This is a list of Famous South Islanders:
A
Alexander Aitken – mathematician/statistician, writer, mental calculator, musician Ronald Algie – politician Fred Allen – rugby union player James Allen – politician James Allen – rugby union player Rewi Alley – supporter of Chinese communism Peter Arnett – TV journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner Basil Arthur – politician Ian Athfield – architect
B
David Bain Alison Ballance – author and film-maker Rick Barker – politician James Baxter – poet Francis Bell – first New Zealand-born Prime Minister David Benson-Pope – politician Todd Blackadder – rugby player Ben Blair – rugby player William Brassington – stonemason and sculptor Kelly Brazier – rugby player John Britten – designer of the Britten motorcycle Donald Forrester Brown – awarded the Victoria Cross Nigel Brown – painter Gerry Brownlee – politician Kerry Burke – politician
C
Dan Carter – rugby player Nathan Cohen – world champion and Olympic champion rower Thomas Cooke – awarded the Victoria Cross Warren Cooper – politician Michael Cullen – politician G. H. Cunningham – plant pathologist Allen Curnow – poet
D
Alan Dale – actor Lianne Dalziel – politician Stephnie de Ruyter – politician Bob Deans – rugby union player Bruce Deans – rugby union player Robbie Deans – rugby player and coach Rod Dixon – runner Rod Donald – politician Sarah Dougherty – early settler Jimmy Duncan – rugby union player, coach and referee Peter Dunne – politician
E
Andy Ellis – rugby union player Thomas Ellison – rugby union player and lawyer Bill English – politician
F
Bob Fitzsimmons – world boxing heavyweight champion Corey Flynn – rugby player George Forbes – Prime Minister Tom Fyfe – mountaineer
G
George Gair – politician Daryl Gibson – rugby player Charles Gifford – teacher and very successful promoter of astronomy George Gillett – rugby union player Sir Harold Gillies – pioneering plastic surgeon Robin Gray – politician Arthur Guinness – politician Stewart Graeme Guthrie – police sergeant posthumously awarded the George Cross
H
Sir Richard Hadlee – cricketer John Hall – Premier of New Zealand William Hall-Jones – Prime Minister of New Zealand Adam Hamilton – politician Bill Hamilton – developed the modern jetboat Scott Hamilton – rugby union player Mark Hammett – rugby union player Dame Joan Hammond – violinist, soprano Joseph Hatch – Invercargill businessman, "harvester" of penguins Rudy Heeman – inventor Louise Henderson – painter Graham Henry – rugby union coach Jack Hinton – awarded the Victoria Cross Frances Hodgkins – painter Sidney Holland – Prime Minister Sir Fred Hollows – eye surgeon Andrew Hore – rugby union player Ned Hughes – rugby union player Alfred Hulme – awarded the Victoria Cross Denny Hulme – world champion racing driver
J
Chris Jack – rugby player Rowena Jackson – ballerina
K
Phil Keoghan – TV presenter Norman Kirk – Prime Minister Terry Knights – awarded the Military Cross for service in Iraq
L
Robert Lawson – architect Richard Loe – rugby player Jack Lovelock – runner Isaac Luck – architect Len Lye – sculptor, experimental film maker
M
Laurie Mains – rugby union player and coach Justin Marshall – rugby union player Aaron Mauger – rugby union player Ivan Mauger – six time Motorcycle speedway world champion Nathan Mauger – rugby union player Colin McCahon – painter, museum curator, teacher Richie McCaw – rugby union player Leon MacDonald – rugby union player Thomas Mackenzie – Prime Minister of New Zealand Shona McFarlane – painter Michael McGarry – football player Duncan McGregor – rugby union player Sir Archie McIndoe – pioneer plastic surgeon Cameron McIntyre – rugby player Peter McIntyre – painter Andrew Mehrtens – rugby union player Henry Monson – gaoler William Sefton Moorhouse – prominent Canterbury politician and settler Benjamin Mountfort – architect Burt Munro – speed record breaker Colin Murdoch – inventor of the disposable syringe
N
Edgar Neale – Mayor (1941–1945) and MP (1946–1957) for Nelson Henry James Nicholas – awarded the Victoria Cross Tane Norton – former All Black captain
P
Geoffrey Palmer – Prime Minister of New Zealand Richard Pearse – early aviator and inventor Francis Petre – architect
R
Bill Rowling – Prime Minister of New Zealand Bic Runga – singer, songwriter Ernest Rutherford – 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, scientist and winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
S
Richard Seddon – Prime Minister of New Zealand George 'Johnny' Sellars – pioneering parachutist Henry Sewell – Premier of New Zealand Kate Sheppard – suffragist Jenny Shipley – New Zealand's first female prime minister Edward Stafford – Premier of New Zealand Billy Stead – rugby union player Robert Stout – Premier of New Zealand Grahame Sydney – painter
T
Sir Angus Tait – businessman and electronics innovator Brad Thorn – rugby union and rugby league player Reuben Thorne – rugby union player Richard Travis – awarded the Victoria Cross Brian Turner – poet Glenn Turner – cricketer Greg Turner – golfer
U
Charles Upham – World War II soldier (one of three awarded the Victoria Cross twice)
V
Petrus Van der Velden – painter Sir Julius Vogel – Premier of New Zealand
W
Miles Warren – architect Richard James Waugh – minister, historian, aviation chaplain and writer Robert Webster – discovered the link between human flu and bird flu Ian Wedde – poet Hayley Westenra – singer Tony Wilding – tennis player Geoff Williams – painter Jeff Wilson – sportsman Shelton Woolright – musician, best known as the drummer of Blindspott Alex Wyllie – rugby union player and coach