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W.H. (Bill) Oliver was one of New Zealand’s most eminent twentieth-century historians. He gained distinction as a scholar of British and New Zealand history and was part of a tradition of poet-historians, with five…

George Augustus Selwyn was born on 5 April 1809 at Hampstead, England, the second son of William Selwyn, a noted constitutional lawyer, and his wife, Laetitia Frances Kynaston. His education began at a preparatory…

Tupu Atanatiu Taingākawa Te Waharoa was the second son of Wiremu Tāmihana Tarapīpipi Te Waharoa and Pare Te Kanawa (Wikitōria). They belonged to Ngāti Hauā, but also had links with Ngāti Hinepare (a hapū of Ngāti…

Edward James Te Āika Tregerthen, later known as Eruera Tīhema Tirikātene, was born on 5 January 1895 at Te Rakiwhakaputa pā near Kaiapoi. His father, a carpenter, later a skipper of boats, wheat farmer and minister of…

Heke Pōkai was born at Pākaraka, near the Bay of Islands, probably after the death of his mother's brother Pōkaia, after whom he was named, at the battle of Moremonui (also known as Te Kai-a-te-karoro and Te Haenga-o-te…

Rua Kēnana, sometimes known as Ruatapunui, has usually been considered to be the posthumous son of Kēnana Tūmoana of Ngāti Kahungunu, who was killed fighting for Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki at Mākāretu sometime…

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…

Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana was the founder of a Māori religious movement which, in the late 1920s, also became a major political movement. He was the latest in a line of prophetic descent which included Te Ua Haumēne,…

Paul Holmes was New Zealand’s best-known and most influential late twentieth-century broadcaster, straddling the line between serious current affairs presenter and entertainer. He succeeded in the three mass media…