New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers

New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers
Narrated by	Alison Mau
Country of origin	New Zealand
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	7
Original release
Network	Prime
Release	6 October 2005 (2005-10-6) – 17 November 2005 (2005-11-17)

New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers was a weekly television programme first shown on Prime Television New Zealand on 6 October 2005. 430 notable New Zealanders were ranked by a panel to determine the 100 most influential in New Zealand history. There were six episodes to present the list, and a final (seventh) episode, screened live on 17 November 2005, showed the rankings of the top ten of these people as a result of votes collected from the public via text and internet. ^[1] (These votes are not statistically valid as they involve self-selected voters).^{[ citation needed ]}

Diana Wichtel, reviewing the show in the New Zealand Listener , described it as "surprisingly watchable", but commented that the format was "history as striptease, with the programme counting down over the weeks to the big winner." ^[2] Scott Kara, writing in The New Zealand Herald , called it "educational but not dull". ^[3] Another review described it as "history ... as an Idol-style talent search". ^[4]

Joseph Romanos, one of the panellists, produced a book later in 2005 containing profiles of the same 100 people. The book was revised for a 2008 edition. ^[5]

Panel

The show's rankings were produced by merging the ratings of eight panellists, who are all well-known New Zealanders:

• Stacey Daniels – Television and radio personality
• Raybon Kan – Comedian
• Robyn Langwell – Editor of North & South magazine
• Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins – Writer and historian
• Melanie Nolan – Historian
• Joseph Romanos – radio host, sports writer
• Tainui Stephens – Television producer
• Kerre Woodham – Radio personality

Panel rankings

1. Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937) – physicist
2. Kate Sheppard (1848–1934) – suffragist
3. Sir Edmund Hillary (1919–2008) – mountaineer and explorer
4. Sir George Grey (1812–1898) – Governor and Premier
5. Michael Joseph Savage (1872–1940) – politician
6. Sir Āpirana Ngata (1874–1950) – Māori politician
7. Hōne Heke (c.1807/1808 – 1850) – Māori chief
8. Dr Frederick Truby King (1858–1938) – founder of Plunket Society
9. William Hobson (1792–1842) – co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi
10. Jean Batten (1909–1982) – aviator
11. Sir Brian Barratt-Boyes (1924–2006) – heart surgeon
12. Sir Peter Snell (1938–2019) – runner
13. Bill Pickering (1910–2004) – space scientist
14. Sir Peter Jackson (born 1961) – film maker
15. Janet Frame (1924–2004) – writer
16. Te Rauparaha (1760s–1849) – Māori leader
17. Sir Colin Meads (1936–2017) – All Black
18. Dame Whina Cooper (1895–1994) – Māori leader
19. Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) – writer
20. Thomas Brydone (1837–1904) and William Soltau Davidson (1846–1924) – refrigeration pioneers
21. Richard Pearse (1877–1953) – aviation pioneer
22. Te Whiti o Rongomai (c.1830–1907) – pacifist Māori leader
23. Richard Seddon (1845–1906) – Premier and Prime Minister of New Zealand
24. Sir Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck) (1877–1951) – Māori leader
25. Sir Julius Vogel (1835–1899) – politician
26. Maurice Wilkins (1916–2004) – scientist Nobel laureate
27. Helen Clark (born 1950) – politician
28. Mabel Howard (1894–1972) – politician
29. Sir Bernard Freyberg (1889–1963) – lieutenant-general
30. Sir Harold Gillies (1882–1960) – plastic surgeon
31. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944) – opera singer
32. Sir Keith Park (1892–1975) – air chief marshal
33. Professor Alan MacDiarmid (1927–2007) – Nobel laureate chemist
34. Sir Peter Blake (1948–2001) – yachtsman
35. Dr C.E. (Clarence Edward) Beeby (1902–1998) – educationalist
36. Jack Lovelock (1910–1949) – athlete
37. Dr John Bedbrook – biotechnologist
38. James K. Baxter (1926–1972) – poet
39. Dr Fred Hollows (1929–1993) – eye surgeon
40. Sir Murray Halberg (1933-2022) – athlete and philanthropist
41. Neil Finn (born 1958) – musician
42. Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796–1862) – colony founder
43. David Lange (1942–2005) – politician
44. Sir Robert Muldoon (1921–1992) – politician
45. Thomas Edmonds – industrialist
46. Colin McCahon (1919–1987) – painter
47. Colin Murdoch (1929–2008) – inventor
48. Sir Archibald McIndoe (1900–1960) – plastic surgeon
49. Rev Samuel Marsden (1765–1838) – missionary
50. Peter Fraser (1884–1950) – politician
51. John Clarke (1948–2017) – comedian
52. Ettie Rout (1877–1936) – campaigner for safe sex
53. Arthur Lydiard (1917–2004) – popularised jogging
54. Kupe – discoverer of Aotearoa
55. Te Puea Hērangi (1883–1952) – Māori leader
56. Sir John Walker (born 1952) – runner
57. Tim Finn (born 1952) – musician
58. John A. Lee (1891–1982) – politician
59. Sir James Wattie (1902–1974) – industrialist
60. Sir Bill Hamilton (1899–1978) – inventor
61. Norman Kirk (1923–1974) – politician
62. Bill Gallagher (1911–1990) – inventor
63. Dr Michael King (1945–2004) – historian
64. Frances Hodgkins (1869–1947) – painter
65. George Nēpia (1905–1986) – All Black
66. Sir James Fletcher (1886–1974) – industrialist
67. Mother Aubert (1835–1926) – nun
68. Charles Heaphy (1820–1881) – explorer
69. A.H. Reed (1875–1975) – publisher
70. Frank Sargeson (1903–1982) – writer
71. Sir Roger Douglas (born 1937) – politician
72. Dr Matthew During (1956–2023) – neuroscientist
73. Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c.1832–1893) – warrior
74. Hongi Hika (1772–1828) – warrior chief
75. Sir David Low (1891–1963) – cartoonist
76. Kate Edger (1857–1935) – women's pioneer
77. Dame Marie Clay (1926–2007) – educationalist
78. Rewi Alley (1897–1987) – sinophile
79. Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison (1867–1904) – rugby union captain
80. Rua Kenana Hepetipa (1869–1937) – prophet
81. Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana (1873?–1939) – prophet
82. Aunt Daisy (1879–1963) – broadcaster
83. Charles Upham (1908–1994) – soldier
84. Ralph Hotere (1931–2013) – artist
85. Sir Richard Hadlee (born 1951) – cricketer
86. Billy T. James (1948–1991) – comedian
87. Sir Keith Sinclair (1922–1993) – historian
88. Charles Goldie (1870–1947) – painter
89. John Minto (born 1953) – activist
90. Rudall Hayward (1900–1974) – film maker
91. Witi Ihimaera (born 1944) – writer
92. John Te Rangianiwaniwa Rangihau (1919–1987) – Māori language promoter
93. Dave Dobbyn (born 1957) – songwriter
94. Russell Coutts (born 1962) – sailor
95. Jonah Lomu (1975–2015) – All Black
96. Peter Mahon (1923–1986) – lawyer
97. Georgina Beyer (1957-2023) – transgender politician
98. A. J. Hackett (born 1958) – bungy jumping pioneer
99. Denny Hulme (1936–1992) – Formula One driver
100. Russell Crowe (born 1964) – actor

On the final programme, the 101st on the list was revealed:

101. Sir Mountford "Toss" Woollaston (1910–1998) – painter

Public rankings

1. Ernest Rutherford (1871–1937) – scientist
2. Kate Sheppard (1848–1934) – suffragist
3. Edmund Hillary (1919–2008) – explorer and humanitarian
4. Charles Upham (1908–1994) – war hero
5. Billy T. James (1948–1991) – comedian
6. David Lange (1942–2005) – prime minister
7. Āpirana Ngata (1874–1950) – politician
8. Colin Murdoch (1929–2008) – inventor of the disposable syringe
9. Rua Kenana Hepetipa (1869–1937) – prophet
10. Roger Douglas (born 1937) – politician and economist

Other editions

Other countries have produced similar shows; see Greatest Britons spin-offs

References

1. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. "History on TV – Timeline". nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
2. Wichtel, Diana (29 October 2005). "Yore call". The New Zealand Listener. Retrieved 5 October 2011. history as striptease, with the programme counting down over the weeks to the big winner.
3. Kara, Scott (14 November 2005). "Entertainment picks: Arise Sir Ed and conquer list". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
4. Frances Grant; Scott Kara; Rebecca Barry Hill; Michele Hewitson (22 December 2005). "Television 2005: an unauthorised history". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
5. Romanos, Joseph (22 August 2023). TrioBooks Ltd-Publishers. Trio Books. ISBN   978-0-9582455-6-2. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2011.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

External links

• New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers at Wayback Machine internet archive