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Timeline: People

9 November 1795

  • (James) Miranda Steuart Barry is born (Ireland). Link: Wikipedia

3 November 1802

26 February 1817

  • Feminist and businesswoman Mary Taylor is born (Yorkshire, United Kingdom). Taylor was a life-long friend and some say lover of writer Charlotte Bronte. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

4 December 1835

December 1836

  • Missionary William Yate leaves New Zealand (New Zealand). Yate leaves for England after an inquiry into allegations of sexual activity with some of his male pupils. Link: Te Ara

1838

24 July 1845

  • Mary Taylor arrives in New Zealand (New Zealand). Taylor is a life-long friend and some say lover of writer Charlotte Bronte. She returns to England in 1860. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

2 April 1854

  • Photographer Robert Gant is born (United Kingdom). Gant is born in Woolwich (now Greater London). At the age of 21 he immigrates to Wellington, New Zealand

16 October 1854

  • Writer Oscar Wilde is born (United Kingdom). Link: Wikipedia

18 May 1859

  • Confidence trickster Amy Bock is born (Tasmania, Australia). Link: Te Ara

26 September 1860

12 September 1861

  • Painter Dorothy Richmond is born (Auckland). Link: Te Ara

September 1863

25 July 1865

  • James Miranda Steuart Barry dies (London, United Kingdom). Link: Wikipedia

14 May 1868

  • Physician and sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld is born Link: Wikipedia

14 September 1868

  • Alexander Turnbull is born (Wellington). During his life Turnbull collected a wide variety of manuscripts and documents. He later donated his collection to the country - forming the basis of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

28 April 1869

6 October 1874

1875

  • Eugenia Falleni (a.k.a Harry Crawford) is born (Italy). Falleni lived as a man, married Annie Birkett and was subsequently convicted of murdering her in 1920 in Australia. Born in Italy, Falleni had moved to Wellington, New Zealand in 1877. In 1996 Lorae Parry wrote Eugenia a play based on Falleni's life. Link: Wikipedia

29 June 1875

  • Charles Mackay is born (Nelson). Mackay later became the mayor of Wanganui. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

July 1876

  • Robert Gant arrives in Wellington (Wellington). Gant emigrates from the United Kingdom

26 July 1877

  • William Yate dies Link: Te Ara

17 June 1882

  • Plastic surgeon Harold Gillies is born (Dunedin). Gillies is widely considered the father of plastic and gender reassignment surgery. Link: Wikipedia

16 September 1882

14 October 1888

  • Writer Katherine Mansfield (nee Beauchamp) is born (Wellington). Links: Te Ara, PrideNZ

10 April 1890

  • Maata Mahupuku is born (New Zealand). Mahupuku was later a lover of Katherine Mansfield. Link: Te Ara

1 March 1893

  • Mary Taylor dies (Yorkshire, United Kingdom). Link: Te Ara

22 January 1896

  • Poet Walter D'Arcy Cresswell is born (Christchurch). Cresswell was later shot by Charles Mackay, mayor of Wanganui. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

1897

2 December 1897

  • Writer and educator Rewi Alley is born (Canterbury region). Links: Wikipedia, Te Ara

2 May 1898

  • Lawyer and social reformer Frank Haigh is born (Lower Hutt). Among other things Haigh was prominent in the cause of homosexual law reform. Link: Te Ara

30 November 1900

  • Oscar Wilde dies (Paris, France). Link: Wikipedia

February 1901

  • Painter Frances Hodgkins leaves New Zealand for Europe (New Zealand). Hodgkins and close friend Dorothy Richmond would later travel through Europe together. Links: Te Ara, Papers Past

18 June 1902

23 December 1902

  • Civil libertarian Walter Scott is born (Canterbury region). Link: Te Ara

9 February 1903

  • Writer James Courage is born (Christchurch). Link: Te Ara

23 March 1903

  • Writer Norris Frank Davey (a.k.a Frank Sargeson) is born (Hamilton). Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

17 June 1906

  • Writer Eric McCormick is born (Rangitikei region). McCormick wrote, among other works, biographies on Alexander Turnbull and Frances Hodgkins. Link: Te Ara

29 November 1906

  • Diplomat Alister McIntosh is born (Marlborough region). Link: Te Ara

1907

  • Katherine Mansfield has a relationship with Maata Mahupuku (Wellington). Mansfield also begins a relationship with Edie Bendall. Link: Te Ara

July 1908

  • Katherine Mansfield leaves for England (Wellington). Mansfield leaves shortly after her father reads Leves Amores. Links: GayNZ.net, Te Ara

16 April 1909

17 June 1909

  • The marriage of Percival Redwood (a.k.a. Amy Bock) and Agnes Ottaway is annulled (Dunedin). Links: Papers Past, Te Ara

27 July 1909

  • Writer and poet Charles Brasch is born (Dunedin). Link: Te Ara

20 August 1909

  • Artist Rodney Kennedy is born (Dunedin). Link: Te Ara

27 March 1910

  • Dancer Freda Stark is born (Northland region). Link: Te Ara

11 April 1910

  • Artist Toss Woollaston is born (Stratford). Link: Te Ara

10 May 1910

  • Composer Tuini Moetu Haangu Ngawai is born (Gisborne region). Link: Te Ara

1 May 1912

23 June 1912

  • Computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing is born (London, United Kingdom)

5 November 1912

  • Media reported on the death of Thomas Parkes (Dunedin). Parkes had just given birth and was found unconsciousness in their room with the baby nearby. The newspaper headline read "In male attire, sad case at Dunedin.". Links: Papers Past (1), Papers Past (2)

17 December 1913

7 January 1914

  • Rupert Brooke departs for Tahiti onboard RMS Tahiti (Wellington). Brooke is in Wellington 5-7 January 1914. Links: Wikipedia, Papers Past

31 July 1915

  • Artist Theo Schoon is born (Java, Indonesia). Schoon was a notable figure in New Zealand art in the mid 20th century. He refused to separate art and craft and created in a range of media. He was interested in the integration of Maori and European art to produce a local modernism. Link: Te Ara

2 November 1915

  • Composer Douglas Lilburn is born (Whanganui). Link: Te Ara

13 December 1915

30 January 1917

  • Writer W. Somerset Maugham and his lover Gerald Haxton briefly visit Wellington en route to Tahiti (Wellington). Links: Wikipedia, GayNZ.net

13 December 1917

  • Morals campaigner Keith Hay is born (Hastings). Hay was a founding member of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens, a group that was behind the large anti homosexual law reform petition. Link: Te Ara

28 June 1918

25 September 1921

  • Prime Minister Robert Muldoon is born (Auckland). As Prime Minister, Muldoon accuses MP Colin Moyle of having been picked up for homosexual practices. Moyle resigned from Parliament in 1977. Link: Te Ara

9 January 1923

August 1924

  • Effie Pollen and poet Ursula Bethell begin living together (Christchurch). Links: PrideNZ.com, Te Ara

1 December 1924

  • Music teacher John Leslie Lander dies in New Plymouth Prison (New Plymouth). Lander had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1915 for committing an unnatural offence, plus 10-years hard labour for indecent assault. He was known to have epileptic fits. His death was recorded as heart failure following a fit. Link: Papers Past

1 October 1925

  • Peter Stratford (a.k.a. Deresley Morton) marries Elizabeth Rowland (United States of America). Link: Papers Past

27 June 1927

17 March 1928

  • Morals campaigner Patricia Bartlett is born (Napier). Bartlett would later form the Society for Promotion of Community Standards. Link: Wikipedia

1 May 1929

  • Expatriate Peter Stratford (a.k.a. Deresley Morton) dies (California, United States of America). A headline in NZ Truth reads "Death of masquerader reveals incredible deception". Link: Papers Past

3 May 1929

  • Former Mayor of Whanganui Charles Mackay is shot dead (Berlin, Germany). Mackay is killed by a policeman while covering a street battle as a journalist. Links: Papers Past, Te Ara

18 June 1929

  • Politician Colin Moyle is born (Thames). Moyle resigned from Parliament in 1977 after it was made public that he had been questioned by the police on suspicion of homosexual activities. Link: Wikipedia

17 February 1930

5 July 1931

October 1931

  • Peter Rule is born (Gisborne). After his death, the Rule Foundation was established to advance the health, well-being and visibility of rainbow New Zealanders. Link: Rule Foundation

26 March 1933

  • Broadcaster Henare te Ua is born (New Zealand)

1 July 1934

  • Ernst Roehm, an early Nazi leader and co-founder of the Sturmabteilung (SA) is executed (Germany). Links: Wikipedia, Papers Past

8 November 1934

  • Effie Pollen dies (aged 55) (Christchurch). Pollen is buried at Karori Cemetery in Wellington. Link: Probate

11 April 1935

  • Entrepreneur Tony Katavich is born (Auckland). Katavich would later create the OUT! business empire with Brett Sheppard. Link: GayNZ

16 April 1935

14 May 1935

  • Physician and sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld dies (Nice, France). Hirschfeld dies of a heart attack on his 67th birthday. Link: Wikipedia

11 September 1935

5 July 1936

10 October 1936

  • Entrepreneur and activist Carmen Trevor Rupe is born (Taumarunui). Link: Time Out Sydney

1938

  • Author William Taylor is born (New Zealand). Link: GayNZ.com

10 June 1938

  • Eugenia Falleni dies following injuries sustained in an accident (Sydney, Australia). The previous day Falleni had stepped off the pavement in front of a motorcar. Link: Wikipedia

1941

1 March 1941

  • Female impersonator and activist Johnny Croskery is born (Wellington). Link: Tapatoru

21 January 1942

  • Writer and activist Pat Rosier is born Link: LILAC

25 March 1942

  • Writer and actor Richard O'Brien is born (Gloucestershire, United Kingdom). Link: Wikipedia

8 July 1943

  • Vice Squad Detective Trevor Morley is born Link: PrideNZ.com

27 August 1943

  • US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visits New Zealand with her aide Norah Walton (New Zealand). Roosevelt is in New Zealand to inspect the American troops and the American Red Cross. Links: Papers Past, National Library

29 August 1943

  • Amy Bock dies (Auckland region). Bock dies at Bombay, south of Auckland, and is buried in the Pukekohe cemetery. Link: Te Ara

3 February 1944

  • Sister Paula Brettkelly is born (United Kingdom)

7 February 1944

  • Writer Witi Ihimaera is born (Gisborne region). Link: Wikipedia

29 June 1944

  • Journalist and media personality David Hartnell is born (Auckland). Hartnell is best know for his Hollywood gossip column, as well as being one of the first presenters of Express Report, the first weekly LGBTI rainbow television series in New Zealand. Links: Wikipedia, DavidHartnell.com

11 September 1944

  • Chrissy Witoko is born (Hastings). Witoko would later own (among other businesses) the Evergreen Coffee Lounge in Wellington. Links: Friends of Chrissy, Te Papa

7 October 1944

  • Composer Jack Body is born (Waikato region). Link: Wikipedia

15 January 1945

  • Poet Ursula Bethell dies (Christchurch). Bethell dies in Christchurch and is buried in the Rangiora cemetery. Links: Te Ara, PrideNZ.com

29 August 1946

13 May 1947

  • Painter Frances Hodgkins dies (Dorset, United Kingdom). Hodgkins' ashes are returned to New Zealand and placed in the Field-Hodgkins family plot in the Waikanae cemetery near Wellington. Links: Te Ara, PrideNZ.com

20 March 1948

  • Activist Porleen Simmonds is born Link: LILAC

1949

  • Academic and activist Ngahuia Te Awekotuku is born (Rotorua). Link: Book Council

June 1949

1950

15 January 1952

  • Maata Mahupuku dies (Palmerston North). Mahupuku is buried in the private burial ground of the Mahupuku family at Kehemane beyond Martinborough. Links: Te Ara, PrideNZ.com

4 May 1952

  • Politician Chris Carter is born (Auckland). Carter would later become the first openly gay Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Links: Wikipedia, Parliament

7 October 1952

  • Politician and academic Marilyn Waring is born (New Zealand). Link: Wikipedia

10 March 1953

22 April 1953

  • Charles Farthing is born (Christchurch). Farthing would later become a pioneering doctor specialising in the early recognition and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Links: New Zealand Medical Journal, Wikipedia

3 June 1954

7 June 1954

  • Computer scientist and mathematician Alan Turing dies (United Kingdom). An inquest determined Turing had committed suicide. However Turing's mother believed that the cyanide poisoning was accidental, resulting from her son's careless storage of laboratory chemicals

16 November 1954

  • AIDS activist and educator Bruce Burnett is born (Auckland). Link: GayNZ.net.nz

1955

  • Singer-songwriter Mahinarangi Tocker is born (Taumarunui). Link: Wikipedia

5 April 1955

  • Politician Maryan Street is born (New Plymouth). Street became New Zealand's first openly out lesbian elected to Parliament in 2005. Link: Wikipedia

5 October 1955

9 October 1955

  • Singer Shona Laing is born (New Zealand). Laing first came to prominence in 1972 as a 17-year-old schoolgirl, coming runner-up in the television talent show New Faces with her song 1905. Laing's biggest hit songs included (Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy and Soviet Snow. Link: Wikipedia

1956

  • Choreographer and dancer Douglas Wright is born (Auckland). Link: Wikipedia

28 April 1956

  • Daniel Fielding is born (New Zealand). Fielding would later help establish the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt in December 1988. Link: Tributes Online

November 1957

  • Politician Georgina Beyer is born (Wellington). Beyer would later become the world's first openly transsexual Mayor and Member of Parliament. Links: PrideNZ.com, Wikipedia

21 November 1957

  • Historian Gavin McLean is born (Otago region)

4 August 1958

  • Politician Tim Barnett is born (Warwickshire, United Kingdom). While in Parliament Barnett introduced the Prostitution Reform Bill 2003 and was also heavily involved in the Civil Union Bill 2004. Links: PrideNZ.com, Wikipedia, Parliament

21 February 1960

  • Poet Walter D'Arcy Cresswell dies (London, United Kingdom). Cresswell dies of accidental gas poisioning. Links: Te Ara, GayNZ.net

10 September 1960

  • Plastic surgeon Harold Gillies dies (London, United Kingdom). Gillies is widely considered the father of plastic surgery and gender-reassignment surgery. Link: Wikipedia

31 October 1960

5 October 1963

  • Writer James Courage dies (London, United Kingdom). Link: Te Ara

1964

  • Writer Paula Boock is born (New Zealand). Link: Wikipedia

12 August 1965

  • Tuini Moetu Haangu Ngawai dies (New Zealand). Ngawai was a prolific Ngati Porou songwriter, composer, teacher and shearer who had close relationships with women. One of Ngawai's most famous songs Arohaina mai became the unofficial hymn of the Maori Battalion. Link: Te Ara

11 April 1967

  • Stanley Waipouri is born (Auckland region). Waipouri was killed in Palmerston North in 2006. Link: GayNZ.com

1968

  • Writer and musician Hinemoana Baker is born (New Zealand)

29 February 1968

7 April 1970

  • Composer Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears tour New Zealand (New Zealand). The visit was part of a tour to generate money for the rebuilding of the concert hall at The Maltings. Link: Music Web

March 1972

  • Ngahuia Te Awekotuku is refused a United States visa because she is a known lesbian ("sexual deviant") (New Zealand)

20 May 1973

  • Writer and poet Charles Brasch dies (New Zealand)

1 July 1973

20 October 1973

  • Television news report: interview with visiting morals campaigner Mary Whitehouse (New Zealand). Whitehouse was invited to tour by the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards. NZBC News, ref: TZP86099. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

1974

6 June 1974

26 September 1974

  • Television: author Witi Ihimaera wins the Watties Book of the Year Award for his novel Tangi (New Zealand). The South Tonight, ref: TZP359531. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

1975

4 October 1975

15 December 1975

1976

  • Television Mangere Labour Party Electoral Committee support Colin Moyle (New Zealand). ref: TZP25502. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

27 February 1976

11 July 1976

20 August 1976

24 August 1976

  • National MP Marilyn Waring is outed by the NZ Truth newspaper (New Zealand). The headline on the front page reads "MP's Odd Love Affair". The story begins "Marilyn Waring, National Member of Parliament for Raglan, is a lesbian. Her lover is a former Hamilton housewife and mother of three, who left her husband and children about three months ago to share a Wellington love nest."

15 October 1976

1 December 1976

  • Matthew Shepard is born (Wyoming, United States of America). Shepard was murdered in October 1998 in Wyoming by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. Link: Wikipedia

1977

27 February 1978

26 August 1978

30 November 1978

  • Diplomat Alister McIntosh dies

1979

12 August 1979

16 August 1979

9 November 1979

2 July 1980

14 August 1980

  • Television: interview with sexologist Dr John Money (New Zealand). The report also looks at attitudes towards sex in New Zealand, ref: TZP43928. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

19 October 1980

  • Television news report: interview with Marilyn Waring about Robert Muldoon (New Zealand). ref: TZP938. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

24 March 1981

  • Television: Toss Woollaston interviewed about his autobiography Sage Tea (New Zealand). ref: TZP24743. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

14 August 1981

13 November 1981

1 March 1982

  • Writer Frank Sargeson dies (New Zealand)

19 March 1982

17 July 1982

  • Eve van Grafhorst is born (New South Wales, Australia). Link: Wikipedia

15 September 1982

  • Television: interview with Richard O’Brien about his youth in Hamilton and Rocky Horror (Hamilton). ref: TZP106773. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

24 October 1982

3 December 1982

  • Television: faux studio interview with 'Katherine Mansfield,' played by Cathy Downes (New Zealand). ref: TZP1048911. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

1983

23 September 1983

22 November 1983

23 November 1983

24 November 1983

26 November 1983

  • Television: David Bowie concert in Auckland drew a crowd of between 70 and 80,000 (Auckland). ref: TZP128043. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

28 November 1983

April 1984

15 June 1984

14 October 1984

8 November 1984

  • Television: David Hartnell promoting his book David Hartnell's Guide to Beauty (Wellington). ref: TZP12718. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

16 November 1984

  • Television: Nobel Peace Prize winner Patrick McLauchlan interviewed about his peace work and homosexuality (New Zealand). ref: TZP7892. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

22 November 1984

  • Television: Close Up profile on Adrienne Clark, who identifies as a transsexual (New Zealand). ref: TZP9067. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

2 February 1985

  • Jeff Whittington is born (Wellington). Whittington was later murdered in Wellington by Jason Meads and Stephen Smith in May 1999. Link: Wikipedia

19 February 1985

  • Civil libertarian Walter Scott dies (New Zealand)

5 March 1985

20 March 1985

  • Keith Hay and Peter Tait take over the anti-homosexual law reform petition (New Zealand). Link: LAGANZ

1 June 1985

  • AIDS activist and educator Bruce Burnett dies (Auckland). Links: PrideNZ, LAGANZ

14 July 1985

  • Artist Theo Schoon dies

16 July 1985

  • Television news report: Former MP Marilyn Waring presents a seminar Women, Politics and Power (Dunedin). ref: TZP125107. Link: Nga Taonga Sound and Vision

2 October 1985

  • Actor Rock Hudson dies from AIDS-related complications (Los Angeles, United States of America). Link: Wikipedia

2 January 1986

  • Artist Leo Bensemann dies (Christchurch)

22 February 1987

  • Artist Andy Warhol dies (New York, United States of America). Link: Wikipedia

November 1987

  • Peter Rule dies (New Zealand). After his death, the Rule Foundation was established to advance the health, well-being and visibility of rainbow New Zealanders. Link: Rule Foundation

19 November 1987

  • National MP Norman Jones dies (New Zealand). Jones had been a vehement opponent of homosexual law reform. He dies of a brain tumor

27 December 1987

4 August 1988

  • Photographer Brian Brake dies (Auckland). Link: Wikipedia

31 October 1988

  • Peter Cuthbert dies (Wellington). Cuthbert is remembered in the first panel of the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt. Link: NZ AIDS Memorial Quilt

24 March 1989

14 October 1989

  • Artist Rodney Kennedy dies

23 April 1990

  • Singer Lew Pryme dies (Auckland). Pryme dies from AIDS-related complications. Link: NZ On Screen

17 July 1992

  • Lawyer and social reformer Frank Haigh dies Among other things Haigh was prominent in the cause of homosexual law reform

5 August 1992

  • Former Prime Minister Robert Muldoon dies (Auckland). In 1976 Muldoon revealed in Parliament that prominent Labour MP Colin Moyle had been questioned by the police in regard to possible homosexual soliciting. Moyle subsequently resigned from Parliament in 1977. Link: Te Ara

4 September 1993

  • Darren Horn dies (Auckland). Horn was an early convener of the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt. In 1992 he wrote "All the quilts speak of love, compassion and memories. Each is composed of recollection, sadness, acceptance and letting go. The quilts help us to learn and accept. They are a guide to the future of coming generations.". Links: New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt, Te Papa

20 November 1993

  • Eve van Grafhorst dies from AIDS-related complications (Hastings). Link: Wikipedia

24 November 1993

  • David Halls (Hudson and Halls) is found dead in his apartment (London, United Kingdom). Halls commits suicide after his partner Peter Hudson died from cancer a year earlier. Halls wrote "Without Peter I don't want to go on - he was my life, and I have no regrets. I love him now as much as I always did and I want to be with him for all eternity."

28 November 1993

  • Artist Arthur Tauhore dies (Wellington). The Devotion dance party was happening in Wellington at the time Tauhore passed away. Link: NZ AIDS Memorial Quilt

28 September 1994

1 January 1995

  • Dancer Warren Douglas dies (Wellington). The Warren Douglas Scholarship Fund was subsequently established in May 1995 to help those who wanted to make the transition from performer to arts administrator, as he had done. Douglas is remembered on the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt. Links: New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt, Warren Douglas Scholarship Fund

25 March 1995

  • Writer Eric McCormick dies McCormick wrote biographies on Alexander Turnbull and Frances Hodgkins. Link: Te Ara

1996

  • Mani Bruce Mitchell publicly comes out as Intersex (New Zealand). Mani is recognised as the first out Intersex person in New Zealand. Link: PrideNZ

25 January 1996

  • Composer Jonathan Larson dies (New York, United States of America). Larson's musical Rent was just days away from opening on Broadway when he passed away. Link: New York Times

18 July 1996

  • Singer Shona Laing comes out as bisexual during a concert performance (New Zealand). Laing's coming out was reported in Express magazine. Link: Wikipedia

August 1996

  • Mani Bruce Mitchell attends the world's first international intersex retreat (United States of America). During the gathering the documentary Hermaphrodites Speak was filmed which documented the experiences of seven people – including Mani's. Links: ITANZ, Youtube (1), Youtube (2), Youtube (3), WorldCat

2 January 1997

  • Morals campaigner Keith Hay dies (Auckland). Hay took a lead role in campaigning against homosexual law reform in 1985/86. Link: Te Ara

1 January 1998

  • Jacquie Grant becomes a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) (West Coast region). Grant is honoured for her work as a foster parent to more than 60 children. In 2018 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). Links: Te Ara, A Gender Variance Whos Who

30 August 1998

  • Artist Toss Woollaston dies (Tasman region). Link: Te Ara

19 March 1999

  • Dancer Freda Stark dies Link: Te Ara

8 November 2000

  • Morals campaigner Patricia Bartlett dies (Wellington region). Link: Wikipedia

15 November 2000

6 June 2001

  • Composer Douglas Lilburn dies (Wellington). Lilburn, described as the "grandfather of New Zealand music," dies peacefully at his home in Wellington. Lilburn was a composer, teacher, philanthropist and advocate for social justice. Link: Te Ara

5 August 2002

9 August 2002

  • Auckland police senior sergeant Mark Richards resigns after a newspaper "sting". (Auckland). Richards resigns despite being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing after he discussed drug use with a newspaper reporter. The Sunday Star Times headline read "Senior policeman at the centre of sex and drugs investigation resigns before facing internal charges". Link: Queer News Aotearoa

28 September 2002

  • Michael Pattison gains media attention as an openly gay man competing in the Cleo Bachelor of the Year. (New Zealand). Pattison has previously won Mr Gay Wellington and Mr Drag Wellington. Links: Gay NZ, Access My Library

5 November 2002

  • Chrissy Witoko dies (Wellington). Witoko owned (among other businesses) the Evergreen Coffee Lounge in Wellington. Links: Friends of Chrissy, Te Papa

25 October 2004

  • HIV educator and activist Matt Whyte dies (New Zealand). Link: GayNZ.com

6 January 2005

  • Makgatho Mandela, the eldest son of Nelson Mandela, dies from AIDS related conditions Link: BBC

15 October 2005

  • Daniel Fielding dies (Wellington). Fielding helped establish the New Zealand AIDS Memorial Quilt project in December 1988. Links: GayNZ.com, Tributes Online

2006

  • Peter Wells is made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature and film (New Zealand). Link: New Zealand Book Council

10 October 2006

  • Carmen Rupe visits Parliament on her 70th birthday (Wellington). 32 years earlier Carmen had been brought before Parliament's Privileges committee because she had suggested there were gay and bisexual MPs

23 December 2006

  • Stanley Waipouri is killed (Palmerston North). Link: GayNZ.com

10 February 2007

  • MP Chris Carter (Te Atatu, Labour Party) and Peter Kaiser are civilly joined (New Zealand). Carter and Kaiser's civil union is the first for a Cabinet Minister or Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Link: Wikipedia

2 May 2007

  • Broadcaster Henare te Ua dies (Auckland). Link: NZ Herald

15 April 2008

  • Singer-songwriter Mahinarangi Tocker dies (Auckland). Tocker dies following a severe asthma attack. Link: Wikipedia

19 June 2008

  • Dr Matt Wildbore dies (Auckland). Wildbore supported many HIV positive men during the 1980s and 1990s. Links: GayNZ.com, NZ.com

31 August 2008

  • Sister Paula Brettkelly dies (New Zealand)

5 April 2009

  • Marvin Te Maunga Te Kotahitanga Peihopa, a teenager bullied for being "feminine", commmits suicide. (New Zealand). The coroner found Peihopa had experienced bullying at a number of schools in Northland before taking his own life. Link: Stuff

29 October 2011

  • Frank Lund (a.k.a. Toni Roget) dies (Wellington). Frankie was a female impersonator who created elaborate outfits (a number of them now are held by Te Papa)

15 December 2011

  • Carmen Rupe dies (Sydney, Australia). Link: GayNZ.com

12 February 2012

  • Andreas Derleth wins Mr Gay New Zealand 2012 (Auckland). Link: GayNZ

16 February 2012

  • Sam Johnson wins Young New Zealander of the Year Johnson was the founder of the Student Volunteer Army that assisted during the Christchurch earthquake recovery

19 April 2012

  • Johnny Croskery dies (Wellington). Croskery was a female impersonator, volunteer and activist. Link: Tapatoru

28 February 2013

  • Coroner Gordon Matenga rules Corporal Douglas Hughes committed suicide (New Zealand). Link: Stuff

8 March 2013

  • Former Labour MP Geoff Braybrooke dies (Palmerston North). Braybrooke had campaigned tirelessly against homosexual law reform in the mid-1980s. Link: Stuff.co.nz

29 March 2013

  • Former MP Warren Freer dies (New Zealand)

21 June 2013

22 August 2013

  • Actor Wentworth Miller comes out in an open letter protesting Russia's anti-gay laws. (United States of America). Miller is best know for his role in the tv series Prison Break. Link: Stuff

3 September 2013

  • Coroner H Brandt Shortland finds a teenager bullied for being "feminine", committed suicide. (New Zealand). Marvin Te Maunga Te Kotahitanga Peihopa died on 5 April 2009. Link: Stuff

16 September 2013

  • Peter Taylor, a well known Auckland personality dies. (Auckland). Taylor died shortly after stopping treatments for long-term HIV and leishmaniasis infections. Links: GayNZ.com (1), GayNZ.com (2)

27 September 2013

  • Paul Findlay resigns as a board-member of youth group Q-topia. (Christchurch). A sexting conversation was publicized in the media allegedly between Findlay and a person identifying themselves as a fifteen-year-old. Links: NZ Herald, GayNZ

28 September 2013

1 October 2013

  • Nathan Verhelst, a Belgium transsexual, dies through euthanasia Verhelst told media "None of these [gender reassignment] operations worked as desired ... I do not want to be a monster.". Link: Stuff
  • Solicitor General Mike Heron declines a request for a second Coronial Inquiry into the death of Corporal Douglas Hughes. (New Zealand). Hughes committed suicide in Afghanistan shortly after being questioned about a situation with a subordinate soldier. Link: Gay NZ

17 October 2013

  • Geno Sisneros' complaint against the Anglican Church is dismissed by the Human Rights Tribunal. (Auckland). Sisneros complained that the Bishop of Auckland had prevented him from becoming a priest because of his sexuality. Link: Gay NZ

26 October 2013

  • Dramatist and performer Paul Jenden dies (Wellington). Jenden was a lyricist, writer and choreographer of numerous New Zealand productions. Links: GayNZ.com, Stuff

27 December 2013

  • Entrepreneur Tony Katavich dies (Auckland). Katavich created the Out! business empire with Brett Sheppard. Link: GayNZ.com

6 April 2014

  • Dr Charles Farthing dies (China). Farthing was a pioneering doctor specialising in the early recognition and treatment of HIV/AIDS. He died while traveling in Hong Kong. Links: New Zealand Medical Journal, Wikipedia

12 June 2014

  • Writer and activist Pat Rosier dies (New Zealand). Link: LILAC

28 September 2014

  • Activist Porleen Simmonds dies (New Zealand). Link: LILAC

7 May 2015

  • Composer Jack Body receives the Icon Award - the Arts Foundation of New Zealand's highest honour (Wellington). The ceremony takes place at Mary Potter Hospice. Body dies three days later after a long battle with cancer. Links: SOUNZ, Wikipedia

10 May 2015

  • Composer Jack Body dies (Wellington). Link: Wikipedia

3 October 2015

15 May 2017

  • Vicki Letele dies (Auckland). Letele, who was serving a prison term for fraud, was denied parole in October 2016, but was released on compassionate grounds in November 2016 to spend her final months with loved ones. Link: GayNZ

16 June 2017

  • Mika X is confirmed as The Opportunities Party (TOP) candidate for the Auckland Central Electorate (Auckland). TOP was founded by philanthropist Gareth Morgan in November 2016. Link: Scoop

5 July 2017

  • Creative New Zealand announces writer Paul Diamond is the latest recipient of the Berlin Writers Residency (New Zealand). Diamond will spend up to 11 months in Berlin researching and writing a book about former Whanganui mayor, Charles Mackay, who was killed in Berlin in 1929 while working as a journalist. Link: Creative New Zealand

12 July 2017

  • Alison Mau is announced as a finalist in the Women of Influence awards (New Zealand). Established in 2012, the awards are run by Fairfax Media. Link: Stuff

12 October 2017

  • The immigration and protection tribunal grants residency to a trans woman on exceptional humanitarian grounds (Auckland). The tribunal decides she is safer to remain in New Zealand rather than having to return to the United Kingdom where she has suffered years of persecution. Link: Guardian

20 January 2018

  • So'oalo To'oto'oali'i Roger Stanley dies (Samoa). Stanley was the founder and President of the Samoa Fa'afafine Association. Links: Express, Samoa Observer

12 February 2018

  • Dana de Milo dies (Wellington). Link: Facebook

9 April 2018

  • Award-winning hairdresser Derek Elvy dies (Wellington). Link: Stuff

2 May 2018

  • Former MP Katherine O'Regan dies (Waikato region). As Associate Minister of Health, O'Regan championed amendments to the Human Rights Act 1993 - outlawing discrimination on the grounds of disability, sexual orientation, and having organisms in the body which might cause disease. Link: Stuff

4 June 2018

  • Jacquie Grant becomes an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) (West Coast region). Grant was awarded the honour for services to the community. She had earlier received the MNZM in 1997. Link: Stuff.co.nz
  • The Topp Twins are appointed Dame Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit (New Zealand). The honours for Jools and Lynda Topp were announced in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Link: Stuff.co.nz

22 October 2018

  • Kevin Baker, a.k.a. Buffy of Buffy and Bimbo fame, dies (Napier). Link: Dunstalls

2 November 2018

  • Activist Amanda Ashley dies (New Zealand). Ashley established the Rodney Area Rainbow LGBTQ+ group, campaigned nationally for an end to gay conversion therapy and started a petition which called for KiwiSaver funds to be made available for surgeries that were not publicly funded, such as gender confirmation surgeries. Links: Stuff.co.nz, Facebook

14 November 2018

  • Choreographer and dancer Douglas Wright dies (Auckland). Link: Stuff.co.nz

18 February 2019

7 April 2019

  • Historian Gavin McLean dies (Wellington)

1 June 2019

  • Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki apologies to the rainbow community (Auckland region). The apology happens during the Love is Greater Than Hate event at Destiny's Stand! Conference. Media report Bishop Tamaki as saying "It has never been my intent to cause hurt or harm." Referring to the Enough is Enough march in 2004, Tamaki said that if he had another chance "we'd do some things differently.". Link: Stuff

9 April 2020

  • Former Vice Squad Detective Trevor Morley dies (Wellington). Link: PrideNZ.com

1 June 2020

  • Georgina Beyer becomes a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) (New Zealand). Beyer was awarded the honour for "services to LGBTIQA+ Rights". Links: Stuff.co.nz, Honours list

1 January 2021

  • Vicki-Anne Heikell is awarded a Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (New Zealand). Heikell is awarded the honour for services to heritage preservation and Maori. Link: New Year Honours
  • Victor Rodger is awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (New Zealand). Rodger is awarded the honour for services to theatre and Pacific arts. Link: New Year Honours
URL:http://www.pridenz.com/timeline/people.html