Mairehe Louise Marie Tankersley MNZM is a New Zealand social worker. In 2021, Tankersley was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to prisoners' welfare and Māori.
Mairehe Louise Tankersley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tankersley in 2021 | |
| Awards | Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit |
Career
editTankersley is Māori and affiiliates to Kāi Tahu, Kāti Irakehu, and Kāti Huikai iwi.[1]
Tankersley was an administrative assistant at Lincoln University from 1989, in the Centre for Māori Studies and Research.[2] She was later Associate Director at the centre.[2]
Tankersley was chair of the Te Rūnaka ki Ōtautahi o Kāi Tahu Trust.[2] In 2021 she was appointed to the senior management of the Christchurch Women's Prison as Pou Tikanga of the Mana Wāhine Māori Pathway programme.[1] She had been Kaiwhakamana (advocate)[3] and had been delivering tikanga Māori programmes at the prison for fourteen years prior to the creation of the Pou Tikanga role.[1][2][4] In 2023 Tankersley supported the first te reo Māori muster at the prison, which was held at 2pm on 14 September, to commemorate the moment the Māori Language Petition was presented to Parliament in 1972.[5]
Earthquake
editWhen the Christchurch earthquake occurred on 22 February 2011, Tankersley was leading a cultural awareness workshop on the fifth floor of the CTV Building. She had her 8 month old daughter with her, and they were both rescued from the rubble after the building collapsed and caught fire. Tankersley was injured in the fall to ground level, breaking several ribs.[6][7] Tankersley has talked publicly about the trauma of the earthquake, the effects it had on her and her daughter, and the work that was required before she could talk about it to the press.[6]
Honours and awards
editIn the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Tankersley was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to prisoners' welfare and Māori.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Pou Tikanga appointed to Te Mana Wāhine Pathway". Department of Corrections. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Alumni former staff named in Queen's Birthday Honours :: Lincoln University". www.lincoln.ac.nz. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Advocates (people who can visit you or help you while you are in prison)". Community Law. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours Celebrate Leadership And Legacy". Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Staff record prison population in te reo Māori". Department of Corrections. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ a b Anderson, Vicki (21 February 2021). "The quake and the 'multi-miracle' child". Sunday Star Times. Retrieved 19 October 2024 – via www.pressreader.com.
- ^ "Nation to remember the 185 who died 10 years ago in Christchurch earthquake". 1News. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours 2021 – Citations for Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
External links
edit- Today marks 11 years since the Christchurch earthquakes, Tankersley talking about her earthquake experiences. (In English and Te Reo Maori, with English subtitles). 22 February 2022, for One News, via YouTube