Mākereti Papakura, the first Indigenous woman to study at Oxford, to be awarded a posthumous degree

The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford has announced that pioneering Māori scholar, Mākereti Papakura, will receive a posthumous degree more than 100 years after she began her studies.

Born in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1873, Mākereti is believed to be the first Indigenous woman to matriculate to the University. She enrolled in 1922 to read Anthropology at the Pitt Rivers Museum, where much of the teaching was conducted at the time, and at the Society of Home Students, now St Anne’s College. In her groundbreaking research for her studies at Oxford, she explored the customs of her people of Te Arawa from a female perspective. Her scholarship, combined with her Indigenous worldview, earned her the respect of many Oxford academics at the time, and has gone on to be celebrated by members of Māori communities and researchers worldwide.

Tragically, Mākereti died in 1930, just weeks before she was due to present her thesis. With the agreement of her family, Mākereti’s good friend, Rhodes Scholar, and fellow Oxford anthropologist, T.K. Penniman, posthumously published her work, in a book titled The Old-Time Māori. It became the first ethnographic study published by a Māori author and is recognised as such by the New Zealand Royal Society.

The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography applied to the University of Oxford’s Education Committee to request that Mākereti be posthumously awarded the degree of MPhil in Anthropology. The application was supported by St Anne’s College and the Pitt Rivers Museum, to which Mākereti and her family donated numerous artefacts and papers both during her lifetime and after her death. The Education Committee's decision to grant the request has been warmly welcomed both in Oxford and in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The degree will be awarded at a ceremony presided over by the University’s Vice-Chancellor later this year in Oxford’s Sheldonian theatre. Members of Mākereti’s family and representatives of the Māori community are expected to attend.

Professor Clare Harris, Head of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography said:

"We are delighted that the extraordinary achievements of Mākereti, the first Indigenous woman to study at Oxford, have been recognised by the University of Oxford with the award of a posthumous MPhil degree. Mākereti 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 Mākereti’s family and tribe (Tūhourangi – Ngāti Wāhiao), said:

"We are grateful to Oxford University for this tribute to Mākereti’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 Mākereti, to our ancestors, and to the Māori community worldwide.

He toi whakairo, he mana tangata (Where there is creative excellence, there is human dignity)."

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is proud to support the recognition of Mākereti Papakura and her remarkable contribution to the preservation and advancement of mātauranga Māori. As a wahine Māori whose leadership, determination, and commitment to her culture shone through at a time when these things were so often dismissed or overlooked, Mākereti continues to inspire us. 

As we celebrate 40 years of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, we also honour those like Mākereti who paved the way — showing what it means to stand firm in your identity, to share your stories, and to lead with courage. Her legacy speaks to the very heart of our kaupapa: empowering whānau through education grounded in te ao Māori and tikanga Māori. 

For our Chief Executive, Evie O’Brien, this recognition holds personal significance. She is a current board member for the Pitt Rivers Museum and during her time as Executive Director of the Atlantic Institute, Rhodes Trust in Oxford, Evie had the privilege of helping to bring Mākereti’s story to the fore.

"I owe a great debt to Mākereti as she paved the way for Māori women in Oxford, including me. I had the honour of connecting more deeply with her life during my time at Rhodes Trust, culminating in the inaugural Mākereti Papakura lecture in 2022. More than 200 were in attendance, including 30 Māori who travelled from Aotearoa. Mākereti believed that there was something special about Oxford. Despite her deep connection to her home and people in New Zealand, she requested to be buried in Oddington, Oxfordshire and bequeathed all of her cultural treasures and personal manuscripts to the Pitt Rivers Museum. From a cultural perspective, this was both the greatest gift and sacrifice – a true testament of how much she loved her life in Oxford. This recognition of her work and contribution is therefore truly special."

It is with deep respect that we join Mākereti’s whānau, her iwi, and the wider Māori community in celebrating this long-overdue acknowledgement of her bravery and her lasting contribution to Indigenous education and cultural leadership.