Merimeri Penfold was born at Te Hapua, Northland, and was educated at Queen Victoria School, the University Coaching College where her Latin teacher was R.A.K. Mason, and Auckland Girls’ Grammar School. She spent two years at Teachers’ Training College and began a B.A. degree. Merimeri was an infant teacher at Ratana Pa and at Poroporo Native School where her husband Vernon was headmaster. She has been a senior lecturer in Māori language at Auckland University where she has also taught a course in Māori weaving and plaitwork. She was a member of the New Zealand Council of Educational Research, of the Māori Language Advisory Committee to the Education Department and was Chair of the Management Committee of Te Hapua 42 Incorporation, now known as Muriwhenua Incorporation. She was a member of the editorial committee which prepared the latest edition of H. W. Williams’ A Dictionary of the Māori Language. She is a writer and a translator of children’s books and manuscript material.
Biographical sources
- Phone conversation and correspondence with Merimeri Penfold, 12 and 26 Aug. 1998.
- Te Ao Hou 30 (1960): 61.
- Penfold, Mary. "The Status of Māori Women." Women and the Arts in New Zealand: Forty Works: 1936-86. Comp. and introd. Elizabeth Eastmond and Merimeri Penfold. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1986.
Biography
- "The Rhythm of Life." Te Kui. Growing up Māori. Ed. Witi Ihimaera. Auckland, N.Z.: Tandem, 1998. 81-87.
Non-fiction
- "The Status of Māori women." Report of Young Māori Leaders’ Conference, 1959. Auckland, N.Z.: U of Auckland, 1959. 54-57. Rpt. in Te Ao Hou 30 (1960): 61-63.
- In this paper presented at the Māori Young Leaders’ Conference in 1959, Penfold traces the changing role of Māori women since European settlement and notes their contribution in education, family affairs, social and community work and in the political arena.
- "The City Māori and The Tangi." Motive 4.15 [1963?]: 9-10.
- Penfold describes the tangi in rural Māori communities and comments on the difficulties faced by urban Māori in conducting their tangi in suburban settings prior to the advent of urban marae.
- "Te Powhiri Ki Te Iwi Māori Ki Te Manaaki I Te Kuini." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.4 (May/June 1970): 59-60.
- "Te Koha A Taa Butland-Whakaraetae Aa Tau Mo Te Wahine Toa Taane Toa Hoki o Te Tau." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.5 (Aug/Sep 1970): 48, 52.
- "He Whakaaro Mo Nga Iwi Haere Mai o Nga Moutere." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.1 (Dec./Jan. 1970/1971): 25.
- "Māori Attitudes To Child-Birth And How To Interview A Māori." NZ Speech Therapy Journal 27.2 (Nov 1972): 14-17.
- Penford writes ‘Māori attitude to child birth prevented the health authorities from persuading Māori mothers to having their babies in hospitals. They feared the unknown, how the placenta was handled, aliens touching their bodies etc. Māori elders do not like being interviewed. If they do they prefer to be interviewed in their mother tongue.’
- Foreword. Māori Mothers and Pre-school Education. Geraldine McDonald. Wellington, N.Z.: New Zealand Council for Educational Research, 1973. v-vi.
- Penfold notes the burgeoning participation in the pre-school movement amongst Māori from the early 1960s and adds that the first formal planning conference on pre-school policies undertaken by Māori organisations took place in August 1968 at the University of Waikato.
- Introduction. Elizabeth Eastmond and Merimeri Penfold. Women and the Arts in New Zealand: Forty Works: 1936-86. Comp. and introd. Elizabeth Eastmond and Merimeri Penfold. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1986.
- Eastmond provides a general overview of New Zealand women artists since the 1930s and Penfold examines the development and reception of Māori women’s art in this same period. Penfold notes that there has been a revival of Māori women’s art with the overall revival of Māori identity over the last decades. But she observes that Māori women’s art has been a victim of the Pakeha hierarchy of the arts, which places art and crafts in a low position. This has been reflected in New Zealand by the limited representation of Māori women’s art in some publications on Māori art and the exclusion of women’s art from some major Māori art exhibitions.
- Women and the Arts in New Zealand: Forty Works: 1936-86. Comp. and introd. Elizabeth Eastmond and Merimeri Penfold. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1986.
- This is a selection of forty pieces of art work by New Zealand women artists from the mid-1930s to the present representing various media and cross-cultural images. Eastmond and Penfold provide an introduction that explores the role and recognition of women artists in New Zealand with Penfold examining the issues facing Māori women artists.
- "Maro Hoterene." The Book of New Zealand Women - Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa. Ed. Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. 307-309.
- A biography of Maro Motu who was raised in the kauri gum-digging community of Te Hapua and married Te Mutunga Hoterene at the age of sixteen. Maro Motu gave birth to eighteen children, worked as a gum-digger, planted and harvested fields of kumara, was an Awhina member of the Ratana Church and served as a midwife in the local community.
- Introduction. The Book of New Zealand Women - Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa. Ed. Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. vii-ix.
- Co-authored with Charlotte Macdonald and Bridget Williams.
- The Book of New Zealand Women: Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa. Ed. Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold, and Bridget Williams. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991.
- A collection of over three hundred biographies of New Zealand women who lived from the 12th century to the 1980s.
- "Te Kuia o te Kauae Ta: He Tikanga Waiho Iho." Standing in the Sunshine: A History of New Zealand Women Since They Won the Vote. Principal author and principal researcher - text and illustrations Sandra Coney. Editorial advisers - Charlotte Macdonald, Anne Else, Dame Joan Metge, Tania Rei, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Angela Ballara, Merimeri Penfold, and Rosemarie Smith. Auckland, N.Z.: Viking-Penguin, 1993. 265.
- Penfold writes of the role and status of kuia within Māori society and ritual, particularly that of the kuia possessing te kauae - chin tattoo.
Other
- Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.6 (Nov./Dec. 1970): 44. In Māori.
- Ngaa Hiikoi Tuatahi (The First Steps): Koorero mai, Koorero atu (Conversations) He Pakiwaitara (Legends). Na Merimeri Penfold ngaa korero [By Merimeri Penfold]. Na Linda Holdaway i whakapaakeha. [By Linda Holdaway]. Auckland, N.Z.: Māori Studies Section, Anthropology Dept., Auckland U, 1981.
- Penfold writes in the Introduction that this ‘is a Reader for students who have little or no previous knowledge of the Māori language. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the two complementary introductory papers in Māori language offered at the University of Auckland’ [Courses 04.1000 Introduction to the Structure of Māori Language, and 04.104 Introduction To Spoken And Written Māori]. She adds that the texts are ‘arranged with Māori and English versions facing each other to facilitate comprehension and learning. There are two kinds of texts in the reader: Koorero-mai, Koorero-atu, which are simple conversations between two or three people, and Pakiwaitara, which are simplified versions of Māori myths and legends.’
- "The Land Laws." Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 68-69.
- A short piece of prose in which Penfold berates the dehumanising land laws that have stripped Māori of their land, provoked the urban drift and separated Māori from their turangawaewae.
- How Maui Slowed The Sun/Te Hopu A Maaui I A Te Raa. Peter Gossage. Auckland, N.Z.: Lansdowne, 1982. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: Weldon for Ashton Scholastic, 1990.
- How Maui Found The Secret Of Fire/Te Kiteanga O Te Kaapura. Peter Gossage. Auckland, N.Z.: Lansdowne, 1984.
- "Crossing Boundaries: An Interview With Merimeri Penfold." Barbara White. Hurupaa: Undergrowth 5 (Sept 1986): 3-13.
- In this interview Penfold recalls her childhood growing up in a Māori community, discusses the challenge as a Māori woman of studying and working within the Pakeha institution of the university, and talks of establishing a marae at Auckland University and its kawa in terms of women’s speaking rights.
- Hatupatu Raaua Ko Kurungaituku [Hatupatu And The Birdwoman]. Peter Gossage. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann Reed, 1989.
- The Fish Of Maui/Te Ika A Maaui. Written and illus. Peter Gossage. Auckland, N.Z.: Ashton Scholastic, 1990.
- Te Māori: Taonga Māori/Treasures of the Māori. Photographs by Brian Brake. Captions by David R. Simmons. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed in association with Auckland City Art Gallery and Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust, 1994.
- Nga Waiata Aroha A Hekepia/Love Sonnets By Shakespeare: Nine Sonnets. William Shakespeare. [Auckland, N.Z.: Holloway, U of Auckland, 2000].
Poetry
- "An Engagement (Human) of Another Kind/He Nanao Kee Ano Teenei." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.5 (Aug./Sept. 1970): 9. Written in Māori and English. Rpt. as "He Haka/ Posture of Defiance." The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 404-405.
- A bold declaration of Māori identity.
- "Taamaki-makau-rau." Trans. Margaret Orbell. Cave 6 (1974): 38. Rpt. as "Tāmaki-makau-rau /Tamaki Of A Hundred Lovers." In The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse. Ed. Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen. Introd. and Notes by Ian Wedde and Margaret Orbell, consultant to the editors. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1985. 305-306. Rpt. 1986, 1987. Rpt. in Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 290-291. Rpt. as "Tāmaki-Makau-Rau/Tamaki-Makau-Rau." in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 405-406.
- The poet writes of the Auckland isthmus and its surrounding harbours and mountains which were fought over in the past but are now inhabited by strangers. The editorial notes accompanying this poem in The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry (1985) state that Tamaki-makau-rau ‘is a traditional name for the Auckland isthmus, and Manukau and Waitemata are its two harbours. Rangi the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother were the first, ancestral parents. Maungawhau is the ancient name for Mt Eden, Maungarei is Mt Wellington, N.Z. and Maungakiekie is One Tree Hill’ (540).
- "Ngaa Ture Whenua/The Land Laws." Trans. Margaret Orbell. Outrigger 4 [Cave 6] (1974): 1-2. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 68-69. Rpt. as "Ngā Ture Whenua/The Land Laws." In The Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse. Eds. Ian Wedde and Harvey McQueen. Introd. and Notes by Ian Wedde and Margaret Orbell, consultant to the editors. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1985. 306-307. Rpt. 1986, 1987.
- The speaker berates the land laws that have caused Māori to be dispossessed of tribal lands and stripped Māori of mana and dignity.
- "Marituu." Trans. Margaret Orbell. Koru: The New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Annual Magazine 1 (1976): n. pag. Rpt. in Cave 7 (1975): 89. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 67-68.
- The poet remembers the tipuna buried on Marituu hill and the places they named in their journeying. The notes accompanying this poem in Koru state that ‘Marituu is the burial place near Te Hapua, in the far north of New Zealand where Mrs Penfold comes from. The poem gives the ancient names of other places near there.’
- "Tirairaka." Koru: The New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Annual Magazine 1 (1976): n. pag.
- "Taku Reo." Broadsheet 113 (Oct. 1983): 16. In Māori.
- "Tērā Ko Rereahiahi/There is Venus." Trans. Anne Salmond. The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Poetry/Ngā Kupu T˚tohu o Aotearoa. Ed. Miriama Evans, Harvey McQueen and Ian Wedde. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1989. 407-410.
- In her editorial notes Miriama Evans writes that this waiata ‘blends contemporary and archaic patterns and themes’ and ‘the ancient Māori philosophy of creation is expressed in traditional whakapapa style as a rationale for the development and celebration of the new marae at Auckland University’ (22).
- "Poi Atu, Poi Mai." Te Pua 1.1 (Sept. 1992): viii.
- The "poi" is used as a messenger.
Reviews
- Rev. of The New Dictionary of Modern Māori (Revised and Expanded Version), by P. M. Ryan. Journal of Polynesian Society 84.3 (1975): 396.
Traditional
- "He Haka." Ngaa Hiikoi Tuatahi (The First Steps): Koorero mai, Koorero atu (Conversations) He Pakiwaitara (Legends). Na Merimeri Penfold ngaa korero. [Written by Merimeri Penfold]. Na Linda Holdaway i whakapaakeha. [Trans. Linda Holdaway]. Auckland, N.Z.: Māori Studies Section, Anthropology Dept., Auckland U, 1981. iv.
- Penfold writes that this haka ‘was motivated by the suggestion that Māoris be selected for an All-Black team to visit South Africa on the basis that they be classed as honorary whites. It is a haka of challenge and defiance.’ [Introduction. Ngaa Hiikoi Tuatahi (The First Steps): Koorero Mai, Koorero Atu (Conversations) He Pakiwaitara (Legends). viii.]
Other
- Morris, Barbara. "Mere Penfold" in "Talking to Polynesian Women Part 1." Broadsheet 12 (1973): 9-10.
- Erai, Michelle, Fuli, Everdina, Irwin, Kathie and Wilcox, Lenaire. Māori Women: An Annotated Bibliography. [Wellington, N.Z.]: Michelle Erai, Everdina Fuli, Kathie Irwin and Lenaire Wilcox, 1991. 24.
- McNaughton, Trudie. "Biographical Notes and Selected Bibliography." Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 377-378.
- Taylor, C. R. H. A Bibliography of Publications on the New Zealand Māori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Oxford: Clarendon, Oxford UP, 1972. 57.
Reviews
The Book of New Zealand Women: Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa
- Bargh, Robyn. "Dipping and diving into 300 lives." Dominion Sunday Times 8 Dec. 1991: 22.
Women and the Arts in New Zealand: Forty Works: 1936-86
- Paul, Janet. "Books: Women’s art in New Zealand." Art New Zealand 42 (1987): 79-81.