Shirley Murray.
New Zealand hymn writer Shirley Erena Murray will receive
an honorary doctor of literature degree from the University of
Otago on Saturday.
Mrs Murray, who lives at Raumati Beach, near Wellington, has
an MA (Hons) degree in classics and French from Otago
University.
She has been writing hymns with a distinctive New Zealand
flavour since the 1970s, producing ones such as Hymn for
Anzac Day, Hymn for Waitangi Day and God Bless Our Land.
She has gained international acclaim for her writing,
becoming a fellow of the Hymn Society of the United States
and Canada this year, a fellow of the Royal School of Church
Music in 2006, and a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
in 2001 for services to the community through hymn writing.
University vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said the
honorary doctorate recognised Mrs Murray's outstanding
contribution to the art of hymn writing.
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