John Ballance, 1839–1893
Son of a Protestant tenant farmer in County Antrim, John Ballance moved to England and then in 1866 to Wanganui. There he opened a newspaper, the Evening (later Wanganui) Herald. He entered Parliament in 1875 and quickly became colonial treasurer. In 1891 he became premier in the country’s first Liberal government, before his premature death in 1893.
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William Ferguson Massey, 1856–1925
Bill Massey was born in Limavady in County Londonderry, and came to New Zealand at the age of 14. He established a farm at Māngere and became the chairman of the Māngere Farmers’ Club. He entered Parliament in 1894 and gradually established a role as a spokesman for conservative farming interests. In 1903 he became leader of the opposition and in 1912 the first leader of a Reform government. He led New Zealand through the First World War and remained prime minister until his death in 1925.
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Alan Edward Mulgan, 1881–1962
The son of Ulsterman Edward Mulgan, Alan was born in Katikati and then moved to Auckland where he became a reporter particularly for the Auckland Star. He also developed a progressive literary page. In 1935 he moved to Wellington in charge of spoken programmes for the broadcasting service. He wrote a number of significant books, including novels, histories and autobiographical writing such as his popular Home: a New Zealander’s adventure (1927).
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Edward Ker Mulgan, 1857/1858?–1920
Born in County Down, Edward Mulgan came to Katikati in 1875 with his father, a Church of Ireland clergyman, as part of George Vesey Stewart’s settlement. He trained as a teacher and moved to Auckland where he eventually became chief inspector of schools.
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John Alan Edward Mulgan, 1911–1945
The son of writer Alan Mulgan, John was a brilliant student who, despite missing out on a Rhodes scholarship, studied at Oxford. In England he wrote a powerful novel, Man alone, which was set in New Zealand. He served in the British army in the Second World War and won a Military Cross assisting the Greek partisans. He wrote a famous memoir, Report on experience, but took his own life when the war was coming to an end.
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Rutherford Waddell, 1850-1852?–1932
The son of a Presbyterian minister from County Down, Rutherford Waddell trained for the ministry himself in Belfast and then came to New Zealand in 1877. Two years later he became the minister at St Andrew’s Church in Dunedin. Committed to the view that the gospel should be interpreted through social action, he delivered a famous sermon in 1888 on the ‘sin of cheapness’, which sparked off concern about sweated labour in New Zealand. Despite much ill health he became one of New Zealand’s most famous and influential preachers.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
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