florence Marie Woodhead was born on 19 September 1891 at New Plymouth, New Zealand, the second of six children of Catherine Davy and her husband, Ambler Woodhead, a teacher. In 1905 the family moved to Waitahanui, a…

Hikairo is thought to have been born in the late eighteenth century, probably between 1780 and 1790, probably at Puhirua or Te Awahou, on the northern shores of Rotorua. He became leader of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, one of the…

Edmund Hobhouse was born in London, England, on 17 April 1817, the son of Henry Hobhouse and his wife, Harriet Turton. Henry Hobhouse was a prominent government official, and Edmund had a privileged upbringing and…

Hēmi Huata was the fourth child of Tāmihana Huata, the first vicar of Wairoa Māori pastorate, who had succeeded the missionary James Hamlin in 1864. Tāmihana was an important chief whose influence on events in the…

Jimmy James, the man who taught thousands of Wellingtonians the art of ballroom dancing, was born Dimitrios Skafidas in Athens, Greece, on 15 February 1915. He was one of six children of Nickolai Skafidas, a shoemaker,…

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…

Frederick Patrick Ladd was born on 27 October 1908 at Warkworth, north of Auckland, the eldest child of Thomas Joseph Frederick James Ladd, a locomotive engineer, and Christina Pepper, an Irish waitress, who married in…