The Rhodes Scholarships arise from a bequest made under the will of Cecil Rhodes, a former Prime Minister of Cape Colony. Each year candidates are nominated by New Zealand universities, but the final selection is made by a special committee presided over by the Governor-General. The number of scholarships allocated to New Zealand varies, but there are now usually two every year. The scholarships are tenable for two years, but in special circumstances a further year may be granted. Their value, originally £300 per annum, is now £750 per annum. Candidates in New Zealand must be male, British subjects, unmarried, and between the ages of 19 and 25 years in the year of their election. Selection is made on the basis of scholastic abilities and attainments, moral character, qualities of leadership, and physical vigour as exemplified by prowess in sport.
Rhodes scholars are expected to live at Rhodes House, Oxford, during the tenure of their scholarships and to study at one of the Oxford colleges.
(NOTE: The records from 1946 do not give the year of birth.)
| 1903 | None awarded. |
| 1904 | Thomson, James Allen (1881–1928), Otago, geology. |
| 1905 | Robertson, Philip Wilfred (1884– ), Victoria, chemistry. |
| 1906 | Farquharson, Robert Alexander (1883– ), Otago, geology. |
| 1907 | Gilray, Colin Macdonald (1885– ), Otago, literature, humanities. |
| 1908 | Ziman, Solomon Nethheim (1886–1947), Auckland, mathematics. |
| 1909 | MacDougall, Allan (1886–1916), Victoria, English language and literature. |
| 1910 | Sisam, Kenneth (1887– ), Auckland, English language. |
| 1911 | Marshall, Alfred George (1888– ), Auckland, chemistry. |
| 1912 | Wallace, Alan (1891–1915), Auckland, mathematics. |
| 1913 | Miles, Frederick Fisher (1892– ), Otago. |
| 1914 | Jones, William Meirion (1893– ), Auckland, physics. |
| 1915 | Richards, Henry Stokes (1894–1918), Canterbury. (Killed before he took up the scholarship.) |
| 1916 | Hudson, Athol (1894–1916), Victoria. (Killed in action before he took up the scholarship.) |
| 1917 | Meldrum, Alexander Francis (1895– ), Victoria, law. |
| Ponder, Arthur Osborne (1894– ), Canterbury, chemistry. | |
| 1918 | Miller, Harold Gladstone (1898– ), Victoria. |
| 1919 | Richmond, Norman Macdonald (1897– ), Canterbury, history. |
| 1920 | Airey, Willis Thomas Goodwin (1897– ), Auckland, history. |
| McCallum, Stanley Powell (1895–1940), Canterbury, physics. | |
| 1921 | Ryburn, Hubert James (1897– ), Otago, theology. |
| 1922 | Aitken, George Gothard (1898–1952), Victoria. |
| 1923 | Porritt, Arthur Espie (1900– ), Otago, medicine. |
| 1924 | Aitken, Robert Stevenson (1901– ), Otago, medicine. |
| 1925 | Dunning, John Angus (1903– ), Auckland, Otago, mathematics. |
| 1926 | Barak, Montefiore (1904– ), Canterbury, chemistry. |
| Low, Charles Eugene (1903– ), Canterbury, modern languages. | |
| 1927 | Haslam, Alec Leslie (1904– ), Canterbury, law. |
| Kalaugher, Wilfred George (1904– ), Victoria, mathematics. | |
| 1928 | Platts-Mills, John Faithful Fortescue (1906– ), Victoria, law. |
| Sharp, Charles Andrew (1906– ), Otago. | |
| 1929 | Bailey, Ernest Edmond (1907– ), Auckland, law. |
| Henley, Wilton Ernest (1907– ), Otago, medicine (physiology). | |
| 1930 | Dakin, James Campbell (1908– ), Otago, modern languages. |
| Minns, Percy Croft (1907– ), Auckland. | |
| 1931 | Lovelock, John Edward (1910–49), Otago, medicine. |
| Watt, John Stephen (1908– ), Auckland, chemistry. | |
| 1932 | Bertram, James Munro (1910– ), Auckland, modern languages. |
| Cox, Geoffrey Sandford (1910– ), Otago. | |
| 1933 | None awarded. |
| 1934 | Cooper, Malcolm McGregor (1910– ), Massey, agriculture. |
| Davis, Norman (1913– ), Otago, English language and literature. | |
| Milner, Ian Frank George (1911– ), Canterbury. | |
| 1935 | Haslam, Eric Percival (1912– ), Auckland. |
| Moller, Lester Francis (1913– ), Otago, law. | |
| Monk, Winston Francis (1912–54), Canterbury, history. | |
| 1936 | Davin, Daniel Marcus (1913– ), Otago, literature, humanities. |
| Lewis, John Derek (1913– ), Auckland, literature, humanities. | |
| 1937 | Bogle, Archibald Gordon (1914– ), Canterbury, engineering. |
| Dalton, George Clifford James (1916– ), Canterbury, engineering. | |
| 1938 | Hogben, George Lawrence (1916– ), Auckland, mathematics. |
| Matson, John Nicholson (1914– ), Canterbury, law. | |
| 1939 | Berendsen, Ian Ellis (1919– ), Victoria. |
| Weston, George Crowley (1916– ), Canterbury, law. | |
| 1940 | Garrett, Henry Edgar (1916– ), Canterbury Agricultura College, agriculture. |
| Speight, Murray William (1919–45), Auckland. (Died of wounds, Italy.) | |
| 1941 | Stewart, Alan (1917– ), Massey, agriculture. |
| Rumbold, Jack Seddon (1920– ), Canterbury, law. | |
| 1942 | None awarded. |
| 1943 | None awarded. |
| 1944 | None awarded. |
| 1945 | None awarded. |
| 1946 | Cawkwell, George Law, Auckland, Latin. |
| Harris, Bruce Fairgray, Auckland, classics. | |
| Ridley, John Wallace, Canterbury, engineering. | |
| 1947 | Bogle, Gilbert Stanley (1925–63), Victoria, physics. |
| Davies, Robert Owen, Otago, physics. | |
| 1948 | Packard, William Percival, Canterbury, geography. |
| Woods, Leslie Colin, Auckland, mathematics. | |
| 1949 | Burchfield, Robert William, Victoria, English. |
| Foulkes, Francis, Auckland, mathematics. | |
| 1950 | North, John Derek Kingsley, Otago, medicine. |
| O'Connor, Peter Selwyn, Auckland, history. | |
| 1951 | Evans, Lloyd Thomas, Lincoln, agriculture. |
| Schultz, Donald Lorimer, Canterbury, engineering. | |
| 1952 | Jeffries, Graham Harry, Otago, medicine. |
| Templeton, Hugh Campbell, Otago, history. | |
| 1953 | Horsley, David Bramwell, Victoria, law. |
| Stewart, Duncan Montgomery, Canterbury, French and Latin. | |
| 1954 | McLean, Denis Bazeley Gordon, Victoria, geology. |
| North, Kenneth Alfred Kingsley, Otago, medicine. | |
| 1955 | Maiden, Colin James, Auckland, engineering. |
| 1956 | Beer, Colin Gordon, Otago, zoology. |
| Simmers, David George, Victoria, Latin. | |
| 1957 | Bilger, Robert William, Auckland, mathematics. |
| Neutze, Graeme Max, Lincoln, agriculture. | |
| 1958 | Vere-Jones, David, Victoria, mathematics. |
| Wright, Graham Allen, Auckland, chemistry. | |
| 1959 | Rea, Graeme Francis, Otago, law. |
| Mathieson, Donald Lindsay, Victoria, law. | |
| 1960 | Aspden, Robert John, Auckland, engineering. |
| Jack, James Julian Bennett, Otago, medicine. | |
| 1961 | Reid, John Telfer, Massey, agriculture. |
| Tobin, Christopher James O'Hara, Canterbury, law. | |
| 1962 | Gould, Brian Charles, Auckland, law. |
| Jeffcott, Colin Alexander, Victoria, history, philosophy. | |
| 1963 | Kirkness, Alan Comrie, Auckland, French and German. |
| Natusch, David Francis Stewart, Canterbury, chemistry. | |
| 1964 | Baragawanath, William David, Auckland, law. |
| Waklin, William Sam, Canterbury, chemical engineering. |
Biographical details of some of the above are given in the Expatriate section; see alsoGeneral Index.