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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…

Ernest George Frederick Vogtherr was born in Sunderland, England, on 18 February 1898, the eldest of four children of Sophia Vogt and her husband, Carl Wilhelm Frederick Vogtherr, a master pork butcher. Ernest was sent…

Carl Sylvius Völkner was born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany, probably in 1819; his parents' names are unknown. Trained at the missionary college at Hamburg, Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand by the…

Heinrich Franz Vosseler, generally known as Henry or Harry, was born on 18 October 1885 in Wellington, the son of German parents George Vosseler, a baker, and his second wife, Anna Marie Therese Wulff, a schoolteacher.…

Te Kari Waaka was born on 6 March 1916 at Poroporo, near Whakatāne, the son of Te Wiremu Tāmati Waaka of Ngāti Pūkeko, a farmer, and his wife, Whakakī Hiki of Tūhoe. His father was the first Māori from Whakatāne to win…

Rutherford Waddell was born in Ballyroney, County Down, Ireland, probably sometime between 1850 and 1852. His father was the Reverend Hugh Waddell, a Presbyterian minister; his mother, Margaret Reid, was the sister of…

Wahanui Huatare, also known as Reihana Te Huatare, Te Reihana Whakahoehoe and Te Wahanui, was born probably in the late 1820s. He was the son of Te Ngohiteārau, also known as Te Huatare, of Ngāti Maniapoto. His mother,…

Rāpata Wahawaha, of Te Aowera hapū of Ngāti Porou, was born at either Te Puia or Akuaku, in the Waiapu district. His father was Hīpora Koroua and his mother Te Hapamana Te Whao. His most distinguished ancestor was…

Waitāoro of Ngāti Tama was born, according to family tradition, on the Chatham Islands, probably in 1848 or 1849. Her mother was Rongorongo of Ngāti Toa, who was a descendant of Werawera, the father of Te Rauparaha, and…

Fred Waite, the son of storekeeper George Waite and his wife, Isabella Edington Curry, was born in Dunedin on 21 August 1885. The eldest son in a family of eight, he went to work for the Otago Daily Times after his…

Tene Waitere belonged to Ngāti Tarāwhai, who were kin to Ngāti Pikiao and Tūhourangi of Te Arawa of Rotorua. His mother was Ani Pape, the daughter of Te Rāhui, a prominent Ngāti Tarāwhai leader. As a young girl, she was…

Hoani Retimana Waititi, known as Johnny to his many friends, was only 39 when he died, but his short life was packed with achievement and his ideas, energy and humour were an inspiration to his people. He was born at…

Waitoa is said to have been of Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maru and Te Arawa descent. The names of his parents are not known. He is thought to have been born at Waitoa, near present day Morrinsville, and to have gone south to…

Waitohi was the daughter of Werawera, of Ngāti Toa, and his second wife, Parekōwhatu (Parekōhatu), of Ngāti Raukawa. She was probably born in Waikato but her date of birth is not known. She was the sister of Te…

Edward Wakefield, registered as Felix Edward, was born in Launceston, Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), on 22 May 1845, the son of Eliza Felicie Bailli and her husband, Felix Wakefield, a surveyor and engineer. After the…

Edward Gibbon Wakefield was born probably in London, England, on 20 March 1796. His father, Edward Wakefield, was a farmer and land agent, who had married Susanna Crash in London in 1791. Edward Gibbon was the oldest…

Edward Jerningham Wakefield, known as Jerningham, the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield and Eliza Anne Frances Pattle, was born in London, England, probably on 25 June 1820. His mother died 10 days after his birth,…

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…

Arnold Wall was born on 15 November 1869 at Nuwara Eliya in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the sixth of nine children of George Wall, a coffee planter and merchant, and his wife, Mary Ann Dixon. He had five half-sisters from his…

From childhood, Augusta Wallace’s life was entwined with the law. She was the daughter, wife and mother of lawyers, had her own law practice, and became New Zealand’s first female district court judge in 1975. Despite…