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
- 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 – 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 – 75
- 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.
