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.

Through the Decades

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 cricket16.0× the global rate.

Christchurch under-produces football — only 0.2× the global rate.

  1. Cricket189
  2. Player176
  3. Politician50
  4. Sport35
  5. Hockey28
  6. Painter23
  7. Actor21
  8. Football21
  1. Cricket18916.0×
  2. Player1769.7×
  3. Rower185.3×
  4. Swimmer122.7×
  5. Hockey282.5×
  6. Novelist92.5×
  7. Sport352.3×
  1. Football210.2×
  2. Actor210.4×
  3. Writer140.5×
  4. Politician500.5×

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.

18001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Art & Design
  • Science
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Other
Politician50
Sort By

Showing 50 of 927 notable people

0024 POLITICIAN

George Forbes (New Zealand politician)

1869 - 1947

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0049 POLITICIAN

David Carter (politician)

Born 1952

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0054 POLITICIAN

Peter Dunne

Born 1954

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0139 POLITICIAN

Bob Parker (mayor)

Born 1953

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0151 POLITICIAN

Gerry Brownlee

Born 1956

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0235 POLITICIAN

Jack Acland

1904 - 1981

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0249 POLITICIAN

Keith Locke

Born 1944

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0266 POLITICIAN

David Caygill

Born 1948

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0287 POLITICIAN

Robert Macfarlane (New Zealand politician)

1900 - 1982

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0299 POLITICIAN

Dan Sullivan (New Zealand politician)

1882 - 1947

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0303 POLITICIAN

Matthew Oram

1885 - 1969

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0304 POLITICIAN

Jim Thorn

1882 - 1956

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0305 POLITICIAN

Lianne Dalziel

Born 1960

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0308 POLITICIAN

Mary Batchelor

1927 - 2009

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0310 POLITICIAN

William Montgomery Jr.

1866 - 1914

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0357 POLITICIAN

Nicky Wagner

Born 1953

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0360 POLITICIAN

Darren Cheeseman

Born 1976

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0418 POLITICIAN

Aaron Gilmore

Born 1973

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0430 POLITICIAN

Harry Ell

1862 - 1934

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0433 POLITICIAN

Denis O'Rourke

Born 1946

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0436 POLITICIAN

Kerry Burke

Born 1942

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0456 POLITICIAN

Megan Woods

Born 1973

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0457 POLITICIAN

Joe Walding

1926 - 1985

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0464 POLITICIAN

John Rolleston (New Zealand politician)

1877 - 1956

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0485 POLITICIAN

Henry Thacker

1870 - 1939

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0498 POLITICIAN

Frank Rolleston

1873 - 1946

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0533 POLITICIAN

Arthur Rae

1860 - 1943

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0559 POLITICIAN

Charles Lewis (New Zealand politician)

1857 - 1927

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0584 POLITICIAN

Mel Courtney

Born 1943

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0603 POLITICIAN

Pauline Gardiner

Born 1947

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0618 POLITICIAN

Ron Barclay

1914 - 2003

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0629 POLITICIAN

Hiram Hunter

1874 - 1966

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0632 POLITICIAN

Stephen Rainbow

Born 1961

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0637 POLITICIAN

Max Bradford

Born 1942

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0683 POLITICIAN

James Gillespie Barclay

1882 - 1972

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0692 POLITICIAN

Kevin Campbell (politician)

Born 1949

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0703 POLITICIAN

James Arthur Flesher

1865 - 1930

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0712 POLITICIAN

Gerard Wall

1920 - 1992

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0726 POLITICIAN

Tom McGuigan

1921 - 2013

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0758 POLITICIAN

Jenny Brash

Born 1946

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0761 POLITICIAN

William Nosworthy

1867 - 1946

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0829 POLITICIAN

Robert Coulter (New Zealand politician)

1891 - 1945

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0839 POLITICIAN

Stanley Russell

1906 - 2005

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0852 POLITICIAN

Arthur Osborne (politician)

1891 - 1953

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0858 POLITICIAN

Larry Sutherland

1951 - 2005

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0899 POLITICIAN

William Hayward (politician)

1868 - 1943

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0909 POLITICIAN

David Robert Barwick

1927 - 2001

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0911 POLITICIAN

Cyril Hendry Croker

1888 - 1958

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0919 POLITICIAN

Charles Graham (Western Australian politician)

1867 - 1938

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0922 POLITICIAN

Harold Caro

1887 - 1964

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