Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus) Grace

Born in Auckland in May 1867, Alfred Augustus Grace grew up in a family closely connected with the Taupō region through his father, a Church Missionary Society missionary. He became a teacher as well as a journalist and writer, and he drew heavily on his knowledge of Māori communities and traditions in his fiction and folklore writing.

Grace published short stories, novels, and collections that were widely read in New Zealand, Australia, and England. Among the works most often linked with him are Maoriland Stories, Tales of a Dying Race, and Folk-Tales of the Maori. Modern readers may approach these books as products of their time, but they remain part of the record of how Māori subjects were represented in early New Zealand literature.

He died on March 18, 1942. Though not usually placed among the very biggest names in New Zealand writing, he is remembered as a distinctive early literary voice whose work connects journalism, storytelling, and folklore.