W. H. Oliver

William Hosking Oliver (14 May 1925 – 16 September 2015), commonly known as W. H. Oliver but also known as Bill Oliver, was a New Zealand historian and poet. From 1983, Oliver led the development of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

Life Oliver was born in Feilding in 1925 to Ethel Amelia Oliver and her husband, William Henry Oliver, both Cornish immigrants. His father was a member of the Labour Party and stood in the electorate in the , and the electorate in .

During his youth, the family moved to Dannevirke, where he received his schooling at Dannevirke High School. and also in 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and an honorary DLitt from Victoria University of Wellington in recognition of his services to history. In 2008, he was honoured in the Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement in the non-fiction genre.

Oliver died in Wellington on 16 September 2015. His wife had died of pancreatic cancer during the time that he worked on the DNZB. 1960: The Story of New Zealand, London: Faber 1960: Poetry in New Zealand, Wellington: School Publications 1964: Problems and prospects of conservatism in New Zealand, Wellington: New Zealand National Party 1968: Further steps towards a welfare state since 1935, Auckland: Heinemann Educational Books 1971: Challenge and response: a study of the development of the Gisborne East Coast region, Gisborne: East Coast Development Research Association 1978: Prophets and Millennialists, Auckland: Auckland University Press 1981: The Oxford History of New Zealand, co-edited with Bridget Williams, Wellington: Oxford University Press 1983: James K. Baxter: A Portrait, Wellington: Port Nicholson Press. . 1990: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, volume one, 1769–1869, (ed.), Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Department of Internal Affairs 1991: Claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, Wellington: Waitangi Tribunal 1996: The certainty of doubt: tributes to Peter Munz, (co-edited with Miles Fairburn), Wellington: Victoria University Press 1997: The social and economic situation of Hauraki Maori after colonisation, Paeroa: Hauraki Maori Trust Board 2002: Looking for the Phoenix: A Memoir, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books

Poetry Books of poetry: 1957: Fire Without Phoenix: Poems 1946–1954, Christchurch: Caxton Press 1980: Out of Season: Poems, Wellington; New York: Oxford University Press 1982: Poor Richard: Poems, Wellington: Port Nicholson Press 1993: Bodily Presence: Words, Paintings, co-author: Anne Munz; Wellington: BlackBerry Press 2005: Selected Poems, Wellington: Victoria University Press