Taryn Dryfhout is a professional teaching fellow, registered teacher, writer, celebrant and PhD Candidate. She has graduated with MTh, GDipSec Tchg, Bth, DipBS, and DipA.
Her research for Ngā Tini Ara o te Tamariki: A Complete History of Adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand was supported by both the CLNZ/NZSA Research Grant and the New Zealand Founders Society Literary Award.
Her forthcoming publications include: Dryfhout, T. (2026). Bridging Worlds: Māori Worldviews and Stanley Grenz's Theology of Community. PhD Thesis, University of Otago. And Dryfhout, T. Ngā Tini Ara o te Tamariki: A Complete History of Adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Biographical sources
- Email from Taryn Dryfhout August 2026.
Non-fiction
- I've struggled my entire adult life to be brown enough to be considered Māori. Stuff, 2020.
- Kaumātua Ahi Kā: Kaumātua Ahi Tere: Exploring a Theology of Adoptio0n and Its Connection to the Māori Tradition of Whāngai. Te Piri Poho: Anglican Journal of Theology in Aotearoa and Oceania. 2023.
- Whāngai can help fix the foster care system. E-Tangata. 2024.
- ScWhāngai as an Alternative to Our Broken Foster Care System and the Government's Proposed Repeal. Scoop News. 2024.
Theses
- Kaumātua Ahi Tere; Kaumātua Ahi Kā: Considering a Theology of Adoption and How It Relates to the Māori Practice of Whāngai. Master's Thesis, Laidlaw College. 2019.