Farewell to a remarkable woman

A remarkable woman who, perhaps more than anything else, demonstrated that humble beginnings and adversity need be no barrier to success, passed away in Kaitaia last week at the age of 93.

Merimeri Penfold (Ngati Kuri), recognised as one of New Zealand's leading teachers and champions of te reo Maori, was born at Te Hapua in 1920. She trained as a teacher and worked at schools around the country for three decades before lecturing in te reo at Auckland University for another 30 years.

She was a Human Rights Commissioner, a member of the Maori Education Foundation and the Broadcasting Commission, and served many other Maori, community and academic organisations.

Dr Penfold worked on the seventh edition of Williams Maori Language Dictionary, and was an accomplished poet and composer of waiata. She was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Literature by Auckland University in 2000, and became a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Maori in 2001.

Pita Sharples, co-founder of the Maori Party, said Dr Penfold was a staunch advocate for the recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi, te reo Maori, Maori education and human rights. He described her as "the big sister" for the handful of Maori students in the 1960s, and a stalwart at Auckland University for all things Maori.

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell said Dr Penfold's love of te reo and its place in New Zealand was implicit in everything she did.

"Her compassion for all people was obvious in her work in the area of human rights, as well as her absolute belief that human rights for all New Zealanders derive from the Treaty of Waitangi," he said.

"Na reira e te kuia, e te taonga a te mate, whakangaro atu ra ki te po e."

The Human Rights Commission also mourned Dr Penfold's death, chief commissioner David Rutherford saying she was an unforgettable person who had left an unforgettable legacy.

"The Commission remains indebted to this incredible woman's drive, focus and mana," he said.

A tribute posted on the Maori Maps Facebook page noted that Dr Penfold had attended Queen Victoria and Auckland Girls' Grammar schools, going on to teach throughout the Far North, the East Coast, central North Island, Ratana Pa and Poroporo.

She was one of the first Maori women to graduate from university (as a Bachelor of Arts).

'In her long life she worked hard and made a difference to her people,' the tribute continued. 'She was the first Maori woman elected to the University of Auckland Council. She also worked on the National Advisory Committee for Maori Education, the Broadcasting Commission, the Maori Unit of the New Zealand Council for Educational Research and the Maori Women's Welfare League.

'She chaired the management committee of the Te Hapua 42 Land Incorporation from 1976 to 1980, and was intimately involved in the Muriwhenua land and fisheries claims in the 1980s.

'In recent years she moved back to her home at Pukenui, although her daily life was punctuated by visits from people all over the country, seeking her advice and knowledge, including many of our team here at Maori Maps.

'In the 2010 film He Wawata Whaea - The Dream of an Elder, Merimeri said "I don't have any other ancestors, I am Ngati Kuri through and through." And it is to these ancestors she now returns.'