Biographies Gallery
Rewi Alley, 1897–1987
Born in a small town on the Canterbury Plains, Rewi Alley visited China at the age of 30 and stayed there for the rest of his life.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Richard Maclaurin, 1870–1920
A brilliant academic, Maclaurin left New Zealand in 1907 for the USA. Two years later he took up a job as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for which he helped raise millions of dollars in funding.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Thomas Russell, 1830–1904
Although born in Ireland, Russell was raised in the antipodes, where he became a man of substantial wealth. In 1874 he took his family to live in England, and remained there for the rest of his days.
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James Bertram, 1910–1993
In 1932 Aucklander James Bertram took up a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. He hoped it was to prove the springboard for an expatriate life as an international correspondent. He travelled in China and was captured in Hong Kong by the Japanese in 1941. After the Second World War he returned to New Zealand.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Eileen Deste, 1908–1986
Photographer Eileen Deste was born in England and lived in New Zealand for 13 years. After returning to England in 1943 she cultivated friendships with expatriate New Zealanders such as Dan Davin.
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Edward Ellison, 1884–1963
From 1931 to 1945 Edward Ellison served in the Cook Islands as chief medical officer. With limited resources he did much to improve the islanders’ lives.
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Frances Hodgkins, 1869–1947
Artist Frances Hodgkins left her home town of Dunedin in her thirties and lived out a largely bohemian life in Europe.
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Katherine Mansfield, 1888–1923
An unconventional woman for her time, short story writer Katherine Mansfield lived most of her adult life in Europe, searching for fresh experiences.
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Ernest Rutherford, 1871–1937
When Rutherford left New Zealand in 1895 his star was too bright for New Zealand. Universities were tiny and the only options open for graduates were teaching or seeking work overseas.
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Jean Batten, 1909–1982
Rotorua-born Jean Batten was one of the great aviators of the 1930s. A restless soul, for much of her life she lived variously in England, Europe, Jamaica and the Mediterranean.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Daniel Davin, 1913–1990
Davin took up an Oxford scholarship in 1936. The Second World War kept him in Europe, and following that he worked for Oxford University Press as an academic publisher – a career path not available to him in New Zealand.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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Sydney Thompson, 1877–1973
Like many artists of his generation Sydney Thompson headed for London. In a career that spanned seven decades he lived alternately in France and New Zealand.
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Katerina Nehua, 1903–1948
The daughter of a Northland bushman, Katerina moved to Sydney in 1927 where she enjoyed brief fame as an endurance swimmer.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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