Whakatane, Bay of Plenty
1. Benji Marshall (1985)
New Zealand Rugby League Player
Kiwi halfback who scored over 1,000 points during his first 10 seasons with the Wests Tigers.
2. Margaret Mahy (1936)
New Zealand Children's Write
Notable for her Carnegie Medal-winning young adult books The Changeover and The Haunting, Mahy also penned the classic and widely-translated works The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate and A...
3. Sarah Walker (1988)
BMX Rider
BMX rider who represented New Zealand at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. After finishing fourth in 2008, she won silver in 2012. She's held the number one world ranking...
4. John Rowles (1947)
New Zealand Singer-songwriter
New Zealand pop singer who rose to fame in the 60's and is most famous for songs like "Cheryl Moana Marie" and "If I Only Had Time." In 1974, he...
5. Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton (1948)
unknow
Australian woman who was wrongly convicted of murdering her infant daughter Azaria at Uluru in 1980. She spent three years in prison before her original story, that a dingo had...
6. Danielle Hayes (1991)
New Zealand Model
Famous for her participation in the 2010 season (Cycle 2) of New Zealand's Next Top Model, she is especially notable as the first Maori (indigenous New Zealand) winner of the...
7. Emma Paki (1968)
New Zealand Singer
Emma Paki is a New Zealand singer/songwriter.
8. David Te Moana (1982)
New Zealand Rugby Union Player
David Te Moana is a rugby union player who plays at prop and is currently unattached to a professional club.
9. Albert Oliphant Stewart (1884)
Ngati Awa And Te Whanau-a-apanui
Albert Oliphant Stewart was a notable New Zealand tribal leader law clerk interpreter local politician rate collector. Of Māori descent he identified with the Ngāti Awa and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui iwi....
10. Craig Wickes (1962)
New Zealand Rugby Union
Craig David Wickes is a former New Zealand rugby player. He is notable as being the second-youngest All Black ever and the only player selected while still at high school.
11. Rob Hamill (1964)
New Zealand Politician
Robert Miles Hamill MNZM is a New Zealand rower and political candidate. His brother was killed by the Khmer Rouge in 1978. He came to public attention when in 1994...
12. Abby Burrows (1977)
Cricketer
Abby Kirstyn Burrows is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the Central Districts Hinds in the State League. She was born in Kawerau Bay of Plenty.
13. Karen Hanlen (1980)
New Zealand Racing Cyclist
Karen Hanlen is a New Zealand mountain biker. She represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London competing in the Women's Cross-country cycling event.
14. Paul Steel (1970)
New Zealand Squash Player
Paul Steel is a squash coach and a former professional player. As a player Paul Steel was a ten-time New Zealand national champion and reached a career-high world ranking of...
15. JP Tobin (1977)
New Zealand Windsurfer
Jon-Paul JP Tobin is a New Zealand competitive windsurfer. He was born in Whakatane. He competed in windsurfing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Tobin has twice previously been...
16. Courtney Abbot (1989)
New Zealand Actress
Courtney Abbot is a New Zealand-born actress who is known for her lead role as Maxine on the New Zealand teen situation comedy Girl vs. Boy. Born in Whakatane and...
17. Hayden Mexted (1979)
American Rugby Union Player
Hayden Mexted is an American rugby union lock. He is a member of the United States national rugby union team and participated with the squad at the 2007 Rugby World...
18. James McGougan (1984)
New Zealand Rugby Union Player
James McGougan is a rugby union prop who currently plays provincial rugby for Otago in the ITM Cup. He has also previously played for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby...
