5 Facts About Famous New Zealanders

Jean Batten 1909 - 1982

Named Jane Gardner Batten
A world famous aviatrix
Flew solo from England to India in 1933 and was the first woman to fly both ways from England to Australia and back to England, 1935
Born in Rotorua
She flew with the famous Australian pioneer aviator, Charles Kingsford Smith

Was a well-respected leader of the Māori people, known as Whaea o te Moru (Mother of the Nation)
Born in Hokianga
Became an important leader in many Northland organisations.
Was the founding president of the Māori Women's Welfare League in 1951
1975 led the Māori land march from Northland to Parliament in Wellington

Edmund Percival Hillary
First conqueror of Everest, the worlds highest mountain in May 29, 1953
Born in Auckland
Was a beekeeper and amateur mountaineer before conquering Everest
Was also in the NZ group that became the first vehicle party on land to reach the South Pole, 1958
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One of the best known internationally of New Zealand writers, with a reputation for her short stories including Prelude, At the Bay, and The Doll's House
Born in Wellington, daughter of Harold Beauchamp
Went to England for the final years of her education, returned to New Zealand briefly, then went back to Europe
Married twice, the second time to the literary editor John Middleton Murray
Recognised for her stories Died in France aged 34 from tuberculosis

Was New Zealand's longest serving Prime Minister, from 1 May 1893 to 10 June 1906
Born in Lancashire, England, and emigrated to first Australia, then New Zealand
Became first mayor of Kumara, on the West Coast
Was MP for Hokitika, then Kumara, then Westland
Headed the Liberal government which introduced a number of progressive laws, including the Old Age Pensions Act

Charles Hazlitt Upham
Born in Christchurch
Awarded the Victoria Cross and Bar for outstanding gallantry and leadership in Crete, May 1941, and Egypt, July 1942
Wounded and captured by the Germans during the campaign in Egypt
Was imprisoned in Colditz Castle after repeated attempts to escape