David Roy Simmons (6 September 1930 – 30 November 2015), also known as Rawiri Te Puru Terehou, was a New Zealand ethnologist, historian and author.
Biography
Born in 1930,
Simmons studied at
Victoria University College
Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand.
The university is well know ...
and the
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, graduating from the latter with a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
with honours.
From 1962 to 1968 he was the keeper in anthropology at
Otago Museum
Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...
in Dunedin. He was appointed as the ethologist at the Auckland Institute and Museum in 1968, and became the assistant director of
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...
in 1978.
He wrote many books relating to
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
art, culture and history, including:
* ''The Maori Hei-tiki'' (1966) with
Henry Devenish Skinner
* ''The Great New Zealand Myth'' (1976)
* ''Tā Moko'' (1986)
* ''Whakairo'' (1994)
He is credited with effectively demolishing
Percy Smith's "
great fleet
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
" hypothesis.
He also edited:
* J.D.H. Buchanan's ''The Māori History and Place Names of Hawke's Bay'' (1973)
*
George Graham
George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager.
In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...
's ''Maori Place Names of Auckland'' (first published 1980).
In the
1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, Simmons was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, for services to ethnology and the Māori people,
and in 2013 he was awarded the Auckland Museum Medal and appointed an associate emeritus of Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Simmons died on 30 November 2015.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, David
1930 births
2015 deaths
Victoria University of Wellington alumni
University of Auckland alumni
New Zealand ethnologists
20th-century New Zealand historians
New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire
Writers from Auckland
20th-century New Zealand male writers
People associated with the Auckland War Memorial Museum