Sam Neill, DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September, 1947) is a New Zealand film and television actor, and owner of the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago. He is best known for his role in "Reilly, Ace of Spies" and playing paleontologist Doctor Alan Grant in "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic Park III".

Brian Timothy “Tim” Finn OBE (born June 25 1952) is a singer and songwriter. Born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, Finn went to Sacred Heart College, Auckland, a Catholic boarding school, on a scholarship. In 1971 he went on to study Philosophy and Politics for a Bachelor of Arts degree at the Auckland University. The music practice room 129 (later featured in one of the Split Enz hits) appealed to him, where he jammed with friends Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, …

Lucy Lawless (born Lucille Frances Ryan on March 29, 1968 in Mount Albert) is a New Zealand actress and singer best known for her role as Xena on the television series "Xena: Warrior Princess" from 1995 to 2001. Lawless is the fifth of seven children born to Frank and Julie Ryan. She has five brothers and one sister. Lucy began acting in secondary school. At Auckland University, she studied foreign languages for a year.

Janet Elsdon Mackey (June 14, 1953 -) is a New Zealand politician. She is a member of the Labour Party. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 elections, winning the seat of Gisborne. In the 1996 elections, she won the newly created seat of Mahia, and in the 1999 elections and 2002 elections, she won the seat of East Coast. In 2003, she was joined in Parliament by her daughter, Moana Mackey. She has announced her intent to retire at the 2005 elections.

Rory Fallon is a tall, powerful striker who plays for English Football League Championship team Plymouth Argyle. He is contracted until June 2009. In the January transfer window 2006 League One team Swansea City signed him from Swindon Town for a believed fee of £300,000 the second highest fee ever paid by the Welsh club, and in January 2007, Plymouth Argyle equalled its transfer record by bringing Fallon to Home Park for the same sum.

Neil Mullane Finn OBE (born May 27, 1958 in Te Awamutu, New Zealand) is a singer and songwriter and one of New Zealand's foremost musicians. He is the frontman for Crowded House, and previously the band Split Enz.

Moana Lynore Mackey (born 28 February 1974) is a New Zealand politician. She is a member of the governing Labour Party. Mackey entered Parliament on 29 July 2003, having been the next candidate on Labour's party list when Graham Kelly vacated his seat. She is the daughter of Janet Mackey, who until 2005 was also a Labour MP - the two were the first mother-daughter team in Parliament. In the elections that year, Janet Mackey retired from politics, …

Patrick "Pat" O'Connor (1924-1990), was a professional wrestler from New Zealand who held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship from 1959 to 1961. He first won the title from amateur standout, and Lou Thesz protege, Dick Hutton, holding the belt for over two years. On June 30, 1961, O'Connor dropped the title to Buddy Rogers in front of 38,622 fans at Comiskey Park, a record that would last nearly 20 years.

Clayton James Cosgrove (born 31 October 1969, Nelson, New Zealand) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party.

James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ, (born 31 May 1935) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997.

Damien Peter O'Connor is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 elections, recapturing the West Coast seat after the upset victory of National's Margaret Moir in the 1990 elections. He retained his seat in the 1993 elections, and then won the reconfigured West Coast-Tasman seat in the 1996 elections. He has remained MP for that electorate since then.

Peter Dunne (born 17 March 1954), a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament, leads the United Future political party. He has served as a Cabinet minister in governments dominated by the centre-left Labour Party as well as by the centre-right National Party. He currently holds the posts of Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health, outside of cabinet.

Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, GCMG (1856 - 1930) was Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the early 20th century.

William Ferguson Massey (often known simply as Bill Massey or "Farmer Bill") served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1912 to 1925, and was the founder of the Reform Party. He is widely considered to have been one of the more skilled politicians of his time, and was known for the particular support he showed towards rural interests.

Daniel Pollen was the son of Hugh Pollen and Elizabeth née O'Neill, and became the ninth Premier of New Zealand, serving from July 6 1875 to February 15 1876. Pollen was born in Kingsend, Dublin. He likely grew up in Ireland, and in the United States of America, where his father helped to build the Capitol building. It is known that he graduated with an MD from school, though which school is not known. He traveled to New South Wales in the late 1830s, …

Matthew "Matt" McCarten is a New Zealand political organiser. He has been involved with several leftist or centre-left political parties, and is also active in the trade union movement. McCarten was originally a member of the Labour Party, but grew dissatisfied with the party's direction under Minister of Finance Roger Douglas. Douglas was a strong promoter of free market economics and deregulation, which McCarten and others saw as a betrayal of Labour's roots.

Marie Bernadine Hasler is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1990 to 1993, and then again from 1996 to 2002.

Christopher John "Chris" Killen (born October 8, 1981 in Wellington) is a New Zealand born football player, currently playing for Scottish Premier League side Celtic.

John Ballance, served as Premier of New Zealand at the end of the 19th century, and was the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organized political party).

Brendan Horan is a weather presenter for Television New Zealand's ONE News, running on a regular cycle with Karen Olsen and Natalie Crook. He started in February 2005, but soon attracted criticism from viewers for his slow presentations, frequent mistakes and occasional goofs (such as standing in front of the map of New Zealand). Nevertheless, he was kept on, and has steadily improved; to the extent that he is now one of the more loved presenters on the programme.

Frederick Edward Maning was a notable early settler in New Zealand, a writer and judge of the Native Land Court. He published two books under the pseudonym Pākehā Māori. Maning was born in Johnville, County Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of moderately wealthy, protestant Anglo-Irish parents. His father, Frederick Maning, emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1824 with his wife and three sons to take up farming.

Gavan Herlihy (b. 1947) is a former New Zealand politician. He was educated at St. Kevin's College and Canterbury University. He was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1996 to 2002. Herlihy was first elected to Parliament in the 1996 elections as MP for Otago, and was re-elected in the 1999 elections. In the 2002 elections, he lost narrowly to David Parker of the Labour Party.

Michael Moohan was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was the Member of Parliament for Petone from 1946 to 1967, when he died. He was the Minister of Railways in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. Born in Garrison, Ireland he served in the British Army in WWI, and emigrated to New Zealand in 1919. In 1923 he married Cecilia Hayman; they had one son and four daughters.

Sir Thaddeus Pearcey McCarthy, KBE, ONZ (b. 1907 - d. 11 April 2001) was a New Zealand jurist. Sir Thaddeus was educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch, and then studied law at Victoria University College, New Zealand and graduated in 1928. He was admitted as a solicitor only in 1929, completed an LLM degree (in 1930), and in 1931 was admitted as a barrister. He practised at the Wellington bar for 26 years until his appointment to the bench.

Justice Mark O'Regan is a judge of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand. He graduated from the Victoria University of Wellington. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court in 1977 and became a partner with the law firm Chapman Tripp in 1984. As a lawyer, he was known particularly for his expertise in relation to commercial law.

Sir Humphrey Francis O’Leary was the seventh Chief Justice of New Zealand, from 1946 to 1953. He was born in Blenheim in 1886, the son of a blacksmith who moved to Masterton. His father was Catholic, but as his son was badly treated at the Catholic school, he was sent to state schools. So Humphrey was educated at Masterton School and Wellington College. O’Leary went to Victoria College, was awarded a LLB in 1908, …

"His Eminence" Peter Thomas Bertram Cardinal McKeefry was Archbishop of Wellington (1954 – 1973) and Metropolitan of New Zealand and its first Cardinal.