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Agnes Broomfield was a 32-year-old hat trimmer at the time of her marriage to Robert Addison, a carpenter, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 19 August 1874. She was Edinburgh-born, the child of Margaret Fairbairn and her…

George Leslie Adkin was a self-taught scholar with the skills and integrity of a professional. Most of his working life he farmed with little profit or pleasure. His real interest was in geology and archaeology, and in…

Chan Hock Joe was born, according to family information, in 1882, at Ha Kei, Tsengshing (Zengcheng) county, in China's Guangdong province. He was the son of Chan Yook Ngan, the principal of the local school, and his…

Tom Ah Chee was the driving force behind the Foodtown supermarket empire, which accelerated the societal shift from the era of local grocery stores to one of large-scale supermarket chains. The son of a successful…

Henry Ah Kew was born in Auckland on 22 September 1900, the son of James Ah Kew and his wife, Mellie Guey, also known as Mary Fong. Henry’s father, whose Chinese name was Yan Kew, was born in the Chinese province of…

Willis Thomas Goodwin (Bill) Airey was born in Auckland on 7 January 1897. His father, Walter Henry Airey, an inspector of schools, had died three months earlier, leaving a widow, Margaret Avon McDonald, and seven…

Jessie Fraser was born at Ecclesmachan, Linlithgow, Scotland, on 14 April 1867, the daughter of Janet Hearne and her husband, Walter Fraser, a ploughman. With her parents and three younger sisters, Jessie emigrated to…

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…

Ann O'Connor Warner was born on 15 February 1842 at Oxford, England, to Sarah Lyne and her husband, Robert Warner, a shoemaker. Ann became a teacher at the parish school of St Ebbe, Oxford. While there she met Charles…

Fanny Jane Davis, who rose to international prominence under the stage name Frances Alda, was one of the first of a long line of New Zealand opera singers to achieve such fame. She came from a strong musical background…

George Edwin Alderton was born on 25 August 1854 at New Malden, Surrey, England, the son of Sarah Crockwell and her husband, Charles William Alderton, a secretary to a loan company. His family emigrated to New Zealand…

Jessie Alexander was born probably on 2 June 1876 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Scottish parents Mary Munro and her husband, William Alexander, a carpenter. The family came to New Zealand a year or so…

William Frederick (Fred) Alexander was born on 20 July 1882 at Little River, Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, the eldest child of William Francis Alexander, a storekeeper, and his wife, Elizabeth Sarah Phillips. Alexander…

Ronald Macmillan Algie was born in Wyndham, Southland, on 22 October 1888, the son of John Alexander Algie, a postmaster, and his wife, Agnes Macmillan. Algie was educated at Arrowtown, Thames High School and Balclutha…

Ewen William Alison was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on leap day, 29 February 1852, the son of Jane Cameron and her husband, Alexander Alison, a shipwright. The family moved to Devonport in 1854, and Ewen went to the…

Harry Howard Barton Allan was born in Nelson on 27 April 1882, the youngest of six children of Emma Maria Lewis and her husband, Robert Allan, a clothier. Harry attended the local Boys’ Central School, where the…

Born in Wellington on 18 August 1897, John Aitken Allan was the son of Scottish-born parents Eliza Ann Steel and her husband, William Allan, a prosperous draper and founder of the firm Veitch and Allan. His Presbyterian…

Robin Sutcliffe Allan was born at Dunedin on 7 September 1900. His father, Joseph Allan, was a farmer at East Taieri, and later agricultural editor of the Otago Witness. His mother, Emily Salmond, Joseph’s second wife…

Ernest John Bartlett Allen was born at South Hinksey, Berkshire, England, on 29 March 1884 to Ellen Bartlett and her husband, Spencer Henry Allen, a butcher. Allen must have shown considerable intellectual ability for…

One of just four men to have both captained and coached the All Blacks in test matches, Fred Allen was arguably New Zealand’s best rugby coach of the amateur era. He was certainly the most successful; the team lost none…