Mihi Edwards

Mihipeka-Rukuhia Anne Edwards (; 19 January 1918 – 20 May 2008) was a New Zealand writer, social worker, teacher and kaumātua (respected Māori elder). Born in Maketu, Edwards was raised largely by her grandparents until their deaths when she was 16. For many years she lived under the Pākehā (New Zealand European) name of Anne Davis and considered herself to be living "as a Pākehā"; it was not until the 1960s that she reconnected with her Māori heritage and culture. In later life she advocated for the Māori language and Māori culture, and taught in schools and institutions. At the age of 70 she began writing her memoirs, which were published in three volumes.

Life and career Edwards was born in Maketu on 19 January 1918. Her mother died three weeks after she was born during the influenza pandemic that year. She was descended from the iwi (tribes) of Te Arawa, Waikato, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Maniapoto. She had a Pākehā (New Zealand European) grandfather and her great-grandfather was William Fitzherbert. Her father was a flax worker, and she was looked after by her older sisters until she was five and sent to live in Manakau under the care of her grandmother and step-grandfather. She learned to speak English after starting school at age six, and after having been punished for speaking Māori. Her grandparents died when she was 16. Mary Varnham, publisher, names the first as her favourite New Zealand book, and reviewer David Verran for the Sunday Star-Times noted that it contained "positive down-to-earth teachings about Maori traditions, customs and spirituality", in addition to recording Edwards' difficult early life experiences. It opens:

Edwards completed her memoirs with her third book, Mihipeka, Call of an Elder, Karanga a te Kuia, published in 2002. Verran noted that it was in less of a straightforward narrative style than her earlier books, and at its best when "continuing the story of her involvement with kōhanga reo, recognising the limits of old age and discussing her development as a kaumātua, an authority in the rituals of the karanga and an author". Edwards died on 20 May 2008 and was buried near her Te Arawa grandfather's grave at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Ngongotahā.