This article was first published by RNZ
Māori rock art is one of a dozen research areas chosen by the Royal Society to get a funding boost.
The Royal Society Te Apārangi announced the 12 recipients of its Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship for 2025 this week.
The government introduced the fellowships in 2024 for mid-career researchers who had done four to 12 years of research in their field since completing their PhDs.
Each Mana Tūānuku fellow would receive $1.16 million over four years towards a research project.
Tūhura Otago Museum’s curator Māori, Dr Gerard O’Regan (Ngai Tahu), and his project ‘He tuhinga ki te ao, Māori rock art through time’, was one of the 12 selected.
“It’s very humbling and a huge privilege,” he said.
“The incredible thing with this fellowship is that it gives us four years of full-time attention to Māori rock art heritage.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me as an archaeologist - I’ve been involved with my own marae in terms of the kaitiakitaka (kaitiakitanga), the care of our rock art heritage, but also for the broader research kaupapa and thinking about the different strands of thinking we can bring to these treasures."
He said his research would utilise both archaeological and matauraka (matauranga) Māori approaches.
“The idea is to bring people together who are experts in traditional Māori arts, the reo, and the places where we find our rock art to wānanga, rather than being limited to only an archaeological, scholastic lens.”
Part of his research would involve ‘boots on the ground’ surveying to understand gaps in the archaeological knowledge of rock art in Central Otago and Fiordland.
This, combined with Ngāi Tahu and Dr O’Regan’s existing research on North Island rock art, aimed to provide an up-to-date overview of Aotearoa’s rock art heritage.
“Māori rock art is found throughout the country, but the greatest concentrations of it are in the eastern South Island, especially around South Canterbury and North Otago.
“There are some information gaps in Central Otago and also Fiordland, and it’s also important for us to remember Rēkohu, the Chatham Islands and the rock art heritage there with Moriori.”
He would also be looking at how Māori rock art relates to that of other Polynesian Islands, specifically Hawai’i, the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Rapa Nui.
“All of those islands have significant areas of rock art, quite often carving more than painting or what we call petroglyphs, so engravings on carvings and rocks, rather than the paintings that seem to dominate in the South Island.”
The final part of his research would be looking at how Māori rock art motifs had been used in modern times, including in contemporary artwork, as well as guardianship concerns of kaitiaki for their rock art places.
“It will involve looking at issues of cultural misappropriation, and understanding how rock art heritage can contribute to cultural revitalisation and tourism development appropriately.”
Dr O’Regan said his research would feed into a major exhibition that Tūhura Otago Museum was developing in collaboration with Canterbury Museum and the Ngāi Tahu Māori Rock Art Trust.
The exhibition was expected to open at Tūhura in 2027 before going to the newly redeveloped Canterbury Museum and possibly elsewhere.
His research would also inform a new book, which he said would be the first comprehensive text on Māori rock art.
“We’re really looking forward to being able to offer that to the wider community, but especially to those interested in really looking after, analysing, researching, and contributing to rock art heritage.”
He hoped his research could inspire a “cultural revitalisation” of Māori rock art.
“If we look at the cultural revitalisation that’s happened with tā moko, for example, it would be lovely to foster similar revitalisation with our Māori rock art heritage.
“It’ll be a wonderful day if we get to the point where Māori and iwi across New Zealand have actually re-engaged with the creation of rock art and we’re perhaps making new rock art.
“But if we do do that, we need to be doing it from an informed place, and know what we’re bringing forward from the past.”
The Royal Society said this year’s Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship recipients covered a diverse range of research areas, including combating infectious disease and antibiotic resistance, building climate resilience through improved flood forecasting, and supporting the country’s transition to a sustainable and secure energy future.
The chair of the interview panel that selected the recipients, University of Otago Professor Peter Dearden, said the projects chosen had the potential to deliver benefits for health, society, and the environment.
“Interviewing the shortlisted candidates for this year’s Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowships was a powerful reminder of the outstanding research talent we have in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“The Fellows chosen this year represent the next wave of research leaders who will help shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s future. Their contributions are set to create meaningful impact nationally and globally for years to come."
By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ