New Zealand’s heroes – shaping our view of ourselves
Tony Williams, author of 101 Ingenious Kiwis, how New Zealanders changed the world, says the defining characteristic of New Zealand is its Kiwi ingenuity. But we also have sporting, cultural and political heroes. This page links to resources to help you discover more about some of New Zealand's greatest heroes.
Famous New Zealander resources
Our online resources:
- See our Making our mark feature on New Zealand’s contribution to fashion, sport and popular culture.
- Also see our Kiwiana — Quintessentially Kiwi feature which includes some of the figures who’ve contributed to Kiwi popular culture.
- Rich man, poor man, environmentalist, thief focuses on leading figures from Canterbury’s history.
- Canterbury Writers — our guide to some of the great writers that Canterbury has produced over the years.
- Unsung Heroines — biographies of Christchurch women who made a difference.
- Sir Edmund Hillary
- Janet Frame
- The Māori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu
Our childrens’ pages offer:
- Childrens authors — links to biographical information about New Zealand and international childrens’ authors.
- Famous New Zealanders — factsheets about famous New Zealanders from sports-people to artists. From Christchurch City Libraries.
- Interviews with famous New Zealand childrens’ authors — an A to Z of interviews with some of our best childrens’ authors.
- Margaret Mahy feature — has biographical information, awards, book list, writings and other information about Margaret Mahy a former Children’s Librarian at Christchurch City Libraries who is one of the world’s best and most famous children’s authors.
the Source
- Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre — leading Australia/NZ periodicals and international periodicals in full text
- Biography in Context — biographical information on more than one million people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.
Our Internet Gateway sites
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography — over 3,000 biographies of New Zealanders, no longer living, who 'made their mark' on this country.
- Heroes — biographies of a diverse range of New Zealanders who have made their mark on the world stage. From NZEdge.com
Browse the extensive biography resources in our libraries:
- Biography New Zealand — our full selection of New Zealand biographies
- or search for an individual or specific subject area.
