Claudia Orange

Dame Claudia Josepha Orange DNZM OBE (born 17 April 1938) is a New Zealand historian best known for her 1987 book The Treaty of Waitangi the first comprehensive study of the treaty.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2009 she has been Director of Collections and Research at the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand in Wellington.

Personal life

Born Claudia Josepha Bell, her father Monty Bell was a fluent Maori speaker, knew Apirana Ngata and joined the Department of Maori Affairs in Gisborne, so she grew up well aware of Maori issues.^[1] She trained and practiced as a dental nurse for 15 years^[2] before starting university studies.

She is married to Rod Orange and has three adult children.^[1]

Career

From 1975 to 1983 Orange was a history lecturer at the University of Auckland. From 1990 she was General Editor of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, having been Associate Editor previously; she also worked on Te Ara: The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. She was also an Associate Editor for the New Dictionary of National Biography (Britain). Between 1997 and 2000 she was Acting Chief Historian of the History Branch in the Department of Internal Affairs. Late in 2003 she became Director of History and Pacific Cultures at the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand in Wellington, and

Orange was the historian custodian of the "Treaty Road show" which was a tour around New Zealand sponsored by the New Zealand government. It attracted some public criticism as being ineffective^{[citation needed]} from her fellow historian Paul Moon.

"The Treaty of Waitangi"

The 1987 book was derived from her 1984 PhD thesis.^[3] Despite being an academic history, it was successful, due primarily to an upsurge in interest in the Treaty of Waitangi caused by the increasing importance of the Waitangi Tribunal and also major Māori protests at Waitangi Day celebrations.^{[citation needed]} The book has become a definitive reference for interpreting the relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi.^{[citation needed]} Several shorter versions of the book have been published for young and non-academic audiences, and a revised edition released in 2011.

Honours

In 1993 Orange was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and awarded DCNZM in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to historical research.^[4]

Published work

• The Covenant of Kohimarama (1979).
• The Treaty of Waitangi (Allen & Unwin, 1987).
• Story of a Treaty (Allen & Unwin, 1989).
• An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi (Allen & Unwin, 1990).
• An Illustrated History of the Treaty of Waitangi (2nd edition, Bridget Williams Books, 2004).
• The Treaty of Waitangi, 2nd edition (Bridget Williams Books, 2011)

Theses

• 'A kind of equality: Labour and the Maori people, 1935-1949', MA thesis, University of Auckland, 1977.
• 'The Treaty of Waitangi: a study of its making, interpretation and role in New Zealand history', PhD thesis, University of Auckland, 1984.

References

External links

• Biography on the Senior Management team page of Te Papa's website: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/AboutUs/Boardstructure/Pages/SMT.aspx