150 Women in 150 Words Project – Check All Details Here!

As part of the 150th anniversary celebrations on 10 October 2017, the Royal Society Te Apārangi undertook the 150 women in 150 words project. “Celebrating women’s contributions to expanding knowledge in New Zealand” was the goal of the project, which featured short online biographies of a variety of women, from Polynesian settlers to modern-day scientists.

Also Read: International Women in Engineering Day

The biographies were arranged by date on the Royal Society Te Ap*rangi’s website in four categories: 

• Pre-1866 (Whakaotirangi and Kahupeka are two such biographies)
• 1867–1917
• 1918–1967
• 1968–the present time 

Suggested Reading: Women’s Role in Science and Technology

The following list of women who were included in 150 women in 150 words project is organized alphabetically by surname (most commonly used).

Name	Brief Description	Date of birth	Date of death
Nancy Adams	Botanist and botanical artist, and museum curator.	19 May 1926	27 May 2007
Mary Aldis	Scientific author and social reform campaigner	1840	11 August 1897
Catherine Alexander	Botanist, and the first known woman to publish a paper in the Royal Society Te Apārangi’s Transactions in 1886.	8 December 1862	17 March 1928
Elizabeth Alexander	Geologist, academic, and physicist, whose wartime work with radar and radio led to early developments in radio astronomy.	13 December 1908	15 October 1958
Jan Anderson	Organic chemist who worked on photosynthesis.	12 May 1932	28 August 2015
Innes Asher	Professor of paediatrics	20th Century	–
Rosemary Askin	Geologist specialising in Antarctic palynology and the first New Zealand woman to undertake her own research programme in Antarctica, in 1970.	1949	–
Paddy Bassett	Agricultural scientist, the first woman graduate from Massey Agricultural College, and also one of the first two women students accepted into Canterbury Agricultural College (now Lincoln University).	15 July 1918	20 July 2019
Betty Batham	Marine biologist and university lecturer, who directed the Portobello Marine Biological Station at the University of Otago for more than 23 years.	2 December 1917	8 July 1974
Muriel Bell	Nutritionist and medical researcher	4 January 1898	2 May 1974
Gertrude Helen Benson	Professor of home science.	25 January 1886	20 February 1964
Patricia Bergquist	Zoologist specialising in sponges, anatomist and biologist	10 March 1933	9 September 2009
Betty Bernardelli	Physiological psychologist who was the commanding officer at the WAAF training school for psychology instructors.	7 November 1919	1998
Winifred Betts	Botanist and the first female lecturer at the University of Otago	1894	29 April 1971
Judith Binney	Writer, academic, historian and educator	1 July 1940	15 February 2011
Philippa Black	Geologist specialising in mineralogy and metamorphic petrology.	26 November 1941	–
Agnes Blackie	New Zealand’s first female physics lecturer and probably the Southern Hemisphere’s only female physics academic at the time of her appointment.	1897	1975
Ellen Wright Blackwell	Writer, botanist, and photographer.	7 October 1864	24 February 1952
Winifred Lily Boys-Smith	Science artist and lecturer, university professor, and school principal	7 November 1865	1 January 1939
Janet M. Bradford-Grieve	Carcinologist and biological oceanographer.	1940	–
Margaret Bradshaw	Geologist and Antarctic researcher.	1941	–
Beryl Brewin	Marine zoologist, specialising in ascidians (sea squirts).	10 September 1910	1999
Margaret Brimble	Chemist who has made investigations of shellfish toxins and means to treat brain injuries.	20 August 1961	–
Sally Brooker	Inorganic chemist	20th Century	–
Katherine Browning	Teacher, who published one of the only four papers by women in the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Transactions before 1900.	1864	1946
Carolyn Burns	Ecologist specialising in lakes.	3 February 1942	–
Ella Campbell	Botanist and expert on bryophytes, she published 130 scientific papers on liverworts, hornworts, orchids, and wetlands. She became the first woman faculty member of the Massey Agricultural College.	28 October 1910	24 July 2003
Kathleen Campbell	Geologist, paleoecologist and astrobiologist	20th Century	–
Vivienne Cassie Cooper	Planktologist and botanist.	29 September 1926	–
Amy Castle	Entomologist and museum curator	9 May 1880	23 February 1971
Gwyneth Alva Challis	Geologist who discovered the mineral Wairauite, and pioneered the use of x-rays for mineral investigation in New Zealand.	25 January 1930	21 November 2010
M. Ann Chapman	Limnologist, one of the first New Zealand women scientists to visit Antarctica, and the first woman to lead a scientific expedition to Antarctica.	14 January 1937	23 May 2009
Emma Cheeseman	Scientific painter and taxidermist, whose work is in the Auckland Museum	4 November 1846	2 October 1928
Marie Clay	Academic, clinical psychologist, researcher distinguished researcher known for her work in global educational literacy.	3 January 1926	13 April 2007
Helen Connon	First woman in the British Empire to win any university degree with honours.	1860	22 February 1903
Lucy May Cranwell	Botanist responsible for groundbreaking work in palynology, and curator of botany at Auckland Museum.	7 August 1907	8 June 2000
Marguerite Crookes	Botanical enthusiast, pteridologist and conservationist, author, and founder of the Auckland Natural History Club.	1898	24 January 1991
Margaret Cruickshank	New Zealand’s first registered female doctor	1 January 1873	28 November 1918
Kathleen Maisey Curtis	Mycologist and a founder of plant pathology in New Zealand.	15 August 1892	5 September 1994
Helen Kirkland Dalrymple	Botanist, author and school teacher who wrote two books on Otago flora.	1883	1943
Janet Davidson	Archaeologist who has carried out extensive field work in the Pacific Islands.	1941	–
Michelle Dickinson	Nanotechnologist and science educator.	20th Century	–
Joan Dingley	Mycologist who was the head of mycology at the DSIR Plant Disease Division.	14 May 1916	1 January 2008
Alison Downard	Chemist focusing on surface chemistry, electrochemistry and nanoscale grafted layers	20th Century	–
Audrey Eagle	Writer, botanist and botanical illustrator, who was author and illustrator of the two volume Eagle’s Complete Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand.	1925	–
Elizabeth Edgar	Botanist, author and editor of three of the five volumes of the series Flora of New Zealand.	27 December 1929	1 January 2019
Kate Edger	University graduate, educationalist, community worker. The first woman in New Zealand to gain a university degree, and possibly the second in the British Empire to do so.	6 January 1857	6 May 1935
Kate Violet Edgerley	Botanist and teacher	21 February 1887	26 February 1939
Edith Farkas	Antarctic researcher known for being the first Hungarian woman and also the first New Zealand MetService female staff member to set foot in Antarctica. She conducted world-leading ozone monitoring research for over 30 years.	13 October 1921	3 February 1993
Sarah Featon	Botanical artist and author, who with her husband published The Art Album of New Zealand Flora.	1848	28 April 1927
Ruth Fitzgerald	Anthropology academic	1956
Elizabeth Alice Flint	Botanist who specialised in freshwater algae, and co-authored the three-volume series Flora of New Zealand Desmids in the 1980s and 1990s.	26 May 1909	7 December 2011
Caroline Freeman	Teacher, school principal and owner, and the first female graduate of the University of Otago, New Zealand.	c.1856	16 August 1914
Constance Frost	Medical doctor, bacteriologist and pathologist.	23 June 1862	29 January 1920
Marion Fyfe	Academic, specialising in taxonomy of planarians and other flatworms, the first woman zoology lecturer at the University of Otago, and the first woman to be elected to the Council of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.	1897	1986
Juliet Gerrard	Chemist and New Zealand Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor.	20th Century	–
Bessie Te Wenerau Grace	First Māori woman university graduate, nun, and educator.	1889	1944
Jane Harding	Academic new-born intensive case specialist (neonatologist)	1955	–
Aroha Harris	Historian and writer, specialising in Māori histories of policy and community development	20th Century	–
Emily Cumming Harris	Teacher and artist, and one of New Zealand’s first professional women painters.	28 March 1837	5 August 1925
Jennifer Hay	Linguist who specialises in sociolinguistics, laboratory phonology, and the history of New Zealand English	1968	–
Harlene Hayne	Psychology professor and first female vice-chancellor of the University of Otago.	1961	–
Elizabeth Herriott	Scientist and the first woman appointed to the permanent teaching staff at Canterbury College.	1882	13 March 1936
Barbara Farnsworth Heslop	Immunologist specialising in transplantation immunology and immunogenetics.	26 January 1925	20 December 2013
Rangimārie Hetet	Tohunga raranga (master weaver) of Ngāti Maniapoto	24 May 1892	14 June 1995
Georgina Burne Hetley	Artist and author, her book The Native Flora of New Zealand was published in English and French.	27 May 1832	29 August 1898
Avice Hill	Entomologist and herb grower.	1906	2001
Miss Hirst	Astronomical observer who published significant observations of Jupiter	19th Century	Unknown
Eliza Amy Hodgson	Botanist who specialised in liverworts.	10 October 1888	7 January 1983
Janet Holmes	Sociolinguist working on language and gender, language in the workplace, and New Zealand English.	17 May 1947	–
Ngapare Hopa	Māori academic of Waikato Tainui descent	20th Century	–
Alice Woodward Horsley	First registered woman doctor in Auckland.	3 February 1871	7 November 1957
Philippa Lynne Howden-Chapman	Clinical psychologist and public health researcher	20th Century	–
Margaret M. Hyland	Chemist, engineer and professor.	1960	–
Alison Jones	Academic working on sociology of education.	1955	–
Kahupeka	Māori healer and pioneer of herbal medicine	15th Century	Unknown
Thelma Rene Kent	Photographer	21 October 1899	23 June 1946
Elsa Beatrice Kidson	Soil scientist and sculptor	18 March 1905	25 July 1979
Martha King	New Zealand’s first resident botanical illustrator. She was a founder of schools in Whanganui and New Plymouth, and a talented gardener and schoolteacher.	1803	31 May 1897
Judith Kinnear	Academic, geneticist, and the first woman to head a New Zealand university	12 May 1939	–
Pat Langhorne	Antarctic sea ice researcher	1955	–
Wendy Larner	Geographer and social scientist who has focussed on the interdisciplinary areas of globalisation, governance and gender.	2 March 1963	–
Diana Lennon	Academic and pediatrician, specialising in infectious diseases.	3 October 1949	15 May 2018
Janice M. Lord	Botanist and plant evolutionary biologist	20th Century	–
Elsie Low	Botanist, teacher and temperance campaigner.	25 July 1875	14 February 1909
Averil Margaret Lysaght	Biologist, science historian and artist, best known for her scholarly work on Joseph Banks	14 April 1905	21 August 1981
Bella MacCallum	Botanist and mycologist, and New Zealand’s first female doctor of science	1886	17 March 1927
Tracey McIntosh	Sociology and criminology academic	20th Century	–
Ruth Mason	Botanist specialising in the taxonomy and ecology of freshwater plants.	7 November 1913	14 May 1990
Kāterina Mataira	Māori language advocate, artist and writer	13 November 1932	16 July 2011
Lisa Matisoo-Smith	Molecular anthropologist	1963	–
Joan Mattingley	Clinical chemist and author	1926	27 July 2015
Marjorie Mestayer	Conchologist, and conchology curator for the Dominion Museum in Wellington.	1880	7 July 1955
Joan Metge	Social anthropologist, educator, lecturer and writer.	21 February 1930	–
Pérrine Moncrieff	Ornithologist, conservationist, and author	8 February 1893	16 December 1979
Lucy Beatrice Moore	Botanist and ecologist	14 July 1906	9 June 1987
Rina Winifred Moore	First female Māori medical doctor.	6 April 1923	1975
Flora Murray	Botanist, and second woman appointed as permanent staff at Canterbury University College.	1 August 1896	1968
Margaret Mutu	Ngāti Kahu leader, author and academic	20th Century	–
Phoebe Myers	Teacher and educational reformer. She was one of the first women to teach science at college level in New Zealand, and the first woman to represent her country at the League of Nations.	13 June 1866	2 June 1947
Sheila Natusch	Writer and freelance illustrator.	14 February 1926	10 August 2017
Wendy Nelson	Botanist and phycologist, New Zealand’s leading authority on seaweeds.	1954	–
Hinke Maria Osinga	Mathematician and an expert in dynamical systems, also a creator of mathematical art.	25 December 1969	–
Roka Paora	Māori language expert, translator, author and educator.	15 February 1925	15 January 2011
Mākereti Papakura	Tuhourangi woman of mana, guide, entertainer , and ethnographer.	20 October 1873	16 April 1930
Kim Pickering	Composite materials engineer	20th Century	–
Suzanne G Pitama	Psychologist and indigenous health researcher	20th Century	–
Josephine Gordon Rich	Zoologist and one of only four women who published results of her scientific work in New Zealand before 1901	1866	6 September 1940
Jane Ritchie	Psychology academic and expert of child-raising, she was the first woman to graduate with a PhD in psychology from a New Zealand university.	20th Century	–
Joan Robb	Zoologist, professor and curator	1921	19 October 2017
Marion Robinson	Nutritionist and physiologist, particularly noted for her investigation of the importance of selenium in the human diet.	1923	2003
Viviane Robinson	Educational psychologist	20th Century	–
Jacinta Ruru	Law professor and the first Māori Professor of Law.	1974	–
Anne Salmond	Anthropologist and historian	16 November 1945	–
Hope Sanderson	Geologist, and the first New Zealand woman to graduate with MSc with Honours in Geology at a New Zealand university.	1925	2016
Rosa Olga Sansom	Teacher, museum director, botanist, broadcaster, and writer.	3 June 1900	1 July 1989
Caroline Saunders	Economist and researcher, specialising in environmental economics	20th Century	–
Martha K. Savage	Geology academic.	20th Century	–
Brenda Shore	Botanist, one of only 20 female Associate Professors in New Zealand when she retired in 1983.	1922	1993
Emily Hancock Siedeberg-McKinnon	Medical practitioner, hospital superintendent, and the country’s first female medical graduate.	17 February 1873	13 June 1968
Cather Simpson	Physicist/chemist and entrepreneur	20th Century	–
Liz Slooten	Marine biologist	20th Century	–
Anne Briar Smith	Children’s rights researcher and academic	13 August 1940	22 May 2016
Linda Tuhiwai Smith	Academic who has made a major contribution to research methods in social justice research.	1950	–
Jane Soons	Geomorphologist and the first woman professor at the University of Canterbury, and possibly the first in New Zealand.	1931	8 September 2020
Greta Stevenson	Botanist and mycologist, who described many new species of Agaricales (gilled mushrooms).	10 June 1911	18 December 1990
Evelyn Stokes	Historical geographer who worked in the Waitangi Tribunal.	5 December 1936	15 August 2005
Vida Stout	Limnographer and academic administrator, first woman to be Dean of Science at a New Zealand university.	20 February 1930	21 July 2012
Jean Struthers	Botany student in New Zealand and an inspirational chemistry teacher in England and New Zealand	1899	2002
Lydia Suckling	Botanist and school teacher.	1890	1979
Mary Sutherland	Forester and botanist.	4 May 1893	11 March 1955
Miraka Szászy	Māori leader and academic, making significant contributions in education, broadcasting, social welfare and small business development.	7 August 1921	20 December 2001
Merryn Tawhai	Physics professor, she is known for the development of mathematical models of the lungs that will help scientists understand differences between physiologically normal lungs and the pathological changes that might occur in a disease.	20th Century	–
Grace Marie Taylor	Botanist, mycologist and scientific illustrator	28 April 1930	24 April 1999
Ngahuia Te Awekotuku	Academic, short story writer and essayist	1949	–
Margaret Tennant	Historian	1952	–
C. Jean Thompson	Statistician and author, who served as president of the New Zealand Statistical Association.	1940	–
Beatrice Tinsley	Astronomer and cosmologist, whose research made fundamental contributions to the astronomical understanding of how galaxies evolve, grow and die.	27 January 1941	23 March 1981
Colleen Ward	Cross-cultural psychologist	19 August 1952	–
Joyce Watson	Chemist specialising in fruit disorders and trace elements.	5 July 1918	28 September 2004
Lydia Wevers	Literary historian and critic, editor and book reviewer.	19 March 1950	4 September 2021
Whakaotirangi	Māori experimental gardener and early New Zealand scientist	14th Century	Unknown
Joan Wiffen	Paleontologist	4 February 1922	30 June 2009
Philippa Wiggins	Biochemist and physical chemist, who made significant contributions to the understanding of the structure of water in living cells.	16 July 1925	16 March 2017
Siouxsie Wiles	Microbiologist and science communicator	20th Century	–
Christine Coe Winterbourn	Pathologist and researcher of the biological chemistry of free radicals.	20th Century	–
Mimie Wood	Secretary, accountant and librarian	1888	1979
Ann Wylie	Botanist	1922	–
Aroha Yates-Smith	Performer and social scientist, researching forgotten Māori female deities	20th Century	–
Pamela Young	First New Zealand woman to live and work in Antarctica	1930s	–

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