Here are some sources of information about historical people in Christchurch and the surrounding areas.
A - Z
As well as the local people listed below we have a complete A-Z of all our biographies.
A
- Sarona Aiono-Iosefa (1962 – )
- Robert Allan (1847 – 1927)
- Rewi Alley (1897 – 1987)
- Oscar Alpers (1867 – 1927)
- Courtney Archer (1918 – 2002)
B
- Kate Baldwin (1865 – 1907)
- Alfred Charles Barker (1819 – 1873)
- Mary Anne Barker (1831 – 1911)
- Frederick John Barlow (1868 – 1939)
- Mary Dorothy Batchelor (1927 - 2009)
- Huia Wiremu Beaumont (1901 – 1997)
- Marlene Bennetts (1938 – )
- Ursula Bethell (1874 – 1945)
- A. W. Bickerton (1842 – 1929)
- Gavin Bishop (1946 – )
- Ray Blank (1887 – 1963)
- Susannah Bligh (1842 – 1888) from Unsung heroines)
- George Thomas Booth (1858 – 1942)
- John Britten (1950 – 1995)
- Ben Brown (1962 – )
- Alan Bunn (1944 – )
- William Ellison Messervy Burke (1830 – 1900)
- Samuel Butler (1835 – 1902)
- Bella Button (1863 – 1921) from Unsung heroines)
- Bella Button (1863 – 1921)
C
- Ian Charlton (1956 - )
- William Livingstone Chrystal (1846 – 1923)
- Ethel Clark (1878 – 1950) from Unsung heroines)
- Lizzie Coker (1826 – 1910) from Unsung heroines)
- Mary Colborne-Veel (1861 – 1923)
- Jenny Cooper (1961 – )
- Eveleyn Charlotte Couzins (1896 – 1945)
- Taelomu Louisa Crawley (1935 -1996)
- Mrs C.H. (Emilie) Croxton (1854? – 1928)
- (George) Lindsay Crozier (1914 – 1922)
- Margaret Barnett Cruickshank (1873 – 1918) doctor
- William Cuddon (1835 – 1924)
- Allen Curnow (1911 – 2001)
D
- Kate De Goldi (1959 – )
- Deans Family
- Frank Dickson (1932 – ) Canterbury Heroes
- Rod Donald (1957 – 2005)
- Charles Dudley (1810 – 1881)
E
- Thomas Edmonds (1858 – 1932)
- George Edwards (Ngāi Tahu)
- Harry Ell (1862 – 1934)
- Arthur William Emmett (c. 1846 – 1948)
- Anne Evans
F
- Walpole Cheshire Fendall (1830 – 1913)
- Richard William Fereday (1820? – 1899)
- James Edward Fitzgerald (1818 – 1896)
- James Arthur Flesher (1865 – 1930)
- Augustus Florance (1847 – 1897) from Rich man, poor man
- Julie Folkers (1962 – )
- Annie Isobel Fraer (1868 – 1939)
- Frederick Richardson Fuller (1830 – 1876) from Rich man, poor man
- May Furey (1891 – 1962) from Unsung heroines
G
- Alice Gapes (c. 1854 – 1902) from Unsung heroines
- Mrs Elizabeth Gard’ner (1858 – 1926)
- Helen Lavinia Garrett QSO (1916 – 2006)
- Gordon M. Gee
- Miss M. V. Gibson (1864 – 1929)
- Denis Glover (1912 – 1980)
- John Robert Godley (1814 – 1861)
- George Gould (1823 – 1889)
- Teresa Green (? – 1963)
- Edith Grossmann (1863 – 1931)
- John Grubb (1817 – 1898)
H
- Richard Hadlee (1951 – )
- Julius Von Haast (1822 – 1887)
- Thomas Albert Hamilton, Vicar of Fendalton (1899 – 1919)
- Glyn Harper (1958 – )
- Aunt Haysl (Edna Neville) (1912 – 2008)
- Annie Elizabeth Herbert (? – 1929)
- Edmund Hillary (1919 – 2008)
- Anthony Holcroft (1932 – )
- Allan Hopkins (1857 – 1933) from Rich man, poor man
- Mabel Howard (1894 – 1972)
- Isabella Hucks (1866 – 1936) from Unsung heroines
- Juliet Hulme (1938 – 2023) Parker–Hulme murder case
- Keri Hulme (1947 – 2021)
I
- Diana, Lady Isaac (1921 – 2012)
J
- Harry Bell Johnstone ( – 1894)
- V. M. Jones (1958 – )
K
- George King (1850 – 1922)
- Rachael King (1970 – )
- Charlotte Knight (1842 – 1907) from Unsung heroines
L
- Alexander Lean (1824 – 1893)
- Charles Little (1866 – 1918) doctor
- Elsie Locke (1912 – 2001)
- Logie Family
M
- Mary Elizabeth McLean
- Elizabeth McCombs (1873 – 1935)
- Robert Ewing McDougall (1860 – 1942)
- Helen McKinlay (1947 – )
- Sally McLennan (1972 – )
- Heather McQuillan (1960 – )
- Sali Mahomet (1866 – 1943) from Rich man, poor man
- Makō (Makō-ha-kirikiri) (Ngāti Kurī)
- Margaret Mahy (1936 – 2012)
- Marukaitātea (Maru) (Ngāti Kurī)
- Diana Menefy (1947 – )
- Moki (Ngāi Tahu)
- Ngaio Marsh (1895 – 1982)
- Sibylla Emily Maude (1862 – 1935)
- Thomas Merton (1915 – 1968)
- Louise LeBrun Moore
- William Sefton Moorhouse (1825 – 1881)
- Dick (Richard) Motz (1940 – 2007)
- Benjamin Mountfort (1825 – 1898)
- Colin Murdoch (1929 – 2008)
- Margaret Elizabeth Murray JP
N
- Bill Nagelkerke (1958 – )
- Edna Neville (Aunt Haysl) (1912 - 2008)
- Henry James Nicholas VC MM (1891 – 1918)
O
- Gordon Ogilvie (1934 – 2017)
- Richard Bedward Owen (1873 – 1948) from Rich man, poor man
P
- Pauline Parker (1938 – ) Parker–Hulme murder case
- Richard Pearse (1877 – 1953)
R
- William Reece (1856 – 1930)
- William Henry Robinson (1906 – 1999)
- Amelia Frances Rogers (1849 – 1928) from Unsung heroines
- Amelia Frances Rogers (1849 – 1928)
- Ettie Rout (1877 – 1936)
- James Rowe (1845 – 1923)
S
- Alma Schumacher
- Kate Sheppard (1847 – 1934)
- Henry Bylove Sorensen (1845 – 1923)
- James Speight (1837 – 1912) from Rich man, poor man
- Robertson Huntly Stewart (1913 – 2007)
- Essie Summers (1912 – 1998)
- Nancy May Webber Sutherland (1909 – 2002)
- William (Bill) Alexander Sutton (1917 – 2000)
T
- Reverend David Mortimer Taylor (1910 – 1995)
- Helen Taylor (1968 – )
- Te Rakiwhakaputa (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāi Tūhaitara)
- Te Rauparaha (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa)
- Te Ruahikihiki (Ngāti Kurī)
- Taiaroa (christened as Te Matenga Taiaroa) (Ngāi Tahu)
- Tamaiharanui (Ngāti Rakiamoa)
- Joseph Thomas (1803 – ? )
- Maria Thomson (1809 – 1875) from Rich man, poor man
- Leonie Thorpe (1969 – )
- Hone Tikao (John Love) (Ngāi Tahu)
- Maurice Alfred Till (1926 – 2011)
- Cecil Alexander Tobin (1856 – 1938)
- Sarah Elizabeth Tobin (1867 – 1930)
- Annie Quayle Townend (c. 1845 – 1914) from Unsung heroines
- William Trethewey (1892 – 1956)
- Tūāhuriri (Ngāi Tahu)
- Tuhawaiki (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe)
- Tūrakautahi (Ngāi Tūhaitara)
- Gwenda Turner (1947 – 2001)
- Tūtekawa (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tūhaitara)
V
W
- Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796 – 1862)
- Frederick Maurice Warren (1862 – ?)
- John Charles Watts-Russell (1826 – 1875)
- Steffano Webb (1880 – 1967)
- Ada Wells (1863 - 1933)
- Henry Francis Wigram (1857 – 1934)
- Anthony Wilding (1883 - 1915)
- Isabella Williams (c.1806 – 1882) from Unsung heroines
- Julie Williamson (1956 – )
Additional resources
Our City, Our People, Our Place – The Christchurch Documentary Project
Find our about Our City, Our People, Our Place – The Christchurch Documentary Project
Burke’s manuscript
A lively hand-written account of Christchurch events and personalities during the 1850s and 1860s.
Christchurch Militia List
In 1860, the following men were called upon to serve in the Christchurch Militia: a 'home guard' for settlers.
The Christchurch Star and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 1963
The 23 November 1963 edition of the Star newspaper has been digitised.
Christchurch Writers’ Trail
The Canterbury Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors laid 32 writers’ plaques in various parts of Christchurch. This booklet features brief writers’ biographies and photographs, and includes a map to help you find the plaques commemorating each writer.
Early Christchurch
Information on a wide range of topics about the early European settlement of Christchurch and Canterbury. Covers significant events, famous people, famous buildings.
Family history
Our guide to the family history resources we offer, what information you may find in them and when you need to look elsewhere.
The New Zealand Division in France and Flanders, May 1916 to November 1918
A contemporary diary of pilgrimages in their footsteps April 2002 and July 2005 by John H. Gray.
New Zealanders in World War I
A guide to finding information about the men and women who served in the New Zealand armed forces during World War I.
New Zealanders in World War II
A guide to information about the men and women who served in the New Zealand armed forces during World War II.
Personal correspondence, diaries, journals and memoirs in our digital collection
Our collection of digitised items from our archives includes ship-board diaries, travel books, correspondence, clippings and journals.
The Parker Hulme case
On 22 June 1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker set out to kill Pauline’s mother. These files, taken from contemporary news reports of the case and other sources, illustrate this famous murder.
Rich man, poor man, environmentalist, thief
An historical book that portrays eight Christchurch personalities.
Unsung Heroines
Biographies of Christchurch women written to commemorate Women’s Suffrage Year 1993.
Wars and conflicts
Index page for all our material about New Zealand’s military history.