KIWI ICONS

PETER JACKSON• Born 31 October 1961. • Gained international recognition

after making 3 films based on JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books.

• Was made a Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for his services to the film industry in the 2002.

NEIL FINN• Born 27 May 1958 in Te Awamutu.

• Joined Split Enz in 1976.

• Gained international recognition in 1982 when the Crowded House song ‘Don’t dream its over’ reached No 2 in the USA.

• Was awarded on OBE for services to music in 1993

JOHN BRITTEN• Born 1 August 1950. • Trained in mechanical engineering,

and worked as a design engineer. • Began designing motorcycles and

developed the Britten V1000 using his own design and construction techniques to make a faster, lighter "superbike".

• Died on 5 September 1995.

RICHARD PEARSE• Born: 3 December, 1877• He was the first person to take off

in a plane. This was thought to be on March 31st 1903, 9 months before the Wright brothers. Because he never documented his work the Wright brothers are credited with flying first.

• Died: 29 July, 1953

ERNEST RUTHERFORD• Born: 30 August,

1871• His interest lay in

studying radioactivity.

• Eventually he discovered it was possible to split the atom.

• Died: 19 October 1937

NURSE MAUDE• Born: 11 August 1862 at Hagley

Lodge, Christchurch

• She went out into the district to care for the elderly and sick in their homes. This was the beginning of the district nursing scheme in New Zealand.

• Died: 12 July 1935 in Christchurch

KATE SHEPPARD• Born:March 10 1847• Kate believed women should take

part in society and politics, rather than stay in the home and she believed that woman could not make any of the changes needed in society without first winning the right to vote.

• Died: 13July 1934

KIRI TE KANAWA• Born 6 March 1944 in Gisborne. • Studied under Sister Mary Leo 1959-65

at St Mary's College in Auckland. • won the Mobil song contest in 1965. • In 1981 sang at the wedding of Prince

Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral.

• Became Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in 1982.• Sang in her last opera Vanessa in

2002, but plans to continue with recital and concert work.

RITA ANGUS• Born 12 March 1908, in Hastings • Studied painting at the Canterbury School of

Art, Christchurch, and at the Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland.

• Helped establish a distinctly New Zealand style of painting and landscape in the 1930s and 40s, along with Toss Woollaston and Colin McCahon, by using clear, sharply-defined lines and colours, but developed her own distinctive and personal style.

• She died on 25 January 1970.

Portrait of Betty Curnow by Rita Angus, 1942

Self Portrait by Rita Angus 1966

EDMUND HILLARY • BornJuly 20, 1919 – January 11, 2008)• On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he

and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzin Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.

• He also participated in a voyage to the South Pole in 1958.

• Following his ascent of Everest he devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he founded.

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay – the first men to reach

the summit of Mt Everest

Sir Ed

WITI IHIMAERA

• Born 7 February 1944 in Gisborne.

• Is well known for writing books such as Tangi, Pounamu, Pounamu, and The Whale Rider.

• He was made a Distinguished Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 for services to literature.

TEX MORTON

• Robert William Lane was born in Nelson, on August 30th 1916.

• He was the top selling recording artist in Australasia in the 1930's, outselling Bing Crosby, Gracie Fields and the young Frank Sinatra; and by the 1950s was one of the highest paid touring entertainers in North America.

JEAN BATTEN• Born in Rotorua, in 1909.• In 1936 she made the first ever

direct flight between England and New Zealand and then the fastest ever trans-Tasman flight.

• She stood for adventure, daring, exploration and glamour. In her time Jean Batten was one of the most famous people in the world.

CHARLES UPHAM• Born in Christchurch, in 1908.• Captain Charles Upham remains the

only combatant soldier to have received the Victoria Cross and Bar (awarded to members of the armed forces of the Commonwealth for exceptional bravery).

• In Crete in May 1941, and the Western Desert in July 1942, Upham distinguished himself with displays of ‘nerveless competence’.

PETER BUCK• Born around 1877. • Sir Peter Buck’s

achievements include: a pioneering and internationally renowned anthropologist, the first Maori medical doctor, a politician, administrator, soldier, sportsperson and leader of the Maori people.

ELIZABETH McCOMBS • Born in Kaiapoi

on 19 November 1873.

• Elected New Zealand's first female member of Parliament when she won the Lyttelton seat in 1933.

DAVID LOW• Born in Dunedin, in

1891.• Low drew cartoons

attacking both Hitler and Mussolini in the led up and throughout WWII. His work was banned in both these countries.

A David Low cartoon from 1938 – Who is the figure in the Santa suit?

JANET FRAME

• Born in Dunedin on August 28, 1924.

• After dropping out of teachers college in Dunedin she went overseas.

• She won international acclaim for a number of her books including her biography ‘An angel at my table’.

NANCY WAKE• Born in Wellington on 30 August

1912.• She was the Allies' most decorated

servicewoman of WWII, and the Gestapo’s most-wanted person.

• She became a saboteur, organiser and Resistance fighter who led an army of 7,000 Maquis troops in guerrilla warfare to sabotage the Nazis.

Nancy Wake was also known as ‘The White Mouse’ because of her ability to

elude capture

ARTHUR LYDIARD• Arthur Lydiard was born in

1917 in Auckland. • He invented jogging. The

method of building up physical fitness by gradually increasing stamina is a simple one, used by millions of men and women worldwide as part of their everyday health and fitness regime.

PETER BLAKE• Born October 1, 1948.• He was a yachtsman who led his

country to two successive America’s Cup victories. He previously won the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989, and the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994 by setting the fastest time around the world of 74 days 22 hours 17 minutes 22 seconds on catamaran Enza.