Mason Durie

Professor, psychiatrist

• Born: December 4, 1938
• Birthplace: New Zealand

Education: University of Otago

Significance: Mason Durie is a retired New Zealand academic and former psychiatrist. He served as the director of psychiatry at Palmerston North Hospital for more than a decade before accepting a position at Massey University. Throughout the years, Durie became best known for his contributions to the Māori natives of New Zealand.

Background

Mason Durie was born in New Zealand in 1938. His family was from the Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata, and Ngāti Raukawa tribes. His grandfather was John Mason Durie, who worked with the Māori natives. Durie graduated from high school at Te Aute College in the Hawkes Bay region of Otane, New Zealand. He then earned a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1963. He later received a literature degree from Massey University.

His studies and subsequent training focused on psychiatry. After college, Durie worked at the Palmerston North Hospital. In 1976, he became the director of psychiatry at the hospital. In 1986, he was named a commissioner on the Royal Commission on Social Policy, which over the course of two years, studied social conditions across the country and focused on the general welfare of different groups of New Zealanders. It issued a report on the findings in 1988.

Durie stayed in his position at Palmerston North Hospital until 1988. He then decided to enter academics. He wanted to focus on the health of the Māori natives, a group that he felt was overlooked in the country and in need of guidance. His grandfather had done much of the same work for the group nearly a century earlier.

Life's Work

In 1988, Durie became the professor and head of Te Pūtahi-ā-Toi, School of Māori Art, Knowledge and Education at Massey University in Palmerston North. He also helped to set up the College of Health at the university. In 1995, he became a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He was appointed chair of Māori research and development and assistant vice-chancellor of the university in 2002. In 2009, he was appointed deputy vice-chancellor.

During his time working at Massey, Durie worked on transforming Māori health, education, and employment. He believed that Māori overall well-being was a combination of well-balanced mind, spirit, body, and family (hinengaro, wairua, tinana, and whanau) and this affected one's health. He used his influence to generate change in policy regarding education, health, and social services.

Durie also focused on the education—especially higher education—of the Māori people. In addition to mentoring students and encouraging them to pursue advanced degrees, he worked with several organizations whose missions were to support the advancement of indigenous people. His position of deputy chair of the organization Te Wānanga o Raukawa allowed him to push for academic leadership for the Māori and other indigenous groups. Programs through the organization helped many within the indigenous communities to realize socioeconomic advancement. Durie also worked with the research institute Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, which helped to support increasing the number of Māori people working toward advanced degrees such as doctorate programs. Programs such as these have been influential to the Māori. For example, according to Durie, in the 1990s, only six Māori graduated from universities with doctorate degrees, but this number increased to fifty-five over a decade.

Government health programs helped to increase the population of the Māori from about 48,000 in the twentieth century to about 673,500 in the 2010s. The average life expectancy for a Māori man increased from thirty-five in 1901 to nearly seventy in the 2010s. Smoking cessation programs help to drive down the high smoking rates within the population. In addition, health programs have increased the interest of Māori pursuing careers in the health care sector.

Durie also wrote a number of books about the Māori, including Nga Tini Whetu, which was published in 2011. In it, he offers an optimistic look at what the future could hold for the native group. He predicts that the group will continue to grow and develop a closer relationship with China, whose culture will influence the Māori. He also talks about the importance of advanced education for the group's leaders, who will need to continue to fight for rights such as health care and education for members. Durie retired from his positions of deputy vice-chancellor and assistant vice-chancellor at Massey University in 2012. He was later named professor emeritus at the university. After retirement, he continued to work with several Māori organizations.

Impact

Durie is noted for his contributions to Māori health and education. He spent most of his life working to change health care policy for the Māori population and help Māori people enrich their lives through education. He was noted for his service throughout the years. In 2001, he was named Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Durie was knighted for his service to Māori health in 2010. He received an honorary doctor of law from Otago University and an honorary doctorate in health sciences from Simon Fraser University. Every year, the Royal Society of New Zealand presents an individual with the Mason Durie Medal for his or her contributions in social science.

Personal Life

Durie is married to Lady Arohia, who served as a professor of Māori education at Massey University. They have been married for more than fifty years. Into 2017, Durie continues his involvement with Māori services.

Principal Works

• Whaiora: Maori Health Development, 1994
• Te Mana: Te Kawanatanga: The Politics of Maori Self-Determination, 1998
• Mauri Ora: The Dynamics of Maori Health, 2001
• Nga Kahui Pou: Launching Maori Futures, 2003
• Nga Tai Matatu: Tides of Maori Endurance, 2005
• Nga Tini Whetu, 2011

Bibliography

"About the Medal." Royal Society of New Zealand, royalsociety.org.nz/what-we-do/medals-and-awards/mason-durie-medal/about-the-medal-3. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

Ellingham, Jimmy. "Our New Year's Knight." Manawatu Standard, 31 Dec. 2009, www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/3200569/Our-New-Years-Knight. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

"Professor Sir Mason Durie." NPM Media Centre, mediacentre.maramatanga.ac.nz/content/professor-sir-mason-durie. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

"Professor Sir Mason Durie to Retire." Massey University, www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle‗uuid=A4B97A50-B097-40A5-90E0-60165C9314A9. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

"Story: Durie, John Mason." Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4d25/durie-john-mason. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

Tahana Yvonne. "Professor Bows Out on a High Note." New Zealand Herald, 21 July 2012, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c‗id=1&objectid=10821126. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.

"Three New Accolades for Sir Mason Durie." Massey University, 9 Feb. 2016, www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/news/article.cfm?mnarticle‗uuid=6F0AB9F4-9078-A853-8C94-3F779686A65D. Accessed 21 Apr. 2017.