Marie Olive Reay (1922 in

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

, NSW – 2004 in Booragul, NSW) was an Australian anthropologist, known particularly for work in the

New Guinea Highlands The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...

Career

Reay did undergraduate studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, taking anthropology after hearing A. P. Elkin debate the philosopher John Anderson. Reay went on to study under Elkin, who directed her to do fieldwork among fringe-dwelling Aboriginal people in north-western NSW. She did six-month stints of fieldwork at

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145. In the 2 ...

, Bourke, Moree, Coonabarabran and other communities. In 1953 she was awarded a research scholarship in S.F. Nadel's department at the Australian National University and later that year travelled to Minj in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. She performed fieldwork from 1953 to 1955 amongst the south Wahgi people and was hosted and supported primarily by the Kugika community at Kondambi village, principally by Luluia Wamdi (Luluia was a government-appointed village official). This fieldwork became the basis of her monograph "The kuma" She joined the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1959 and worked there until she retired in 1988. Reay was elected a Fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

in 1977. Ten years after her death ANU Press published her 1965 manuscript, ''Wives and Wanderers in a New Guinea Highlands Society'', with an introduction by Marilyn Strathern.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, Marie 1922 births 2004 deaths Australian anthropologists Australian women anthropologists 20th-century anthropologists Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia University of Sydney alumni Australian National University alumni Australian National University faculty