Rebecca Macfie is a New Zealand author and journalist.

Early life and family

Rebecca Macfie is the fifth of six children born to Bob and Helen Macfie and raised on the family farm in

South Otago South Otago lies in the south east of the South Island of New Zealand. As the name suggests, it forms the southernmost part of the geographical region of Otago. The exact definition of the area designated as South Otago is imprecise, as the area ...

, which had been awarded to Bob after his A-grade discharge from military service at the conclusion of World War II. Macfie studied history at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts and Postgraduate Diploma in Arts. Later she graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, with her husband, engineer Neil Smart. They share two adult children.

Career

Macfie has worked as a journalist since 1988. In 2007 Macfie joined the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'' as a writer for the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. She has also been published with ''The Star'', ''The Press'', ''

National Business Review ''National Business Review'' (or ''NBR'') is one of New Zealand's business news publishing websites. The NBR has focused on delivering breaking business news and analysis since its founding in 1970. NBR is known for its independent journalism f ...

'', ''Independent Business Weekly'', '' North & South'', ''Unlimited'', and the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...

''. In 2013 she published ''Tragedy at Pike River Mine: How and Why 29 Men Died'', a non-fiction work on the

Pike River Mine disaster The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mine, coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a metha ...

that claimed 29 lives. In 2022, her biography of trade unionist Helen Kelly was published by Awa Press and long-listed for the

New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wa ...

general non-fiction award. In 2024 she was named the JD Stout Fellow by the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Awards

For her work with the ''New Zealand Listener'', Macfie won the Magazine Feature Writer Business and Politics Award at the

2014 Canon Media Awards The 2014 Canon Media Awards were hosted by the New Zealand Newspaper Publishers' Association on Friday 9 May 2014 at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland, New Zealand. The Newspaper of the Year was '' The Dominion Post'', and the Reporter of the Year ...

and the Magazine Feature Writer Business & Science Award at the 2013 Canon Media Awards. At the 2016 Canon Media Awards, Macfie won the 'Feature writing – politics' and 'Feature writing – health' categories, as well as the Wolfson Fellowship. In 2018, Macfie won the Voyager Media Award for 'Feature writing – business or personal finance' for two articles, on the environmental and economic risks of climate change, and the development of animal free protein. In 2012 she won the Bruce Jesson Senior Journalism Grant to develop a book on the

(later published as ''Tragedy at Pike River Mine''). The book then won the 2014 NZSA E.H. McCormick Best First Book Award for Non-Fiction at the New Zealand Post Book Awards, the 2014 Bert Roth Award for Excellence in Labour History, and the

Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) provides services to professionals engaged in all facets of the global minerals sector and is based in Carlton, Victoria, Australia. History The Institute had its genesis in 1893 with ...

media award.

References

External links

Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfie, Rebecca Living people Writers from Christchurch University of Otago alumni University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand women journalists Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand investigative journalists New Zealand journalists