Helen BrownHelen Brown

Helen Brown (Ngāi Tahu) is a descendant of Te Wharerimu and Patahi, two wāhine toa from the deep south. She is a senior researcher in the Archive Team at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. In 2017 she was the project lead and co-editor of a book of Ngāi Tahu biography, Tāngata Ngāi Tahu: People of Ngāi Tahu published by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Bridget Williams Books. She is currently working on a second volume.

Mere Harper: the Ngāi Tahu midwife who helped found Plunket

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This Sunday, five wāhine Māori are telling stories at Te Papa museum about the women who have inspired and shaped them. Author and researcher Helen Brown (Ngāi Tahu) remembers Mere Harper (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa) – midwife, porter, wahine toa. Mere Harper was part of the mixed-descent community that burgeoned around the shore- whaling station established … Read more