New Zealand’s fourth Labour prime minister, Norman Eric Kirk, was the first to be born and grow to maturity in New Zealand. He was born at Waimate in South Canterbury on 6 January 1923, the eldest of three children of…
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Te Rangihaeata, born probably in the 1780s in the Kāwhia district, was a leader of Ngāti Toa. His hapū included Ngāti Kimihia to which he was kin through his mother, Waitohi, who was the elder sister of Te Rauparaha.…
Ranginui Walker was a highly influential writer, public commentator, community leader and activist who played a significant role in the cultural and political renaissance of Māori in the 1970s and 1980s. He contributed…
Images and media for 'roberts' in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB)
See 502 results in Te Ara Images & Media
See 502 results in Te Ara Images & Media
Alfred Henry Burton was the eldest of four sons of John Burton and his wife, Martha Neal. He was born at Leicester, Leicestershire, England, probably sometime between 1833 and 1835. John Burton had founded the firm of…
Arthur Rex Dugard Fairburn was born at his parents' house beside the Auckland Domain on 2 February 1904. His mother, Teresa Harland, was a gifted musician; his father, Arthur Fairburn, became a music critic, but…
Charles Alexander Fleming was born in Auckland on 9 September 1916. He was the eldest of three children of Winifred Hardy and her husband, George Herbert Fleming. George had inherited a substantial private income from a…
Julius von Haast was a foundational figure in New Zealand science, both as a researcher and as an institution builder. His geological and geographical surveys helped foster a better scientific understanding of New…
Leonard Charles Huia Lye was born on 5 July 1901 in Christchurch. A year earlier the marriage of his parents, Rose Ann Cole and Harry Lye, a hairdresser, had caused conflict between his father’s Anglican and his mother’…
John Davies Ormond, known as 'The Master' by his family and as 'The Hon. J. D.' by his parliamentary colleagues, was born in Wallingford, Berkshire, England, and baptised on 28 June 1831, the fourth child and third son…
Prolific and multi-talented, Joanna Paul was one of the most gifted artists of her generation. Intensely responsive to the world around her, she depicted her surroundings, constantly reworking the conventions of drawing…
Te Awa-i-taia was born probably in the late eighteenth century. His mother was Purehina, and his father was Te Kata. Most sources state that Te Awa-i-taia had nine wives, including Rangihikitanga, Hinu, Kararaina,…
Te Horetā, also known as Te Taniwha, was a leader of Ngāti Whanaunga, one of the Marutūāhu confederation of Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel Peninsula tribes. The names of his parents are not recorded. He may have been born…
Hoani Parāone (Brown) Tunuiārangi was born probably in 1843 or 1844 in the Whakatomotomo valley near Palliser Bay in southern Wairarapa. It is thought that his father, John Robert Brown, was a whaler, possibly one of…
James Carroll was born at Wairoa, northern Hawke's Bay, probably on 20 August 1857, one of eight children of Joseph Carroll and his Ngāti Kahungunu wife, Tapuke, a woman of mana. His father, a Sydney-born Irishman, had…
Te Rauparaha was the son of Werawera, of Ngāti Toa, and his second wife, Parekōwhatu (Parekōhatu), of Ngāti Raukawa. He is said to have been a boy when James Cook was in New Zealand. If so, it is likely that he was…
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…
Early life and marriage Sylvia Constance Ashton Warner (whose pen-name was Sylvia Ashton-Warner) was born in Stratford, Taranaki, on 17 December 1908. Her father, Francis Ashton Warner, had arrived in New Zealand at…
Duncan Alexander Cameron is said to have been born on 19 December 1808, the son of Sir John and Lady Cameron. His mother's birth name was Brock. Duncan Cameron's forebears, descended from the chiefs of their clan, after…
Leonard Cockayne, New Zealand's greatest botanist and a founder of modern science in New Zealand, was born at Norton Lees, near Sheffield, England, on 7 April 1855. He was the youngest of seven children of Mary Shepherd…
Joan Donley was a midwife whose advocacy of home births and natural childbirth helped shape modern midwifery in New Zealand. She argued that women should have the right to reject medicalised maternity care, and helped…