Search

Dr Richard Davies is of English and Welsh descent and grew up in Kenya. He returned to the United Kingdom to complete his education, studying Psychology and Philosophy at Oxford University, before spending two years in the merchant navy. During his time…

Robert FitzRoy was born in Suffolk in 1805. He entered the navy in 1819 and commanded HMS Beagle on Darwin's famous voyage. He visited the Bay of Islands in the ship in 1835 and reported favourably to a House of Lords committee on the work of the…

Dame Patsy Reddy was born in Matamata and lived her early years in Te Akau and then Minginui, where her parents, Neil and Kay Reddy, were school teachers.  The family moved to Hamilton when she was six and she completed her schooling at Hillcrest Primary…

Dame Catherine Tizard was New Zealand's first female Governor-General. The only child of Scottish immigrants, she was born Catherine Anne Maclean on April 4, 1931, in Auckland. She went to Auckland University in 1949. It was there she met Bob Tizard and…

Dame Alcyion Cynthia (Cindy) Kiro was born in Whangārei, Northland, in 1958, the eldest of six children. She is of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu and British descent.

Born in Ireland in 1864, Sir William Lee Plunket, 5th Baron, was the son of the 4th Baron who was Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He joined the diplomatic service in 1889 but retired two years later to become private secretary to the Lord…

Sir Uchter John Mark Knox Ranfurly, 5th Earl, was born in 1856 and educated at Harrow and Cambridge. He inherited his title in 1875. He was Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria from 1895-97 before taking up office in New Zealand. He threatened to resign…

Lieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae was sworn in as New Zealand’s 20th Governor-General for a five year term on 31 August 2011. He had previously worked at senior levels in the New Zealand public service and military as well as…

The Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand was born in Auckland in 1944, attending Richmond Road School and Sacred Heart College.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Auckland in 1970.  Following admission to the Bar later that year, he…

Dame Silvia was born in Dunedin and she graduated with a LLB from Otago University in 1967. After several years in private practice, she embarked on a judicial career that culminated in her appointment to the High Court - the first woman in New Zealand to…

Sir Michael was born in Wellington, the elder son of Justice Reginald Hardie Boys and Edith May (Bennett) Hardie Boys. After attending Hataitai School and Wellington College, he went on to Victoria University College, and gained a BA and an LLB degree. In…

Sir Paul was New Zealand's first Governor-General of Māori descent.  He was born in Wellington in 1932, the second son of D'Arcy Lionel and Hilda Mary Reeves and was educated at Wellington College, Victoria University of Wellington (MA), St John's…

Sir David was born in Sydney in 1924. He and his brothers were brought up by his mother in Takapuna, Auckland. Sir David went to Auckland's Dilworth School, which catered particularly for boys from broken homes. It was a start that shaped his approach to…

Sir Denis was born in 1907 in Wellington. He was educated at Waitaki Boys High School and Cambridge University before being called to the Bar in England in 1929. He returned to New Zealand in 1930, practising as barrister and solicitor in Wellington. He…

Sir Arthur was the first New Zealand-born Governor-General. He was born in Wanganui in 1900 and was educated at Wanganui Collegiate, before moving to Otago University and Magadalen College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He followed his father…

Born in 1893, Sir Charles Willoughby Moke Norrie was educated at Eton and Sandhurst. He became a regular soldier and served in both World Wars. In 1943, he rose to the rank of Commander of the Royal Armoured Corps. He was Governor of South Australia for…

Born in 1886, Sir Cyril was a member of the regular army before joining the Royal Flying Corps in 1914. He transferred to the RAF in 1919 and served with the Air Force between wars. He was Chief of Air Staff 1937-40 and Marshal of the RAF in 1940, before…

Sir George Vere Arundell Monckton-Arundell Galway, 8th Viscount, was born in 1882. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. Sir George failed in a Parliamentary bid in 1910. He joined the Life Guards and in the First World War  he became Adjutant-General and…

Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Viscount, was born in 1859. A noted naval figure, he entered the Royal Navy as cadet in 1872 and eventually rose to command Britain's Grand Fleet from 1914 to 1916. He was appointed First Sea Lord, Chief of Naval Staff and…

Term Role 1912 - 1917 Governor of New Zealand 1917 - 1920 Governor-General of New Zealand Born in 1870, Sir Arthur William de Brito Savile Foljambe Liverpool, 2nd Earl, had the distinction of being New Zealand's last Governor and first Governor-General.…

Born in 1866, Sir John Poynder Dickson-Poynder Islington, 1st Baron, succeeded his great uncle as Baronet in 1884. He sat in Parliament 1892-1900 for the Conservatives and the Liberals. He served as ADC to Lord Methuen in the Boer War, winning the DSO as…

The nephew of the 3rd Earl and son of the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire, Sir David Boyle Glasgow was born in 1833. He was on active service with the Royal Navy during the Crimean War 1854-55 and the Chinese War in 1857. He was Commander of HMS Niobe…

Born in 1824, Sir Hercules was a Sandhurst graduate. He became 1st Lt of the 87th Regiment in 1844 but resigned his commission in 1846. He became President of Montserrat in 1854 and subsequently held several governorships before taking up the position in…

Sir George Augustus Constantine Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby, was born in 1819, the only son of the 1st Marquess who had been successively Governor of Jamaica, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Colonial Secretary and Home Secretary. He entered Parliament in…

Born in 1832, Sir James was educated in Rugby and Oxford. He served with the Grenadier Guards in the Crimea, was wounded at Inkerman and later succeeded a friend, who was killed in the same action, as Conservative MP for Ayrshire. He was under-secretary…

Sir Charles was the son of Sir James Fergusson, former Governor of New Zealand, and was born in 1865. Sir Charles was educated at Eton and Sandhurst before joining the Grenadier Guards. He served in the Sudan campaigns under Kitchener. He was Adjutant-…

Born in 1911, Sir Bernard was educated at Eton and Sandhurst. He served with distinction in the Second World War - as Brigade Major 46th Infantry in 1940; in the Middle East in 1941; General Staff Officer, Wingate's Chindits (1943-44); and Director of…

Sir Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, was born in 1909 and educated at Eton and Cambridge, graduating with a law degree in 1932. He joined the 100th Field Brigade in 1933 and served in France before Dunkirk. He commanded the 5th Regiment from…

Sir Charles Bathurst Bledisloe, 1st Viscount, was born in 1867 and educated at Eton and Oxford. He was a lawyer for 16 years before becoming an MP in 1910. He was Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Food in 1916, and Chairman of the Royal…

Born in 1853, Sir William Hillier Onslow, Bt. 4th Earl, was educated at Eton and Oxford. He inherited his title in 1874. He was Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria, Under-secretary of State for the Colonies, Vice-president of the Colonial Conference 1887…

Born in 1821, Sir William was regular army, commanding Woolich, Chatham, and Alderney from 1849 to 1854 and Royal Engineers London Military District in 1855. Sir William was appointed assistant Inspector-General of Fortifications at the War Office in 1856…