Mere Broughton

Mary Mereiwa Broughton (née Whakaruru, 24 December 1938 – 31 January 2016), known as Mere Broughton, was a New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist.

Early life Of Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, she was born on 24 December 1938 in Hastings and raised in Te Teko and Kawerau before training as a nurse and working at Whakatāne Hospital. On 21 May 1960, she married Anglican priest Ruka Broughton, with whom she raised five children. They divorced in 1978.

Career

In the 1970s and 1980s she worked at Victoria University, co-establishing Te Herenga Waka Marae with Te Huirangi Waikerepuru, Wiremu Parker and her husband. Also at the university she became active in union affairs, in the Association of University Staff (now the TEU). Broughton was on the Tekaumārua, the advisory board to the Māori King, Tūheitia Paki. In 2014, she was part of the New Zealand delegation that sent off the canoes of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hōkūle'a and Hikianalia.

Death She died on 31 January 2016 at her home in Waitara and was buried at Pākaraka Marae, near Whanganui.

Honours Broughton was recognised with the Civic Honour Award by Hutt City Council in 1999. In 2009, she received the Tā Kīngi Ihaka Award from Creative New Zealand in recognition of a lifetime contribution to the development and retention of Māori arts and culture.