43.5360° S, 172.6431° E
CHRISTCHURCH
Most Famous People Born in Christchurch, New Zealand
- Notable people
- 927
- Peak decade
- 1980s
- Median birth year
- 1952
- Most distinctive
- Cricket 16.0×
Canterbury has been quietly producing test cricketers since the 19th century, and the Player bench here runs well above the global baseline — Lancaster Park and Hagley Oval are the relevant landmarks, and Anthony Wilding's tennis lineage still threads through the club scene. The outsized Rower and Swimmer counts round out a Canterbury sporting profile that leans hard on the disciplines you can practice on flat water and flat grass.
One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Christchurch during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 115 notable births.
What Christchurch Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Cricket is Christchurch's biggest profession — 20% of all notables (189).
Christchurch over-indexes on cricket — 16.0× the global rate.
Christchurch under-produces football — only 0.2× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Christchurch's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Art & Design
- Science
- Music
- Writing
- Other
- Filtered to 1940s Clear ×
Keri Hulme
Born 1947
Juliet Mitchell
Born 1940
Ray Comfort
Born 1949
Gary Thain
1948 - 1975
David Warbeck
1941 - 1997
Graham Henry
Born 1946
Neil Dawson
Born 1948
Neroli Fairhall
1944 - 2006
Michael Chamberlain
1944 - 2017
Graham Stanton
1940 - 2009
Kate Webb
1943 - 2007
Ian Athfield
1940 - 2015
Boyd Webb
Born 1947
Kevin E. Trenberth
Born 1944
Brian Fairlie
Born 1948
Elizabeth Hawthorne
Born 1947
Mike Nock
Born 1940
John Hunter (rower)
Born 1943
Alex Wyllie
Born 1944
Barry Maister
Born 1948
Owen Wilkes
1940 - 2005
Glenn Wilson (psychologist)
Born 1942
John Christensen (field hockey)
Born 1948
Selwyn Maister
Born 1946
Alan Chesney
Born 1949
Max Merritt
1941 - 2020
Dick Motz
1940 - 2007
Ray Columbus
1942 - 2016
Mark Adams (photographer)
Born 1949
Bill Hammond
Born 1947
Ian MacRae
Born 1943
Howard Joseph
Born 1949
Keith Locke
Born 1944
David McPhail
Born 1945
Barry Hadlee
Born 1941
Wayne Cottrell
1943 - 2013
David Caygill
Born 1948
Chris Timms
1947 - 2004
Llew Summers
1947 - 2019
Robert Anderson (New Zealand cricketer)
Born 1948
Bevan Holmes
Born 1946
Bruce Jesson
1944 - 1999
Michael Saunders (academic)
Born 1944
David Lindstrom
Born 1948
Ross Harris
Born 1945
Dayle Hadlee
Born 1948
Gary Day (actor)
Born 1941
Brian Aldridge (cricketer)
Born 1940
Blair Stockwell
Born 1949
Dorothy Quita Buchanan
Born 1945
Philippa Blair
Born 1945
Malcolm Harrison
1941 - 2007
Alison Wright (athlete)
Born 1949
Mike Rudd
Born 1945
Peter Coman
Born 1943
Joan Rosier-Jones
Born 1940
Denis O'Rourke
Born 1946
Kerry Burke
Born 1942
Mark Brownlee
Born 1942
Murray Gardner
Born 1946
Chris Womersley (alpine skier)
Born 1949
Vance Stewart
Born 1948
Alan Patterson (field hockey)
Born 1941
Chris Tranchell
Born 1941
Ian Uttley
1941 - 2015
Bryan Andrews (cricketer)
Born 1945
Brian Bansgrove
1941 - 2001
Tony Ebert
Born 1947
Neil Cherry
1946 - 2003
Vivien Bishop
Born 1945
Dave McMillan
Born 1944
Mel Courtney
Born 1943
David Trist
Born 1947
Pauline Gardiner
Born 1947
Max Bradford
Born 1942
Ross Mountain
Born 1944
Kevin Campbell (politician)
Born 1949
Janice Stead
Born 1940
Ann McKenna
Born 1943
Christopher Kirk
Born 1947
Jenny Brash
Born 1946
Rodger McHarg
Born 1947
David Stead (cricketer)
Born 1947
Dave Quested
Born 1946
Brian Robinson (chemist)
1940 - 2016
Gordon Allpress
Born 1949
Shirley Cowles
1940 - 2020
Wayne Briggs
Born 1944
Alan Hounsell
Born 1947
Wayne Burtt
Born 1944
Robin Jefferson
Born 1941
Lyn Davis
1943 - 2008
Alan McNaughton
Born 1947
Donald Hill (cricketer)
Born 1940
Dave Bishop
Born 1948
Jake Burns (rugby union)
Born 1941
Garrett Austen
Born 1948
Brian Isherwood
Born 1946