Peter Blake (1948-2001) was a yachtsman who led New Zealand to two successive America's Cup victories. He had 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 in just under 75 days on catamaran Enza. Peter Blake was knighted in 1995 for services to yachting and New Zealand, but was murdered by pirates in December 2001 during an environmental exploration trip in South America.



Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, famous for being the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in May 1953, closely followed by sherpa Tenzing Norgay. He devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal and through his efforts succeeded in building many schools and hospitals in that remote region of the Himalayas. Sir Edmund Hillary became the only New Zealander whilst still alive to appear on a banknote, the $5 note.



Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), born in Wellington, is one of the best known internationally of New Zealand writers, with a reputation for her short stories. Although her first volume went largely unnoticed, the stories in 'Bliss' and 'The Garden Party' established her as a major writer. Later volumes include 'The Dove's Nest' and 'Something Childish'. Some of her strongest New Zealand stories are 'At the Bay' and 'The Doll's House'. Katherine Mansfield spent most of her adult life in Europe and died of tuberculosis at the age of 34.



Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), later Baron Rutherford of Nelson, was a scientist of international acclaim, the greatest physicist of his time. He was born in Nelson and was known as the 'father' of nuclear physics in making the first observation of nuclear reactions. Rutherford won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908 "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances". He appears on New Zealand's $100 note.



Kate Sheppard (1847-1934) is best remembered for her tireless efforts in campaigning for the right of women to vote. After a series of knockbacks she eventually saw her goal achieved when, in September 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to introduce "universal adult suffrage". Kate Sheppard's work also had a considerable impact on women's suffrage movements in other countries. She is featured on New Zealand's $10 note.



Kiri Te Kanawa (born in Gisborne in 1944) is one of the world's leading opera sopranos and is based in London. As a soloist at the wedding of Prince Charles & Lady Diana in London in 1981 she faced one of the largest direct telecast audiences of any singer in history - approximately 600 million - and her fame spread fast. In 1982 she was made a Dame. As the dawn of the new millennium began in New Zealand, she sang a special concert on the beach in Gisborne which was broadcast to 55 countries.