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Born in Maungatautari, Waikato, on 8 June 1905, Wiremu Te Ranga Poutapu, known as Piri (Bill), was of the Tainui people Ngāti Korokī. His father was Pouaka Winikerei, a carpenter, and his mother Rangitaau Paraki. The…

George Eric Oakes Ramsden was born in Martinborough, Wairarapa, on 1 August 1898, the eldest of three children of Henry Oakes Ramsden, an Englishman, and his New Zealand-born wife, Sophia Jane Harris. Henry Ramsden was…

Raharuhi Rukupō of Rongowhakaata is said to have been born at Ōrākaiapu pā, Manutūkē, in Poverty Bay, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He was the second son of Te Pohepohe (also known as Pītau) of Ngāti Maru…

Although born in London (on 11 December 1893) William George Stevens had deep New Zealand roots: his grandfather was an early settler of Southland, and his father, William Stevens, was an employee of the New Zealand…

John Guthrie Wood Aitken was born on 6 February 1849 near Kilchenzie, on the Kintyre Peninsula, Argyllshire, Scotland, the son of devout Presbyterians Isabella Tudehope and her husband, Robert Aitken, a farmer. John was…

Born at Cramond, near Edinburgh, Scotland, on 20 June 1824, David Bruce was the son of a carpenter, also named David Bruce, and his wife, Margaret Robertson. The family moved to Perthshire, where David attended parish…

Georgina Jane Gilbert was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, probably some time between 1836 and 1841, to Jane Currie and her husband, James Gilbert, a tailor. The family emigrated to New Zealand about 1844.On 22 November…

Abner Clough, also known as Amura, was born and baptised on 13 September 1840 at Akaroa, New Zealand. His father, James Robinson Clough, also known as Jimmy Robinson, had arrived at Akaroa several years before. He acted…

Jane Annie Collier was born on 28 September 1869 at Springston, Canterbury, New Zealand, the daughter of Mary Ann Nankervis and her husband, Titus Close Collier, a clerk. From 1875 Jane was educated at a small private…

Alfred Ernest Cousins was born in the Channel Islands at St Helier, Jersey, on 24 October 1852, the son of Elizabeth Coutanche and her husband, Peter Cousins, a carpenter. From 1868 he served as an apprentice in London…

Frederick Earp was born on 27 October 1841 at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England, the youngest child of Edward Earp, a labourer, and his wife, Mary Kirby. Fred's parents died when he was young, and he was brought up…

John Lees Faulkner was born in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, probably some time between 1810 and 1812, the son of Jarvis Faulkner, a farmer, and his wife, Elizabeth. As a young man, working probably as a ship's carpenter…

Ruawahine, of Ngāi Tūkairangi hapū of Ngāi Te Rangi, was the daughter of Tāwaho and Parewhakarau. Also known as Puihi, she was born probably in the early nineteenth century and became an important link between Māori and…

Matilda Webb was born at North Nibley, near Dursley, Gloucestershire, England, on 30 May 1813, the daughter of Ann Hill and her husband, Thomas Webb. The Webb family had been engaged in the wool and cloth trade for…

Clara Evelyn James was born in Ettrick, South Otago, on 4 March 1885, the daughter of Christina Thomas and her husband, William James, a rabbiter. Little is known of her early life. She lived in Dunedin before moving to…

Ana Matawhāura Hato was born in Ngāpuna, Rotorua, on 30 December 1907, one of three children of Hato Mae Ngāmahirau, of Ngāti Whakaue, and his wife, Riripeti Te Opehōia Eparaima, of Tūhourangi. Her close relatives…

Mabel Annie Fielding was born on 1 July 1902 at Pleasant Point, Canterbury, the youngest of the seven children of Frederick Fielding, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Davis, both immigrants from Britain. After Frederick was…

Alexander Whisker was born at Markethill, County Armagh, Ireland, on 22 July 1819. He was the son of Catherine Jenkins and her husband, James Whisker. He enlisted in the British Army on 26 May 1838 and was posted to the…

Harold Eric Barrowclough was born in Masterton on 23 June 1894, the son of Hannah Sibthorpe Gault and her husband, Alfred Ernest Barrowclough, a civil engineer who later worked as a schoolteacher. Between 1907 and 1912…

Horace Belshaw was born in Wigan, Lancashire, England, on 9 February 1898, the son of James Belshaw, a master greengrocer, and his wife, Mary Pilkington. His father was one of the first Labour councillors in Britain and…