Bruce Grandison Biggs  

Dr Bruce Biggs was a renowned academic scholar, researcher, writer and; significantly, one of the most influential Māori academic figures of his time. He was the only child of his mother, Mary Biggs (Grandison) and of his father Thomas Herbert Biggs. His father held genealogical ties to Te Keeti marae in Ōtorohanga and his iwi was Ngāti Maniapoto.  

Biggs was Aotearoa New Zealand's first Māori language lecturer and he worked closely with renowned scholar Dr. Pei Te Hurinui Jones to produce Ngā iwi o Tainui which he translated into English. The book won the Montana Special Honour Award in 1996. Biggs was also a prolific writer for the Journal of Polynesian Society and later became the President of the Polynesian Society between 1979 and 1993. 

Interestingly, Biggs did not grow up speaking Te Reo and learned to fluently speak Te Reo in his 20s. He was raised in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), attending Mt Albert Grammar School and then he went on to go to Auckland Teachers' College. From 1942 - 1945 he also served in Fiji as a sergeant in the New Zealand army. In 1945, after the war, he also married Joy Hetet in Te Kuiti whom he met during his time at Auckland Teachers' College. She was also the niece of Pei Te Hurinui Jones. 

Contribution to Te Ao Māori and relationship to the collection:

Biggs was heavily involved in making contributions across many fields in the realm of academia. However, when Biggs first presented the idea of developing a Māori studies programme, it was not widely accepted and met with disdain with assertions that there was not enough literature needed to give distinction and substance to the study. After the idea was rejected, he prepared material to support his notion of the necessity of this programme. He further asserted that "Māori had one of the great oral epic literatures of the world". Thus, he successfully developed the first university programme which focused on the study of Māori language, written works and culture.

With this programme, he also contributed to the development of contemporary leading academic figures in the Māoridom. He was involved in training many students who later became significant academic scholars who led the Māori Studies Departments at other universities in New Zealand. Since the 1950s, Biggs remarkably contributed to producing mass content publishings for teaching and learning Te Reo Māori and literature. Some of his works include Māori Marriage (1960), The Structure of New Zealand Māori (1961), Let’s Learn Māori (1969), The Complete English–Māori dictionary (1981), Kimihia te mea ngaro: seek that which is lost (2006).  

Furthermore, Biggs contributes considerably to the collection with numerous of his own written works, original manuscripts and rare books. He also features in the Pei Te Hurinui Jones collection. Biggs is a highly esteemed figure and will be remembered for his works, contributions and impact on the Māoridom. 

Biographical information compiled and written by 

Ngaki Te Kare - Ruaine