Giselle Byrnes

Byrnes was born in Timaru on 17 July 1967, the daughter of Sandra Mary McConkey and James Lawrence Byrnes,^[2] and grew up in South Canterbury and the Bay of Plenty.^[3] She was educated Tauranga Girls' College,^[3] and went on to study at the University of Waikato, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in history and English, and a Master of Arts in history. She completed a PhD in history at the University of Auckland in 1995. The title of her doctoral thesis was Inventing New Zealand: Surveying, science, and the construction of cultural space, 1840s–1890s.^[4]

From 1995 to 1997, Byrnes worked for the Waitangi Tribunal. From 1997 to 2007 she lectured in history at Victoria University of Wellington.^[1] She held the positions of professor of history and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Postgraduate) at the University of Waikato, and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts at Charles Darwin University in Australia from 2011 to 2016.^[5][3]

In 2006, Byrnes was Fulbright Visiting professor in New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University, Washington DC. She has also served as national president of the New Zealand Historical Association.^[5]

In 2016 Byrnes was appointed assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research, Academic and Enterprise) at Massey University.^[3]

• The New Oxford History of New Zealand, general editor (Oxford University Press, 2009)^[5]
• The Waitangi Tribunal and New Zealand History (Oxford University Press, 2004)^[5]
• Boundary Markers: Land Surveying and the Colonisation of New Zealand (Bridget Williams Books, 2001)^[5]