Maria Elizabeth Rothman (M.E.R) was born on 28 August 1875 in Swellendam, in the then Cape Colony (now Western Cape). She was one of the first South African women to attend university, and received her BA degree from the South African College in Cape Town.

At the age of 22, she began teaching, firstly in Johannesburg, then in Grahamstown, where she met and married Herbert Charles Gordon Oakshott, a school principal, on 18 September 1902. They had two children, James (Jacobus/Koos) and Anna, but the couple were later divorced on 4 July 1911.

Rothman was one of the first women to pursue journalism as a career, first with Die Boerevrou from 1920- 1922 in Pretoria, and after that at Die Burger in Cape Town from 1922-1928, where she became the first woman to be appointed editor at the publication.

In 1928, she was appointed organising secretary of the Afrikaanse Christelike Vroue Vereniging (A.C.V.V), and travelled the country investigating the "poor white problem". She was also appointed vice-chairperson of the Cape National Party and served on the Carnegie Commission. In 1938, she was awarded a Carnegie grant, which she used to visit the United States of America (USA).

She received the Hertzog Prize for prose in 1953, the Scheepers Prize for Youth Literature in 1961 for "Die tweelings trek saam" (The twins join the trek) and the Tienie Holloway Medal for Children's Literature for "Karlien en Kandas" in 1970.

She received two honourary doctorates, from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 1951, and from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1973 for her contribution to social work. She died on ten days after her 100th birthday, on 7 September 1975, in her home, "Kom Nader" (Come hither) in Swellendam.

References:

1. Anon. (unknown) 'M.E.R' from Wikipedia [online] Available at: www.wikipedia.org [Accessed 23 August 2010]
2. Anon. (unknown) 'Maria Elizabeth Rothman M.E.R' from Ancestry24 [online] Available at: ancestry24.com [Accessed 23 August 2010]
3. Wallis, F. (2000) Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar, Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau