Oxford to award degree to Maori princess who died 100 years ago

Telegraph

05-05-2025

The University of Oxford is to award a posthumous degree to a Maori princess who died almost 100 years ago.
Makereti Papakura, who was born Margaret Pattison Thom in 1873 in New Zealand, enrolled at Oxford in 1927 to study anthropology.
Ms Papakura is believed to have been the first indigenous woman to matriculate at the university.
Her research focused on the customs and practices of her Te Arawa tribal group, offering an analysis from a female perspective.
She undertook her studies at the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Society of Home Students, now St Anne's College.
However, the princess died unexpectedly in April 1930, three weeks before she was due to present her thesis.
Her dissertation was later edited and published posthumously by TK Penniman, her friend and fellow anthropologist, under the title The Old-Time Maori.
The work is recognised by the Royal Society of New Zealand as the first ethnographic study of Maori life authored by a Maori scholar.
The decision to award the degree was approved by Oxford's Education Committee following an application by the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME), supported by St Anne's College and the Pitt Rivers Museum. The university announced the award last week.
The degree will be conferred at a ceremony later this year in the Sheldonian Theatre, presided over by Prof Irene Tracey, the vice-chancellor. Members of Ms Papakura's family and representatives of the Maori community are expected to attend.
'Makereti is an inspiring figure'
Prof Clare Harris, head of SAME, said: 'We are delighted that the extraordinary achievements of Makereti, the first indigenous woman to study at Oxford, have been recognised by the University of Oxford with the award of a posthumous MPhil degree.
'Makereti is an inspiring figure, not only to many in Aotearoa [New Zealand], but to students and scholars around the world.'
June Northcroft Grant, on behalf of Ms Papakura's family and tribe [Tuhourangi, Ngati Wahiao], said: 'We are grateful to Oxford University for this tribute to Makereti's memory and to all those who have supported her story in the years since her passing.
'It is a testament to the lasting power of education, culture, and the determination of one woman to ensure that Māori stories would not be forgotten.
'We have always known the sacrifices she made to pursue education and the strength it took for her to continue, often in the face of considerable challenges.
'We are especially humbled that her customary tribal practices and the scholarship she possessed have been acknowledged with such careful and respectful consideration by the University's Education Committee.
'This recognition belongs to Makereti, to our ancestors, and to the Maori community worldwide.
'He toi whakairo, he mana tangata (Where there is creative excellence, there is human dignity).'