Literary great and highly respected historian, Dame Judith (70) was a pioneer of oral history in New Zealand. She held the position of emeritus professor of history at Auckland University and in 2006 was awarded the Prime Minister's Lifetime Literary Achievement Award for non fiction. She was also awarded the DCNZM for her historical research. She was an independent historian at the Urewera claimants hearings at the 2005 Waitangi Tribunal and was given the name Tomairangi o Te Aroha – the heavenly dews of love – by the Tuhoe tribe. Her latest book, Encircled Lands, won the 2010 Book of the Year Award in the NZ Post Book Awards, and another, Redemption Songs: A Life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki, received the 1996 Montana Book of the Year award.