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William Roy McGregor was born in Thames on 8 July 1894, the son of Peter McGregor, a draper, and his wife, Susan Melville Rea. He attended Auckland Grammar School in 1909, then – it is understood – briefly took up…

Emmet Charles McHardy was born at Pīhama, Taranaki, on 27 June 1904, the third of four children of John McHardy, a Scottish-born farmer, and his wife, Mary Frances O’Reilly, the daughter of Irish hotel-keepers. It was…

Harold Gladstone Miller was born on 15 May 1898 in Masterton to Nellie Stores and her husband, Tobias Miller, a shop assistant. He was educated at Masterton District High School, where he captained both the First XV and…

Patricia Charlotte Perrin was born at her family’s home in Arthur Street, Ellerslie, Auckland, on 11 July 1921, the daughter of Ruby Elizabeth Bennett and her husband, Huntly Percy Perrin, a dentist. Her mother died…

David (also known as Darby) Pretty was born at Okete, near Raglan, New Zealand, on 20 October 1878, the son of Joseph Pretty, a farmer, and his wife, Joanna Kescel. His father had been a member of the Waikato Militia…

John Robertson was born at Outram, Otago, New Zealand, on 18 July 1870, the son of Joseph Robertson, a storekeeper, and his wife, Jessie Borrie. He was educated at Kaitangata and Stirling schools, and was a pupil-…

Myrtle May Simpson was born in Christchurch on 18 April 1905, the daughter of Amelia Snell and her husband, Henry Simpson, a foreman of works. Growing up in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs, she received her primary…

George Marshall McCall Smith was born on 13 November 1882 at Nairn, Scotland, the second son of Ann Mein Andrews and her husband, Samuel McCall Smith, who farmed at Laggan, Speyside. He was educated at Laggan School,…

Donald John Stott, the son of Annie McKay and her husband, Robert Edward Stott, a butcher, was born in Birkenhead, Auckland, on 23 October 1914. He was educated at Northcote School and Takapuna Grammar School, where he…

Donald McNaughton Stuart was the first of twin sons born to Alexander Stewart, a farmer, and his wife, Janet McNaughton, at Stichs (Stix), Perthshire, Scotland. He was baptised Donald on 2 February 1819. Educated at the…

Te Kani a Takirau was of Te Aitanga a Hauiti and Ngāti Porou. Born near the end of the eighteenth century, probably on the East Coast, he lived most of his life at Ūawa (Tolaga Bay). His mother was Ngārangikahiwa, the…

Ronald Arthur Tinker was born at Christchurch on 13 April 1913, the son of Australian-born parents Harry Albert Tinker, a veterinary dentist, and his wife, Millicent Elizabeth Wood. He attended Addington School and…

Edward George Wright was born at Woolwich, Kent, England, on 14 June 1831, the son of Elizabeth and Thomas Wright. His father was a gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery. Edward Wright was educated at private schools and…

Julius Vogel was born in London, England, probably on 24 February 1835, the son of Albert Leopold Vogel and his wife, Phoebe Isaac. His mother was the oldest daughter of a Jewish merchant family headed by Alexander…

Lindsay Poole was a forester and senior public servant who guided the New Zealand Forest Service, first as assistant director then as director, during the middle decades of the twentieth century. His career followed an…

George Stoddart Whitmore was born on 30 May 1829 in Malta, the son of George St Vincent Whitmore and his wife, Isabella Maxwell Stoddart. His father was a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers stationed at Malta; his mother…

Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch (or Rīwai-Couch) was known throughout his life, and by his own preference, as Ben Couch. He was born at Lyttelton on 27 June 1925, the first of eight children of a farmer, George Manning…

Daniel Marcus Davin was born in Invercargill on 1 September 1913, the second son and fourth child of Mary Magdalene Sullivan and her husband, Patrick Davin, a railway guard. His parents were working-class Irish…

Pūrakau Maika was the son of Maika Pūrakau, a pro-King movement chief of Hurunuiorangi pā at the junction of the Tauheru and Ruamāhanga rivers. His father was of Ngāti Hikarāhui hapū, which combined lines of descent…

Peter McIntyre was born in Dunedin on 4 July 1910, the son of Peter McIntyre, a lithographic artist, and his wife, Isabella Edith Cubitt. His Scottish father had been one of the founders of the Caxton Printing Company,…