Helen Hogan

Helen Merrick Hogan (née Watson; 29 September 1923 – 1 January 2025) was a New Zealand teacher, academic and researcher. She was known for her work in Māori and Moriori studies, oral history and literary anthologies.

Early life, family and education Hogan was born Helen Merrick Watson in Christchurch on 29 September 1923. She was the daughter of William Davie Watson, a service-station proprietor, and Charlotte Amelia Watson (née Smith), a Karitane nurse. She was educated at Christchurch Girls' High School where she was dux in 1942. She want on to study at Canterbury University College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with second-class honours in 1946, and a Master of Arts degree in English and history, also with second-class honours, in 1949.

Watson learned music from a young age, passing examinations for ATCL (teaching diploma) in 1941. She later gave private music lessons, teaching music theory and piano, and played in the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. The couple had two children. Her son Seamus (1962–2015) was an economist and one of the developers of the WASP prediction tool used in limited-overs cricket matches.

Teaching career After earning a teaching diploma at the Auckland Teachers' College, Watson taught at Avonside Girls' High School in Christchurch for six years, with a year's break in Australia in 1953 when she gained further teaching experience and studied playing the oboe at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

After her marriage, Hogan taught at Darfield High School. After a year off to have her first child, she then became a foundation staff member at Hillmorton High School in 1961. According to Hogan, she was "not too hot on housekeeping", so she used her salary to pay for a housekeeper. She worked at Hillmorton for 12 years, rising to become head of English as well as the teacher-librarian in charge of the school's new library in 1969.

As an English teacher, Hogan observed that her students often wrote better poems after being exposed to other people's poetry. As a result, in 1971 she edited and published her first poetry anthology, Nowhere Far from the Sea, specifically for secondary-school students. The book contained poems by both well-known and lesser-known New Zealand poets as well as a poem by one of her students.

Academic work and Māori studies At the end of 1971, Hogan was appointed as a lecturer in English at Christchurch Teachers' College. While there, she wrote six-week poetry reading and learning units for secondary-school pupils.

Hogan went on to write three books: Renata's Journey: Ko te Haerenga o Renata, published in 1994, an annotated translation of Rēnata Kawepō's account of his travels in 1843–1844; Hikurangi ki Homburg: Henare Kohere and Terei Ngatai with the Maori Coronation Contingent 1902 (1997), a translation and commentary of the travel writings of Hēnare Kōhere and Terei Ngatai recounting their trip to Britain and Europe in 1902'; and Bravo, Neu Zeeland – Two Māori in Vienna 1859–1860, a translation and commentary of the travel diary written by Hemara Te Rerehau and Wiremu Toetoe of their visit to Vienna in 1859–1860, first published in 2003 with a new edition in 2022. Hogan's book, Renata's Journey: Ko te Haerenga o Renata, published in 1994, was selected as one of the 180 most significant works of Māori-authored non-fiction.

Hogan worked with the historian Michael King. She also transcribed and prepared manuscripts on Moriori genealogies and traditions which she based on notes collected by Rēweti Kōhere. These manuscripts are held by the National Library of New Zealand.

In 1997, Hogan recorded oral history interviews with women associated with the University of Canterbury. Tapes of the interviews are held in the New Zealand Federation of University Women collection at Christchurch City Libraries. She had been predeceased by her husband, Denis Hogan, in 2006.