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Ellen Elizabeth Aley was born in Auckland on 13 September 1869 to Ellen Beck and her husband, Alfred Aley, a watchmaker and jeweller. Nothing else is known of Nellie’s life until she married James Ferner, a bill poster…

Arthur Nelson Field was born into a prominent family in Nelson on 27 February 1882. His father, Thomas Andrew Hemming Field, had married Jessie Black on 24 May 1881, and Arthur was the eldest of their four children. His…

Ethel Maude Bryant was born in Wellington on 20 December 1882 to Elizabeth Bradley and her husband, Robert Bryant, who drove a wagon for the Gear Meat Preserving and Freezing Company of New Zealand before moving with…

Henry Edward Field was born on 11 July 1903 in Christchurch, the son of Henry Field, a constable, and his wife, Violet Maud Elizabeth Sturmer. He spent his early years in Ngāpara and Duntroon, North Otago, and from 1916…

Lawson Lysnar Copland Field was born on 11 February 1896 at Kaiti, Gisborne, the son of Ida Mary Lysnar and her husband, James Copland Field, a sheepfarmer. At an early age he was captivated by machines, an interest he…

Robert Nettleton Field was born in Bromley, Kent, England, on 3 March 1899. His father, Horace Banks Field, was an insurance clerk and would have liked his eldest son to follow suit, but Robert showed artistic ability…

William Hughes Field was born at Whanganui, New Zealand, on 17 July 1861, the son of Margaret Symes Puslow and her husband, Henry Claylands Field, a surveyor, who later wrote a book on New Zealand ferns. Field received…

Francisco Rodrigues Figueira, popularly known as Don Buck, was an intriguing character of early west Auckland. He was born in Madeira, probably in 1869 or 1870. Nothing is known of his parents, early life or date of…

Horace Edward Manners Fildes was born on 5 October 1875 in Temuka, South Canterbury, where his father, John Gifford Fildes, was the manager of the Bank of New Zealand. Horace was the fourth child of his father's second…

John George Findlay was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, probably on 21 October 1862, the son of Jane McCubbin and her husband, George Alexander Findlay, a sawmiller and timber merchant. John spent his formative years on…

Harold John Finlay was born in Comilla, India (now in Bangladesh), on 22 March 1901, the son of David Finlay and his wife, Emma Matilda Thomson, who were Baptist missionaries from New Zealand. He was left a paraplegic…

Roderick David Finlayson was born in Devonport, Auckland, on 26 April 1904. His father, John Maclennan Finlayson, was an accounts clerk in the Bank of New South Wales in Auckland. Because of gambling debts he absconded…

Jessie Finnie was one of a large number of prostitutes who worked in Auckland, New Zealand, in the 1850s and 1860s. She was born in Scotland in 1821 or 1822. Her exact place of birth and the names of her parents are…

Cedric Harold Firth was born on 22 May 1908 in Auckland, the son of Jane Elizabeth Marie Cartmill and her husband, Wesley Hugh Bourne Firth, a building and general contractor. His father was a great influence on him,…

Edward (Ted) Buckland Firth and Guy Mortimer (Tony) Firth, the founders of Firth Industries, were born in Auckland on 27 September 1905 and 15 April 1907 respectively. They were the younger sons of Edward (Ned) Thompson…

Joseph Firth was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 25 March 1859, the son of Aaron Firth, a stonemason from the north of England, and his wife, Ann Priestnell. Gold fever took the family to Cobden on the West Coast…

Josiah Firth, later known as Josiah Clifton Firth, is said to have been born at Clifton, near Bradford, Yorkshire, England, on 27 October 1826. He was the son of Mary Bateman and her husband, the Reverend Benjamin Firth…

Reginald Clifton Firth was born at Auckland on 12 April 1904, the eldest son of Edward Thompson Clifton Firth, a manufacturer and inventor, and his wife, Blanch Emily Banks. His grandfather, Josiah Clifton Firth, was an…

Little is known of Carl Frank Fischer's early life. He was of German origin and told contemporaries that he had lived for some time in Munich. He claimed to have gained the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Martin…

Henry Smith Fish was born in Pimlico, London, England, on 15 July 1838 to Mary Ann Passmore and her husband, Henry Smith Fish, a painter. Henry Fish, junior, as he was known for most of his life, received some education…