April 02, 2014
Dr Merimeri Penfold dies
Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri and Te Ao Maori have lost a champion of the people and the reo.
Kuia Meremere Penfold has died in Kaitaia aged 94.
She was born at Te Hapua in 1920, the daughter of Te Mutunga Rapata Hoterene and Maro Heteraka.
After studying at Queen Victoria College and Auckland Girls’ Grammar, she trained as a teacher and spent 34 years at schools around the country, often paired with her husband Vern.
She spent a further 30 years lecturing in te reo Maori at Auckland university, which gave her an Honorary Doctorate of Literature in 2000.
Dr Penfold also served on the Maori Education Foundation, the Broadcasting Commission, the Human Rights Commission and numerous other Maori, community and academic organisations.
She was acknowledged as an expert on Maori language and culture, and was part of the editorial team for the seventh edition of Williams Maori Language Dictionary.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd