Mihipeka-Rukuhia Anne Edwards (née Davis; 19 January 1918 – 20 May 2008) was a New Zealand writer, social worker, teacher and kaumātua (respected Māori elder).
[3][4] 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.
[1] Rejecting family plans for her marriage, she moved to Ōtaki and subsequently to Palmerston North where she worked as a domestic worker.
Due to discrimination against Māori at the time, she began living under the Pākehā name of Anne in order to make it easier to get work and accommodation.
[1] She promoted and introduced the teaching of the Māori language and traditions in various institutions including the Department of Health, and taught in various schools and at Victoria University of Wellington.
[3] In 1988, at the age of 70, Edwards began writing the first volume of her memoirs, retelling her life from childhood to World War II.
[8] Mary Varnham, publisher, names the first as her favourite New Zealand book,[9] 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.
I would let people know how important it is to hold fast to your identity, because without your reo [Maori language] you are nothing.Edwards completed her memoirs with her third book, Mihipeka, Call of an Elder, Karanga a te Kuia, published in 2002.