Irihapeti Ramsden

Irihapeti Merenia Ramsden (24 February 1946 – 5 April 2003) was a New Zealand Māori nurse, anthropologist, and writer who worked to improve health outcomes for Māori people.

Biography Irihapeti Ramsden was the daughter of writer and historian Eric Ramsden and Merenia Manawatu, and was of Ngāi Tahu and Rangitāne iwi.

In 1979, Ramsden enrolled at Victoria University of Wellington and studied for a degree in anthropology.

In 1984, Ramsden was one of the women who formed the Spiral Collective to publish Keri Hulme's novel, The Bone People, when mainstream publishers had rejected it. The book went on to win the 1984 Booker Prize. at her Wellington home after a long illness with cancer. She was 57 years old. Tariana Turia, then Associate Maori Affairs Minister, and historian Michael King both issued statements of remembrance on her death. Ramsden had been invested as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit two weeks before she died, the honour having been announced in the 2003 New Year Honours.