Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top of Mount Everest, as part of the British expedition led by John Hunt. Hillary also reached both the poles. He later served as an ambassador to Nepal and founded the Himalayan Trust to help the people of Nepal.
New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford is remembered as the father of nuclear physics. His discovery of radioactive half-life and of radon, and his differentiation of alpha and beta radiation, won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. Element 104 was named Rutherfordium in his honor.
Richard Pearse - First Man to 'Fly' a Mechanically Powered Aeroplane. His achievements were remarkable in that, unlike the Wright Brothers, who employed skilled engineers and later enjoyed American Government sponsorship, Pearse designed, financed, and built everything himself. Dating suggests the first flight occurred on 31st March 1902. However, other evidence also points to him flying in the winter of 1903 - specifically on the 10th of July 1903, just a few months before the Wrights' first flight. , The plane 'landed' on top of one of the many 12ft high, mainly uncut, box-thorn or gorse hedges surrounding the paddocks in the neighbourhood. He then left it there because of a heavy fall of snow. Meteorological records for that time show that snow fell on 11th July 1903 but that there was no snow during any of the years immediately before or after that date.
John Britten - Motorbike designer extraordinaire. He built a motorbike in his backyard shed from scratch. Britten developed an entirely new fabrication system using space-age kevlar and carbon fibre and designed the complete engine, making the patterns for casting himself. The result was the fastest motorbike in the world. In the Daytona Battle of the Twins, the Britten team blitzed the opposition, including the cream of Italian and Japanese factory machines.
Bruce McLaren was a New Zealand engineer, inventor, racing car designer, and driver. He founded McLaren Automotive in 1963. Formula One's successful team, McLaren, is named after him. McLaren has been inducted into various halls of fame, including the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
New Zealand motorcyclist Burt Munro made three world records, traveling in his Indian motorcycle from New Zealand to the Bonneville Salt Flats in the U.S. The one made in 1967 remains unbroken. The 2005 film The World's Fastest Indian, based on his life, featured Anthony Hopkins as Munro.
Alexander Aitken - The Human Computer. He was one of the world's most brilliant mathematical minds. He could multiply two 9-digit numbers in his head, recite the answer in 30 seconds, or render awkward fractions into decimals to 26 places in under five seconds. Psychologists studied his extraordinary abilities in Britain during the 1920s.
Harold Williams - Voice of the World. He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most excellent linguist, said to have spoken over 58 languages fluently. He was the foreign editor of The Times, "the most brilliant foreign correspondent" his generation had known, a friend of statesmen, and a companion to writers HG Wells and Hugh Walpole.
Robert Burchfield - Dictionary Don. Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as "the greatest living lexicographer", Dr Robert Burchfield is regarded as our age's pre-eminent lexicographer and linguistic scholar. As an editor of the Oxford English Dictionary and responsible for its revision, Burchfield played a crucial role in studying the sources and development of the English language.
Nancy Wake - The White Mouse. She was the Allies' most decorated servicewoman of WWII and the Gestapo's most wanted person. So they code-named her 'The White Mouse. She led an army of 7,000 Maquis troops in guerrilla warfare to sabotage the Nazis. Nancy Wake was born in Wellington in 1912.
Keith Park - Saviour of Britain. "If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it has been realized how much that one man, with his leadership, calm judgement, and skill, did to save this country and the world." Lord Tedder - Chief of the Royal Air Force, February 1947.
Katherine Mansfield was a New Zealand modernist writer best remembered for her short stories. Her life and career inspired several films, plays, novels, and TV series. In 1973, she became the subject of a BBC miniseries titled A Picture of Katherine Mansfield. In 2011, actress Kate Elliott played Mansfield in a TV biopic titled Bliss.
Kate Sheppard - Suffragist. The leader and main figurehead of the suffragist movement in New Zealand, the first country in the world to grant universal adult suffrage to men and women equally. Kate was a source of inspiration to suffragists, both in New Zealand and around the globe.
Russell Crowe - Actor. Active in the film industry for over 35 years, Russell Crowe is an actor, film producer, director, and musician. Gaining international fame with his role in the epic historical film Gladiator in 2000, he is the recipient of several awards, including an Academy Award and a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award.
Sam Neill is a New Zealand actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park film series. Sam Neill is also known for his work in TV series likeThe Simpsons and Peaky Blinders. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the New Zealand Film Award.
Anna Paquin - Canadian actress. She started her career as a child actress and became the second-youngest winner in the history of the Academy Awards when she won an Oscar at the age of 11 under the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance as Flora McGrath in Jane Campion's 1993 period drama film The Piano.
Karl Urban is one of the most popular actors from New Zealand. He established himself in the American film industry by playing Éomer in two of the three Lord of the Rings films. Apart from acting, he plays a key role in supporting The KidsCan Charitable Trust, which provides essentials to over 16,000 disadvantaged children.
Peter Jackson is a film director best known for his three-time Academy Award-winning work in The Return of the King, the third part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The third-highest-grossing director ever, he is also the man behind The Hobbit trilogy and the 2005 film King Kong.
Taika Waititi is an actor, filmmaker, and comedian. One of the most popular New Zealand film personalities of all time, Waititi is renowned for directing films like Thor: Ragnarok and Boy. He has won prestigious awards including a BAFTA Award, an Academy Award, and a Grammy Award. In 2022, Waititi was included in Time magazine's 100 most influential people list.
•Tim and Neil Finn - Musicians. Famous for the bands Split Enz and Crowded House.
Kiri Te Kanawa - Opera singer. Highlights of her career include singing at Prince Charles and Diana's royal wedding.
Keith Urban - County Music Singer. Four-time Grammy-winner Keith Urban had already tasted success in Australia before making his American debut with a platinum-certified solo album. He knows how to play a variety of instruments, including the sitar, guitar, piano, and mandolin. His track Somebody Like You was named Billboard’s most significant country hit of the 2000s.
Lorde is a New Zealand singer-songwriter best known for contributing to the soundtrack of the popular American sci-fi adventure film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1. Her song Yellow Flicker Beat was released as the lead single from the film's successful soundtrack. In 2013 and 2014, she was featured in Time magazine's list of the most influential teenagers.
