Irihapeti Ramsden was the daughter of writer and historian
Eric Ramsden and Merenia Manawatu, and was of
Ngāi Tahu and
Rangitāne iwi. In 1979, Ramsden enrolled at
Victoria University of Wellington and studied for a degree in
anthropology. In 1984, Ramsden was one of the women who formed the
Spiral Collective to publish
Keri Hulme's novel,
The Bone People, when mainstream publishers had rejected it. The book went on to win the 1984
Booker Prize. at her Wellington home after a long illness with cancer. She was 57 years old.
Tariana Turia, then Associate Maori Affairs Minister, and historian
Michael King both issued statements of remembrance on her death. Ramsden had been invested as an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit two weeks before she died, the honour having been announced in the
2003 New Year Honours. ==References==