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Hilda Beatrice Herbert was born in Vauxhall, London, England, on 17 February 1864, one of nine children of Louisa Hopgood and her husband, George William Herbert, an Anglican vicar. Artistic from an early age, she…

John Te One Hippolite (registered as Teone Hoani Hippolite) was born at Madsen Bay, D’Urville Island, on 25 August 1929, the eldest of 10 children of Benjamin (Peneamine) Hippolite, a labourer, and his wife, Maria Poto…

New Zealand’s first left-wing documentary film-maker, Cecil Holmes achieved notoriety in the late 1940s through the highly publicised exposure of his communist activity as a New Zealand Public Service Association (PSA)…

Born in London, England, on 29 August 1872, Edith Annie Howes was one of the five surviving children of Cecilia Brown and her husband, William Howes, a post office clerk who later became an accountant. The family…

James Hume was born on 27 February 1823 in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Robert Hume, a slater, and his wife, Sarah Ferguson. From a young age he worked in lunatic asylums, spending many years at Gartnavel Asylum near…

James Peter Speid Jamieson was the youngest son and eighth child of Robert Jamieson and his wife, Barbara Laurenson Laing. He was born at the family croft at Cruisdale, near Sandness, Shetland, Scotland, on 9 February…

Walter Woods Johnston was born in London, England, probably on 10 August 1839, the first child of Henrietta Charlotte Hatton and her husband, John Johnston, a merchant and stockbroker. Walter accompanied his parents and…

On 16 September 1851 William Jolliffe was born in Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England, the son of William Peter Jolliffe and his wife, Harriett Penny. His father was a barrister and William received legal training. He…

Rodney Eric Kennedy was a friend of artists and a passionate advocate of what has become the modern canon of New Zealand art. He was also a leader in experimental theatre, a witty, acerbic host, and an accomplished cook…

Charles Henry Kettle was born in Kent, England, probably on 6 April 1821; his father was Matthew Kettle. Much of his early life remains obscure. Reputedly from a respectable, if impecunious, background, and of good…

Hēnare Mōkena Kōhere was born on 10 March 1880 at Te Araroa, East Cape. He was the fourth child of Hōne Hiki Kōhere and his wife Henarata Peretō (Bristow) of Ngāti Porou. Hēnare, a grandson of the Ngāti Porou chief…

Martin Krippner was born probably on 23 September 1817 at Mantau, Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the eldest son of Johannes Krippner, a blacksmith, and his wife, Anna Pallier. Martin received…

Michael (Mick) James Larescey was born on 20 October 1871 in Avoca near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, the fourth child of Irish Catholic parents James Larescey and his wife, Anne Haire. James had come to Victoria as a…

Anton Bernhardt Julius Lemmer was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany, probably in 1870 or 1871, the son of Adolf Lemmer, an agent, and his wife, Alivine Schostach. He was educated at music schools in Berlin and Hamburg…

Jim Macdonald, known to his navy colleagues as ‘Mac’, was the most decorated New Zealand naval officer of the Second World War and went on to become a successful city engineer in Wellington. Of medium height with dark…

Charles Ewing Mackay (later known as Charles Evan Mackay) was born in Nelson, New Zealand, on 29 June 1875, the son of Joseph Mackay and his wife, Jessie Wilkie. Joseph taught mathematics at Nelson College, and from…

Robert Haldane Makgill was born on 24 May 1870 at Stirling, Scotland, the son of Margaret Isabella Haldane and her husband, Captain Sir John Makgill of the Royal Engineers. His mother came from a distinguished family:…

James William Matthews was born at Ahaura on the West Coast on 26 September 1895, the son of James Lindsay Matthews, a butcher, and his wife, Elizabeth Agatha Pothan. He was educated at Wairoa School, Hawke’s Bay. As a…

Malcolm Charles (Mac) McGregor, who was to achieve fame as a First World War air ace and later helped to establish civil aviation in New Zealand, was born on 4 March 1896 at Mangamako, near Hunterville. He was the…

Frank Winfird Millar was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 20 September 1885, the son of Mary Elizabeth Geddes and her husband, Walter Oliphant Millar, a Scottish-born accountant. Shortly after his 16th birthday Millar…