Letty Brown

Ereti Taetuha Brown known as Letty is a New Zealand Māori community leader. In 2008, Brown was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori and youth. In 2024, Brown was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and early childhood education.

Life Brown was brought up in Te Araroa. She is Māori, and affiliates with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Porou iwi. As a young mother in Te Atatū in the 1950s, Brown found she was the only Māori mother at her children's Playcentre because other Māori parents were uncomfortable in the predominantly Pākeha environment. She arranged special sessions for the Māori children, which proved popular.

Honours and awards In 1968, Brown won the Young Māori Woman of the Year contest at the Māori Women's Welfare League conference. In the 2009 New Year Honours Brown was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to Māori and youth. In the 2024 New Year Honours Brown was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and early childhood education.

Brown received an Honorary Doctorate from Te Whare Wananga o Wairaka in 2016. She was awarded Life Membership of the Māori Women’s Welfare League in 2017.