Joan Metge

Dame Joan Metge
DBE
Born
Alice Joan Metge

(1930-02-21) 21 February 1930 (age 94)
Auckland, New Zealand
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
London School of Economics
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropology
Sub-discipline

Dame Alice Joan Metge DBE (born 21 February 1930) is a New Zealand social anthropologist, educator, lecturer and writer.

Biography

Metge was born in the Auckland suburb of Mount Roskill on 21 February 1930, the daughter of Alice Mary Metge (née Rigg) and Cedric Leslie Metge.[1][2] She was educated at Matamata District High School and Epsom Girls' Grammar School.[1] She went on to study at Auckland University College, graduating Master of Arts with first-class honours in 1952,[3] and the London School of Economics where she earned her PhD in 1958.

As of 2004, she continued to advance peace initiatives via her work as a member of the Waitangi National Trust Board, a conference presenter, adviser, and as a mentor to mediators and conflict management practitioners. A scholar on Māori topics, she has been recognised for promoting cross-cultural awareness and has published a number of books and articles in her career. She has likened the relationship among the people of New Zealand to "a rope [of] many strands which when woven or working together create a strong nation" (as paraphrased by Silvia Cartwright).[4]

Honours and awards

Metge was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to anthropology.[5] In 1990, she received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1] She was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand's Te Rangi Hiroa Medal for her research in the social sciences in 1997.[6] In 2001, the University of Auckland awarded Metge an honorary LittD degree.[7] In 2006 she received the Asia-Pacific Mediation Forum Peace Prize in Suva, Fiji.[8] In 2017, Metge was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[9]

Dame Joan Metge Medal

In recognition of Metge's contribution to social sciences, the Royal Society of New Zealand established the Dame Joan Metge Medal in 2006, which is awarded every two years to a New Zealand social scientist for excellence in teaching, research and/or other activities contributing to capacity building and beneficial relationships between research participants.[10]

The Dame Joan Metge Medal was first awarded in 2008 and recipients of the medal have been:[11]

Year Recipient Citation
2008 Diana Lennon Her research as a paediatrician scientist has made a major impact on the lives of New Zealand children
Philippa Howden-Chapman Her research has had a major impact on our understanding of the link between housing, energy and health
2010 Richie Poulton For his work as director of the University of Otago longitudinal study which is following the health and development of more than 1000 babies born in Dunedin in 1972/3 providing substantial contributions to new knowledge
Richard Bedford For his contribution to the development of social sciences over a long period, and has made major contributions to new knowledge in the field of migration, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region
2012 Janet Holmes For her outstanding contribution to linguistics
Linda Tuhiwai Smith For her outstanding contribution in inspiring, mentoring and developing the capacity of Māori researchers through teaching and research
2014 Alison Jones For the significant impact she has made on New Zealand educational research and practice, particularly on Māori-Pākehā educational relationships and women's education at tertiary level
2016 Stuart McNaughton For his contributions to the building of research capacity in educational sciences, advancing literacy and language development, and for his evidence-based impact on educational policy both nationally and internationally
2018 Suzanne Pitama For her considerable contribution to inspiring and developing new research capacity and knowledge for health professional education to address critical Indigenous health inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand
2020 Steven Ratuva For his mahi on ethnicity, racism and affirmative action, with expertise in conflict and social protection
2022 Yvonne Underhill-Sem For intellectual leadership on gendered social relations and development studies[12]
2024 Kay Saville-Smith For her work at the forefront of New Zealand housing research, working with communities, government, and private and public sectors[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 264. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  2. ^ "Births". The New Zealand Herald. 26 February 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  3. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Me–Mo". Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Dame Silvia Cartwright's address at a Garden Party at Government House, Wellington, to commemorate the 164th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi". The Governor-General of New Zealand. 6 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  5. ^ "No. 50950". The London Gazette (4th supplement). 13 June 1987. p. 31.
  6. ^ Te Rangi Hiroa Medal - Recipients. Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  7. ^ University of Auckland Calendar 2003 (PDF). p. 633. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  8. ^ "2006 Asia-Pacific Mediation Forum Peace Prize". Scoop. 3 July 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  9. ^ "Dame Joan Metge". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Dame Joan Metge Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Recipients". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  12. ^ "First event to celebrate 2022 Research Honours Aotearoa winners". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  13. ^ "2024 Metge Medal: Decades of dedication to housing research and development". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 29 November 2024.