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| Author | ProfW. H. Oliver (ed.) 1983–1990 DrClaudia Orange (ed.) 1990–2003 1,239 individual contributors |
|---|---|
| Language | English,Māori |
| Subject | New Zealandbiography |
| Genre | Encyclopedia |
| Publisher | various |
Publication date | 1990–2000 |
| Publication place | New Zealand |
| Media type | 5 volumes;also available on-line |
TheDictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB) is anencyclopedia orbiographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceasedNew Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online in 2002, and is now a part ofTe Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.[1] The dictionary supersededAn Encyclopaedia of New Zealand of 1966, which had 900 biographies. The dictionary is managed by theMinistry for Culture and Heritage of theNew Zealand Government. Anearlier work of the same name in two volumes containing 2,250 entries, published in 1940 byGuy Scholefield with government assistance, is unrelated.
Work on the current version of the DNZB was started in 1983 under the editorship ofW. H. Oliver. The first volume covered the period 1769–1869 and was published in 1990. The four subsequent volumes were all edited byClaudia Orange, and they were published in 1993 (1879–1900), 1996 (1901–1920), 1998 (1920–1940), and 2000 (1941–1960).[2]
These later volumes made a conscious effort to move towards a more representative view of New Zealand with greater female andMāori entries. Women who had done well in male-dominated fields (Sybil Audrey Marie Lupp,Amy Johnston,Mary Jane Innes,Alice Woodward Horsley,Nora Mary Crawford, etc.) were included, as were Māori, a range of ordinary people (Joseph Zillwood, etc.) and criminals (Edward Raymond Horton, Jessie Finnie, etc.). Many of these people were included because detailed accounts of their lives were readily available, in archives, academic studies and official histories. Others were prolificdiarists (Catherine Fulton,Sarah Louise Mathew,Alexander Whisker,James Cox, etc.).
Helen Clark as Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage launched the online version of the DNZB on 19 February 2002.[3] The online version was first promoted byJudith Tizard, a graduate in history from theUniversity of Auckland, which was supported by Clark, who had also graduated in history from the same university, and endorsed byMichael Cullen, who had been a history lecturer at theUniversity of Otago.[4]
The dictionary was integrated intoTe Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand in December 2010.[1] In 2017 the Ministry for Culture and Heritage announced a 'new phase' in the life of the DNZB, with the addition of an essay about the Polynesian navigatorTupaia; this was followed in 2018 by25 new essays to mark the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand. Subsequent rounds will illuminate the lives of significant and representative people from a cross-section of New Zealand society, with a focus on the decades after 1960.[5][6][7]
A number of entries were added to make the dictionary more representative of population covered, boosting the numbers of women, Māori, and other minority groups. A number of these are not based on secondary sources, as encyclopedias traditionally are, but instead on primary sources, because no secondary sources exist for these individuals.[citation needed]
Fraser (later Johnston; 11 December 1866 – 31 August 1951) was a New Zealand domestic servant and letter-writer. Born in Scotland, she emigrated with her brother in 1887, following two brothers who had gone to New Zealand earlier that decade. She was hoping for the remainder of her family to come out but when that did not happen, she started financially supporting them by sending money to Scotland. After many years as a domestic servant, she married in 1899 and had a farm with her husband, bringing up four children. They retired toRotorua and after her husband's death, she lived with her daughter and grandchildren for another decade.[8]
Finnie (c.1822–?) was a prostitute. She was born in Scotland in circa 1822.[9]
Nielsine Paget (21 July 1858 – 13 July 1932) was a homemaker and community worker in southernHawke's Bay.[10]
Weldon (1829–1882) was a prostitute and character. She was born inCounty Limerick, Ireland in about 1829.[11]