University remembers MAPAS legend and health pioneer

Colin David Mantell 12 October 1939 – 3 October 2026

E kore au e ngaro, he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea.
I will never be lost, for I am a seed sown from Rangiātea.

Emeritus Professor Colin David Mantell (Ngāi Tahu) passed away on 3 October, leaving a remarkable legacy across medicine, medical education and Māori and Pacific health in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Dr Mantell devoted more than six decades to medicine and academia and was an internationally recognised researcher in foetal physiology and neonatal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology. He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours.

Among his many accolades, Mantell was the founding chair of the Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme (MAPAS) at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and became the University’s inaugural Professor of Māori and Pacific Health.

Reflecting on the scheme in a University interview marking 50 years of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Mantell described the creation of the MAPAS programme as “a brave step by the University”.

“The establishment of MAPAS led to the first chair of Indigenous health in the world – and that was the role I had,” he said.

His influence extended to the development of Māori and Pacific health leadership at the University and, as Professor of Māori and Pacific Health, he helped establish foundations for the academic leadership that followed, including the eventual development of separate leadership for Te Kupenga Hauora Māori and the Department of Pacific Health, Professor Papaarangi Reid and Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga among those who followed in these roles.

A distinguished medical career

Born in 1939, Mantell was educated at King’s High School in Dunedin before receiving a Ngarimu University Scholarship to study medicine at the University of Otago. He was in the same class as renowned Māori health leader Tā Mason Durie and was one of only two Māori students in the class.

“The number of Māori studying medicine was very small. There’d be one some years, none most years, and two very occasionally,” he recalled.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Medical Science in 1963 and MBChB in 1964.

He began his medical career at Wellington Hospital before moving to Auckland, where he undertook specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology at National Women’s Hospital.

He completed a Diploma in Obstetrics at the University of Auckland in 1968 and gained Membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1970.

He then spent time in the United Kingdom, including as a lecturer and research fellow at the University of Oxford, before returning to the University of Auckland in 1973 as a senior lecturer.

Mantell was appointed professor in 1977 and Head of Obstetrics in 1987. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1981 and Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1982 and completed his PhD at the University of Auckland in 1983.

His research focused on foetal physiology, including foetal breathing, as well as environmental health and obstetric issues. His work contributed to understanding in specialist areas of maternal and infant health and established his reputation as an internationally recognised researcher.

In 1996, Mantell was appointed to the newly established Chair of Māori and Pacific Health, alongside his existing chair in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Changing the health workforce

Mantell was a driving force behind Vision 20:20, an ambitious initiative developed in the late 1990s to increase the representation of Māori and Pacific people among Aotearoa’s health professionals.

As part of Vision 20:20, the University introduced a foundation year for Māori and Pacific students who needed additional preparation for successful study in health professional programmes. The programme, later known as Hikitia Te Ora – Certificate in Health Sciences, combined science and academic preparation within a supportive learning environment.

Reflecting on the programme, Mantell spoke about the importance of ensuring students did not feel they were “always on the outer, always at risk of failure”, and of tailoring support to individual students.

That philosophy became an enduring part of Māori and Pacific health education at the University.

“Our stance was that by 2020, ten per cent of doctors would be Māori,” Mantell said.

By 2024, Māori and Pacific health professionals accounted for a combined 13.8 per cent of the health workforce.

In 2025, he was recognised by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists with its Māori Women’s Health Award for his lifelong contribution to Māori health, obstetrics and gynaecology.

Faculty leaders honour a trailblazer

Professor Papaarangi Reid, Tumuaki of Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, says Professor Mantell recognised early that meaningful change in health required a different approach to medical education.

“Colin’s contribution to MAPAS was about much more than admission, but the importance of preparing a strong Māori and Pacific workforce, belonging and support, and that students needed to know that the institution wanted them to succeed.”

“Generations of students have walked through doors that Colin helped open. His legacy lives in us, in the communities we serve and in the continuing work of MAPAS. We owe him an enormous debt of gratitude.”

Professor Matire Harwood, Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, says Mantell's contribution to Māori health extended well beyond the programmes he helped establish.

“Colin brought together an extraordinary combination of clinical expertise, academic leadership and a commitment to Māori and Pacific health. He understood that inequities in health could not be addressed without changing the institutions and systems that shaped people's opportunities.

“He was prepared to challenge convention and to put his influence behind ideas that were not always easy or universally supported. That courage made a difference.

“For Māori health, and for those of us who have followed in his footsteps, Colin helped create space for a different conversation about medicine, education and equity. His influence will continue to be felt for generations.”

The University extends its aroha to his wife, Annie, his children and grandchildren.