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Ōtene Pītau is said to have been born in 1834 or 1835. His father, Thomas Halbert, was a trader of English descent who settled at Muriwai, Poverty Bay, with a woman of Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki named Pirihira Konekone.…

The most famous of the women of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Maniapoto in the nineteenth century was undoubtedly Rihi Puhiwahine Te Rangi-hirawea. She knew many of the notable chiefs and leading women among the tribes of…

Ēria Tūtara-Kauika Raukura was the leading tohunga of the Ringatū church, founded by Te Kooti Arikirangi. His father, Raukura, from Ngāi Tahupō of Māhia Peninsula, was taken prisoner by Tūhoe after tribal fighting. His…

Hikawera Te Kurapa was born at Rūātoki in 1907. His father, Te Tuhera Te Kurapa (also known as Te Kurapa Te Ao), was a shearer of Ngāti Tāwhaki hapū; his mother, Matahera Te Hira of Te Urewera hapū, was a grand-daughter…

When soldiers of the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion recalled 'the Padre' they spoke with genuine warmth of the Reverend Hēnare Wēpiha Te Wainohu. As chaplain to the Māori troops during the First World War, Te Wainohu…

Irāia Te Whāiti, also known as Irāia Te Ama and Te Ama-o-te-rangi, was born in south Wairarapa, probably in 1861 or 1862. He was the eldest child of Te Rangihakahaka Te Whāiti and Hine-ki-te-rangi, both of Ngāti…

Born in Ōhinemutu, Rotorua, probably in 1886 or 1887, Pāora Temuera, sometimes known as Pāora Ngatapu Temuera, Pāora Temuera Tokoaituā or Pāora Tokoaituā, was the elder son of Temuera Tokoaituā, a Ngāti Whakaue Anglican…

John Thornton was born at Kentish Town, London, England, on 19 March 1844, the son of John Thornton, a coachman, and his wife, Mary Ann Bott. John was educated privately and at Highbury College, London, where he gained…

Eruera Hāmiora Tumutara, also known as Eru Hāmiora Pio, was probably born in 1859 or 1860 in the Te Whāiti district south-east of Murupara in the Bay of Plenty. He was the third child of Hāmiora Tumutara Te Tihi-o-te-…

Te Hāpuku, sometimes called Te Ika-nui-o-te-moana, was born in the late eighteenth century. He was a leader of Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti. Kinship links within Ngāti Kahungunu, Rangitāne, Ngāti Ira and other major tribal…

Te Pareihe of Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti in Heretaunga (Hawke's Bay) began his career as a war leader in the early nineteenth century. He was also known as Pareihe Kai-a-te-kōkopu and as Hōri. The identity of his parents is…

William and John Deans, first and third of four sons of John Deans, a notary, and his wife, Catherine Young, were born in the parish of Kirkstyle, Riccarton, Scotland. William was baptised on 31 January 1817; John was…

George Gage, or Hōri Te Kou-o-rehua Keeti as he was known to Māori, was born probably in 1895 or 1896 at Kihikihi, Waikato. His father, John Gage (Hōne Keeti), was of Ngāti Maniapoto. His mother, Rea Waitāuhi Nikorima…

John Jones, widely known as Johnny Jones, was born probably in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1808 or 1809, the son of Thomas Jones; his mother's name is unknown. He spent his early years in sealing and whaling ships,…

Rina Matewai Ruru, better known as Lena, was born in Gisborne on 5 June 1902, the sixth of eleven children of Hēnare Keepa Ruru and his wife, Maata Rewanga Parāone. Her birth coincided with the death of her mother’s…

Te Korou was born in the later eighteenth century. Through his father, Te Raku, he was a descendant of Rangitāne, from Hauiti, the younger sibling of Hamua, ancestor of his principal hapū. His mother was Te Kai, and…

Te Hata Tīpoki, sometimes known as Te Hata Kōpū, was born in 1880, probably at or near Waihīrere in Wairoa, northern Hawke's Bay. His father was also called Te Hata or Hata Tīpoki and may have been a follower of Te…

Wī Whitu was born on 4 December 1908 at Maungapōhatu, at the height of Rua Kēnana’s religious leadership there. His parents were Whitu Te Rangimakā (Makā) Tawa (or Kanuehi) of Hāmua, a Tūhoe hapū in Ruātoki, and his…

Hēnare Te Raumoa Huatahi Balneavis was born at Muriwai, Poverty Bay, according to family information on 26 March 1880, the only son of John Henry Balneavis, a surveyor, and his wife, Rina Matewai Wilson. His special…

Pāora Kaiwhata's father, Tareahi, of Ngāti Hinepare and Ngāi Tākaha, hapū of Ngāti Kahungunu in Hawke's Bay, was living at Te Rae-o-Tahumata near Ōmāhu when Kaiwhata was born. The tribes of the Heretaunga plain were…