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A short scan of Māori journeys to Antarctica

Priscilla M. Wehi, Nigel J. Scott, Jacinta Beckwith, Rata Pryor Rodgers,

Tasman Gillies, Vincent Van Uitregt & Krushil Watene

To cite this article: Priscilla M. Wehi, Nigel J. Scott, Jacinta Beckwith, Rata Pryor Rodgers,
Tasman Gillies, Vincent Van Uitregt & Krushil Watene (2021): A short scan of Māori journeys to
Antarctica, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2021.1917633

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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND
https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.2021.1917633

BRIEF REPORT

A short scan of Māori journeys to Antarctica

Priscilla M. Wehi a, Nigel J. Scottb, Jacinta Beckwithc, Rata Pryor Rodgersb,
Tasman Gilliesb, Vincent Van Uitregtd and Krushil Watened
a
Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Dunedin, New Zealand; bTe Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Te Whare o Te
Waipounamu, Christchurch, New Zealand; cHocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand;
d
School of Humanities, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The narratives of under-represented groups and their connection to Received 20 December 2020
Antarctica remain poorly documented and acknowledged in the Accepted 12 April 2021
research literature. This paper begins to fill this gap. Our
KEYWORDS
exploration of Māori connections to Antarctica details first Antarctic exploration;
voyagers through to involvement in recent science projects, as Antarctic history; Indigenous
well as representations of mātauranga in carving and weaving. knowledge; kaitiakitanga;
This exploration begins to construct a richer and more inclusive Māori scientists; minorities in
picture of Antarctica’s relationship with humanity. By detailing STEM
these historical and contemporary connections, we build a
platform on which much wider conversations about New Zealand
relationships with Antarctica can be furthered. More than this,
however, we create space for other under-represented groups
and peoples to articulate their narratives of connection to the
southern land- and sea-scapes. In so doing, we provide significant
first steps for uncovering the rich and varied ways in which
Antarctica features in the lives and futures of indigenous and
other under-represented communities.

Introduction
Over the last 200 years, Antarctic narratives have contributed to conceptions of Imper-
ial adventure, carried out by predominantly European male explorers. Increasingly,
however, researchers and communities are re-examining the underlying paradigms
that shape this thinking, including issues of racism and colonialism, and asking what
an inclusive Antarctic future might look like (Van der Watt and Swart 2015; Dodds
and Collis 2017; Wehi, van Uitregt, et al. 2021). To do this, one necessary first step
is to collate and explore some of the contributions and perspectives of under-rep-
resented groups that are invisible or undervalued in current narratives. In this short
piece, we scan the grey literature and integrate this with oral histories known to us
through extended whānau sources to provide a compiled record of Māori presence
in, and perspectives of, Antarctic narratives and exploration. We outline some of
these human threads that connect Māori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand, to
Antarctica, past and present. This brief overview of Māori connection to the Antarctic
continent and the seascape that surrounds it begins with the explorer Hui Te Rangiora

CONTACT Priscilla M. Wehi [email protected]

© 2021 The Royal Society of New Zealand
2 P. M. WEHI ET AL.

and identifies gaps where further work can enrich our understanding of human connec-
tion to Antarctica.
Both humans and marine mammals have traversed the vast Pacific seascapes, from
the Pacific Islands to Antarctica. Migratory cetaceans are embedded in Polynesian
stories as well as other forms of oral tradition (Orbell 1985; Cawthorn 2000; Wehi
et al. 2013; Rodgers 2017; Lythberg and Ngata 2019) as an explicit and charismatic rep-
resentation of the interconnectedness of the peoples and islands of the Pacific. These rich
stories of movement through vast seascapes act to guide and inspire Polynesian sea
exploration. In the Waikato region of New Zealand, Paneiraira, generally accepted to
be a whale, is renowned as the guide for the double-hulled voyaging vessel (waka)
Tainui; similar stories link Humuhumu to the waka Māhuhu (Graham 1946). The ances-
tor, and humpback whale, known as Paikea features in other human-cetacean stories
(Anon. 1962; Rodgers 2017; Lythberg and Ngata 2019). Ranging across the world’s
oceans during their natural life spans and passing information from one generation to
the next (Owen et al. 2019), these cetaceans and their migrations connect the tropical
and temperate ocean to Antarctica, a continent as far south as both cetaceans and
humans can travel.

Early southern exploration

Polynesian narratives of voyaging between the islands include voyaging into Antarc-
tic waters by Hui Te Rangiora (also known as Ūi Te Rangiora) and his crew on the
vessel Te Ivi o Atea, likely in the early seventh century (Tara’Are 2000; but see
Hiroa 1964, p. 118). These navigational accomplishments are widely acknowledged;
Best (1923) described Māori navigators traversing the Pacific much as Western
explorers might a lake. In some narratives, Hui Te Rangiora and his crew continued
south. A long way south. In so doing, they were likely the first humans to set eyes
on Antarctic waters and perhaps the continent. Supporting evidence lies in the name
Te tai-uka-a-pia (Smith 1899; Tara’Are 2000; McFarlane 2008) which denotes the
frozen ocean; a-pia means – a, as, like, after the manner of; pia, the arrowroot,
which when scraped looks like snow (Smith 1899, p. 11; Tara’Are 2000). Smith
suggests that these accounts refer to sub-Antarctic flora, fauna and physical
geography:
… the rocks that grow out of the sea, in the space beyond Rapa; the monstrous seas; the
female that dwells in those mountainous waves, whose tresses wave about in the water
and on the surface of the sea; and the frozen sea of pia, with the deceitful animal of the
sea who dives to great depths – a foggy, misty, and dark place not seen by the sun. Other
things are like rocks, whose summits pierce the skies, they are completely bare and
without vegetation on them. (Smith 1899, p. 10)

Here he suggests that Southern Ocean bull-kelp – the ‘tresses that float on the monstrous
waves’ – marine mammals, and icebergs respectively are visualised, all of which would
have been new to Polynesian explorers.
Other Māori repositories of knowledge, including carvings, depict both voyagers and
navigational and astronomical knowledge. These carvings act as repositories of knowl-
edge in an oral culture (Harris et al. 2013; Wehi, Hetaraka, et al. 2021). Hui Te Rangiora’s
voyage and return are part of the history of the Ngāti Rārua people, and these stories
 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND 3

appear in a number of carvings (Hongi 1925). As well, a pou whakairo, or carved post,
representing Tamarereti as protector of the southern oceans stands on the southernmost
tip of the South Island of New Zealand at Bluff. Ngāi Tahu, the largest tribal group in the
South Island, and other tribal groups or iwi also cherish other oral repositories of knowl-
edge in relation to these early explorers and voyagers (see Wehi, van Uitregt, et al. 2021).
Collaborative work led by researchers Sandy Morrison and Aimee Kaio will add depth
and richness to these knowledge repositories (see, for example, https://maoriantarctica.
org/voyaging-south/). Further evidence of Māori exploration is likely to enter the
public domain in future as tribal researchers partner iwi to share these narratives, and
Māori leadership in Antarctic research grows more visible, including that of the kāhui
Māori in the Antarctic Science Platform.

Māori in the European ages of Antarctic exploration

Māori narratives of connection to Antarctica are not limited to these early voyages.
Rather, Māori participation in Antarctic voyaging and expedition has continued to
the present day but is rarely acknowledged or highlighted. For Māori on these
voyages, seafaring skills were the critical currency. Te Atu (also recorded as Tuati,
Tu Atu, Tuati and John Sac (McFarlane 2008; Mauriohooho 2012; Mita 2017)) the
son of whaler and sealer Captain William Stewart and his Ngāpuhi wife (name
unknown to the authors), is often described as the first Māori, as well as the first
New Zealander, to view the coast of Antarctica in 1840 (NZ History 2014). Te Atu
travelled on the Vincennes, a ship that mapped many miles of Antarctic coastline,
as part of the United States Exploring Expedition, led by Lieutenant Charles
Wilkes. After this event, Māori involvement in Antarctic voyaging appears to have
been dormant until 1894, despite a number of international voyages staged from
Germany, Russia and elsewhere (NZ History 2014), perhaps because the embarkation
points were not in the vicinity of Māori seafaring expertise.
Māori were part of Antarctic expeditions in the ‘heroic era’ of exploration in the late
19th and early 20th centuries. Initiated as part of a growing European impetus to discover,
explore, and name unexplored parts of the world, these expeditions were fuelled by
nationalism, economic opportunism and political and scientific interests (Hemmings
2009; Dodds and Hemmings 2013; Hemmings et al. 2015). In 1894, the Norwegian
whaling vessel ‘Antarctic’ stopped at Rakiura on its way south, adding four Stewart
Islanders to the crew, including William Joss of Ngāi Tahu. One of these voyagers
recorded the journey to the ice, noting on 29 November that ‘The new hands appear
to be an acquisition, especially Mr. Joss, an old, experienced whaler, accustomed to har-
pooning, lancing and most important of all, very cheery’ (Bull 1896; Norris 1993). Ant-
arctic crew members were first confirmed as stepping on Antarctic shores, at Cape Adare
in January 1895. Seafaring expertise was also central to the experience of Māori whaler
Buddy Willa in a Norwegian whaling expedition in the Ross Sea in the 1920s (Maurio-
hooho 2012).
Later Māori visitors to Antarctica demonstrated medical, construction and scientific
expertise that contributed to the aims of later European expansion (Wood 2005),
despite a backdrop of discrimination and racism (Mauriohooho 2012). In 1934-1935,
Louis Hauiti Potaka (Ngāti Hauiti) from Utiku, near Whanganui, was ship’s doctor on
4 P. M. WEHI ET AL.

the BAE II expedition to Marie Byrd Land led by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, after the
original ship’s doctor was unable to winter over in Antarctica because of health problems
(Norris 1993). Telegrams referring to his appointment indicate the barriers faced by
Māori of the time, recording that Byrd had ‘no objections to his being one third
Maori’ after being asked whether Potaka’s Māori ancestry would disqualify him from
the position (Young 2005, p. 43). Potaka boarded the Royal Research Society’s Discovery
II in February 1934, which called into Port Chalmers to pick him up. The vessel made a
rendezvous with the rest of the team on the Bear of Oakland in the Ross Sea before their
four-day journey through pack ice to ‘Little America’, a series of exploration bases on the
Ross Ice shelf south of the Bay of Whales. While in Antarctica Potaka performed an
emergency appendectomy, extracted teeth, conducted health checks, and dealt with a
broken arm and frostbite (Stone 2015). He returned to Dunedin via Byrd’s supply ship
Jacob Ruppert in February 1935. Potaka was the fifth Māori medical graduate to work
in New Zealand, graduating in 1930.
As the New Zealand Antarctic Programme expanded from the 1950s, Māori worked in
Antarctica in a variety of roles. Clerk of Works and foreman Ray Heke was part of the
1955–1958 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary,
and guided construction of Scott Base while Hillary and his team journeyed to the
South Pole. Heke received the New Zealand Antarctic Medal in 2018 in recognition of
his work. Able Seaman Ray Tito (Te Tou) was part of the same Expedition, and in
1956 raised the flag at the official opening of Scott Base (Dodds and Yusoff 2005; McFar-
lane 2008). Diesel engineer and fitter mechanic Robert Sopp, from Kaingaroa Forest,
Wairoa, was one of 12 men to overwinter in 1966–1967 as part of the tenth New
Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition, and as part of the US Operation Deep Freeze.
He took charge of the diesel generating plant that supplied power for the base (Mita
2017).
Overall, however, Māori men were likely a tiny proportion of those visiting Antarctica
in the New Zealand Antarctic programme through much of the twentieth century,
although quantitative data are lacking. Nonetheless, the contributions of Māori men
have been recognised both in Antarctic place names, and the award of the New
Zealand Antarctic medal. The US Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names named an
inlet after Louis Hauiti on the north side of Thurston Island, and in 1993, the New
Zealand Geographic Board named Tuati Peak, standing at 2595 m in Victoria Land,
after Te Atu. Māori women, however, were not part of this phase of Antarctic explora-
tion, with women unable to participate in the New Zealand Antarctic programme until
more recently. Pamela Young was likely the first New Zealand woman to work in Ant-
arctic science, acting as field assistant to her biologist husband at Cape Byrd in the austral
summer of 1969–1970 (https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/women-antarctica), but
records of women’s participation are somewhat patchy.
Beyond these facts, there is much to discover. Māori have participated in com-
mercial fishing in the southern oceans, including the Ross Sea, for many years. In
addition, Māori have contributed to New Zealand’s Antarctic Programme as part
of the New Zealand Defence Force, and in service roles at Scott Base. The detail
of Māori experiences in Antarctic and its waters remain largely unexplored and
under-researched but have been critical to New Zealand’s economic and scientific
Antarctic aspirations in these activities.
 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND 5

Māori in Antarctic science programmes

The shift to scientific research as a dominant activity in the late 20th and early twenty-first
century has expanded Māori experience of Antarctica. Scientists of Māori descent have
had opportunities to contribute to a range of Antarctic science expeditions (Table 1),
in the disciplines of physics (Mercier, Mita, Russell), biology (Beggs, Gibb, Lamare,
Lyver, Timoti and Sutherland), and earth sciences (Hikuroa). Most were early in their
research careers at the time of these expeditions, acting as research assistants for estab-
lished scientists such as Paul Callaghan and Peter Wilson, before building on these and
other experiences to reach prominence themselves. Some have contributed to substantial
scientific advances, including Dan Hikuroa (Ngāti Maniapoto) who completed his PhD
on the fossil record of the Antarctic Peninsula (see for example Eagle and Hikuroa 2003;
Hikuroa and Kaim 2007; Arratia and Hikuroa 2010).
Two – Miles Lamare (Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu) and Phil Lyver (Ngāti Toarangatira) –
have led Antarctic science programmes for a number of years from the 1990s and early
2000s, providing long-term mentoring and visibility for Māori in science. After his first
Antarctic expedition in 1992, marine scientist Miles Lamare completed a PhD in 1997 at
the University of Otago on sea urchin settlement and recruitment. Since then, he has
created an extensive body of work on the reproductive biology and physiology of
marine invertebrates, with a particular focus on the effects of climate and environmental
change on developmental stages; this work has, for example, examined responses to
ocean acidification and UV in Antarctic waters (Lamare et al. 2006; Karelitz et al.
2017; Houlihan et al. 2020). More recently, his leadership has been recognised in the

Table 1. Māori who have participated in New Zealand Antarctic science programmes in Antarctica.
Science Antarctic
personnel Tribal affiliations experience Field of study Antarctic research contribution
Prof Miles Ngāti Rahiri 1993– Marine invertebrate Effects of climate change (e.g. ocean
Lamare Tumutumu ecology and acidification) on marine invertebrates
physiology including larval stages
Dr Gillian Gibb Ngāti Mutunga 2001–2002 Molecular biology Adélie penguin lineages and
evolutionary ratesa
Prof Ngāti Awa 2001 Ecology Adélie penguin population biology
Jacqueline
Beggs
Dr Daniel Ngāti Maniapoto 2001–2002 Earth systems; and geological mapping with the British
Hikuroa mātauranga Antarctic Survey, Antarctic Peninsulab
Dr Ocean Ngāti Porou 2002–2003 Condensed matter Sea ice diffusionc
Mercier physics; and
mātauranga
Dr Phil Lyver Ngāti 2004– Population ecology Adélie penguin population ecology and
Toarangatira ki and mātauranga foraging
Wairau
Puke Timoti Ngāi Tūhoe 2014–2015 Ecology and Adélie penguin population ecology
mātauranga
Isaac Ngāti Kurī, Te Tai 2009–2010 Ecology Adélie penguin population ecology
Sutherland Tokerau
Ngahuia Mita Te Tai Rāwhiti 2016–2017 mātauranga and Ice sheet response to climate change
voyaging
Note: Titles reflect current status as scientists.
a
Gibb (2003); Ritchie et al. (2004); Millar et al. (2008).
b
Hikuroa (2004).
c
Mercier et al. (2005).
6 P. M. WEHI ET AL.

Table 2. Undergraduate and postgraduate Antarctic focused research projects of notable relevance to
Māori aspirations and interests.
Tribal Year of
Author affiliations publication University Research project or thesis
Tasman Gillies Ngāi Tahu 2018 University of A guide to a CCAMLR – Ngāi Tahu
Canterbury partnership.
Penny Tainui 2012 University of The relationship of the Māori with
Mauriohooho Canterbury Antarctica – a critical review.
Turi McFarlane Ngāi Tahu 2008 University of Māori associations with the Antarctic. Tiro o
Canterbury te moana ki te Tonga.
Ngahuia Mita Te Tai Rāwhiti 2017 University of Mātauranga Taiao. Finding the Way to
Otago Antarctica.
Rata Pryor Ngāi Tahu 2017 University of The Connection of Māori to Whales.
Rodgers Canterbury
Nigel Scott Ngāi Tahu 2010 University of Does the commercial fishing of Antarctic
Canterbury toothfish have a future?
Joe Snodgrass Ngāi Tahu 2019 University of Basal melting and freezing of the Ross Sea
Canterbury iceshelf.
Toni Wi Ngāti 2017 University of The ecosystem approach to fisheries
Maniapoto Canterbury management in CCAMLR.

Antarctic Science Platform (see https://www.antarcticscienceplatform.org.nz/about/

people/miles-lamare-phd). Ecologist Phil Lyver built on long-term work initiated by
researchers at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (which succeeded the now-defunct
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research), following a PhD on tītī population
ecology at the University of Otago. His Antarctic work focused on Adélie penguin fora-
ging, population ecology, and their status as ecosystem indicators (see, for example,
Dugger et al. 2010; Dugger et al. 2014; Pilcher et al. 2020). Phil Lyver has also contributed
to the CCAMLR working group on ecosystem monitoring and management and other
initiatives.
Māori scientists continue to build on this tradition of participation in Antarctic
research, with Pete Russell (Ngāpuhi) scheduled to explore sea ice physics in the 2021/
22 season. As well, participation in Antarctic studies programmes, such as that at the
University of Canterbury, has resulted in a number of Māori student graduates (Table
2). Even so, Māori capability building in Antarctic science does not appear widespread.
Indeed, although Rosemary Askin was the first New Zealand woman to conduct her own
research programme in Victoria Land in 1970, Māori women have not yet (to our knowl-
edge) led science programmes in Antarctica (Table 1).
One critical issue yet to be addressed is how Antarctic science might engage with
Māori research frameworks that centre mātauranga, or Māori knowledge systems (but
see Wehi, van Uitregt, et al. 2021). Such frameworks have not been explicitly acknowl-
edged as part of New Zealand’s science and policy effort to date, although the relationship
of mātauranga and ecology undertaken from a conventional science perspective is now
part of a wide-ranging discussion around decolonisation in New Zealand ecology
(Wehi et al. 2019).

Mātauranga and Antarctica

Māori cultural symbols that celebrate exploration stand in Antarctica. In the late 1960s,
Robert Sopp carved a tekoteko or figurehead, presented to the Chief Petty Officers’ mess
 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND 7

Figure 1. A, Te Kaiwhakatere o te Raki, also known as the Navigator of the Heavens, looks skyward
with Scott Base shown behind. B, The view of Te Kaiwhakatere o te Raki looking outward across the
Ross Ice Shelf.

at McMurdo Station by Scott Base, inscribed with the words ‘Rurea Taitea, kia Toitū, ko
Taikaka’, meaning to strip away the sapwood and expose the heartwood. The tekoteko
thus exhorts us to choose dependable and steadfast friends. It also highlights a journey
of cultural restoration and understanding which reflects the working culture of Antarc-
tica (Mita 2017). More than 40 years later, a carved post, or pouwhenua Te Kaiwhakatere
o te Raki (the Navigator of the Heavens) was erected at Scott Base in 2013 (Figure 1A,B).
The 2 m tall pouwhenua was carved by Ngāi Tahu expert carver Fayne Robinson and
Ngāi Tahu trainee carvers (Te Pānui Rūnaka 2013). Described by leader Sir Mark
Solomon, as a tohu or symbol for all Māori, it acknowledges Māori voyaging histories
and connection to Antarctica as well as others who travel to Antarctica (Te Pānui
Rūnaka 2013):
The pouwhenua personifies exploration, adventure and discovery, which are defining
characteristics of all people, past and present, who journey to Antarctica. The head of the
Te Kaiwhakatere o Te Raki looks straight up to the sky as a symbol of celestial navigation.
It is decorated with stars, waves, water and animals depicting nature and representing the
importance of the environment. (Te Pānui Rūnaka 2013)

Other traditional art forms i at Scott Base are used to express important collective experi-
ences in New Zealand history. Expert weaver Ranui Ngarimu led the construction of
woven tukutuku panels, mounted on the Leaders Wall and the Memorial Wall inside
the Base. The panels incorporate stories in time-honoured designs: the first panel, He
Maumahara, shows many crosses or stars shining in the night sky, acknowledging
those who have had a link to Scott Base and since died, including the 257 passengers
and crew killed in the 1979 Mt Erebus plane crash (Figure 2A). The second panel, He
Manukura, acknowledges both navigation and exploration, and the ongoing journey of
learning and Antarctic research (Figure 2B). A team of Ngāti Waewae weavers wove
much of the tukutuku (Te Pānui Rūnaka 2013), assisted by Scott Base staff (Mussen
2013).
More recently, in February 2019, whakairo or carvings to commemorate the Ross Sea
Marine Protected Area (MPA) were unveiled. These carvings frame one of the main
doorways into Scott Base (Wehi, Hetaraka, et al. 2021). The project was initially con-
ceived within the Vision Mātauranga strand of the Ross Sea Research and Monitoring
8 P. M. WEHI ET AL.

Figure 2. Woven tukutuku panels inside Scott Base A, He Maumahara. The pattern in this panel is
purapurawhetū, representing the many stars in the night sky, and acknowledging those who have
a link to Scott Base and have died. B, He Manukura incorporates three tukutuku patterns: aramoana,
to represent the pathways voyaging across the ocean; roimata toroa, representing the albatross; and
poutama, a pattern that refers to learning and seeking knowledge, thus representing researchers who
visit Antarctica.

Programme (Ross RAMP) as a way of acknowledging the roles of mātauranga and

western science in Antarctic research. Tohunga whakairo (expert carvers) Fayne Robin-
son (Ngāi Tahu) and Te Warihi Heteraka (Ngātiwai) led the overall vision for the wha-
kairo, with Poutama Hetaraka (Ngātiwai and Ngāi Tahu) and expert carver James York
(Ngāi Tahu and Ngāpuhi) also contributing substantively to the design and carving the
bulk of the whakairo (Wehi, Hetaraka, et al. 2021). Others in the team included journalist
Arielle Kauaeroa Monk, film maker Vanessa Wells and Vision Mātauranga team leader
Priscilla Wehi from Ross-RAMP. The project was completed in February 2019 at Scott
Base, and will be retained as part of a planned Scott Base redevelopment.
The whakairo articulates Māori perspectives of kaitiakitanga, encompassing notions of
stewardship and customary practices found within Indigenous philosophies and prac-
tices (Marsden and Henare 1992; Kawharu 2002; Watene 2016). Drawing on the mara-
mataka used to guide environmental activities and highlighting changes that have
occurred as a result of climate change and environmental destruction, the carving lays
down a challenge to the world’s leaders to work toward solutions collectively. As such,
it provides foundation from which to recognise the strengths that Indigenous Peoples
and scientists together bring to address these challenges.
Where next?
Antarctica New Zealand has recognised that future New Zealand Antarctic policy will
increasingly reflect the political realities of mainland New Zealand in a post-settlement
Treaty of Waitangi context (Dodds and Yusoff 2005). Place-naming is one suggested
area where future Māori contributions to Antarctica could be substantial (Haverkamp
2003; Dodds and Yusoff 2005). Nevertheless, it is unclear how these contributions
would address Māori relational responsibilities, including intergenerational stewardship,
that are implicit within conceptions of kaitiakitanga. Such approaches are not sufficient
to address imbalances in Indigenous participation in Antarctic research and other
activity, nor to address New Zealand’s commitment to the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.
 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND 9

Institutional and structural change are vital components of nation-building (Berg and
Kearns 1996), and these kinds of changes are now under discussion within New
Zealand governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
which has responsibility for New Zealand’s strategic goal to protect Antarctica, and Ant-
arctica New Zealand, which is responsible for carrying out New Zealand’s activities in
Antarctica, thus supporting both science and protection of the continent. Christchurch’s
status as one of five Antarctic Gateway cities globally has also led to an Antarctic Gateway
Strategy where two of the three underpinning themes (Kaitiakitanga, Manaakitanga and
Exploration) draw inspiration from Māori concepts (Christchurch’s Antarctic Gateway
Strategy 2018). Leveraging opportunities and benefits in relation to Christchurch’s
‘city story’ is a recurring priority in the document, although relationships with Ngāi
Tahu are not clearly addressed . Developing strong relationships with Indigenous com-
munities in each of the gateway cities would add depth to gateway city strategies.

Conclusions
European narratives of Antarctic history, effort and policy remain dominant in the con-
ceptualisation, communication, and science of Antarctica globally. However, Māori (and
Polynesian) connection to Antarctica and its waters have been part of the Antarctic story
since c. seventh century, from traditional voyaging to participation in European-led
voyaging and exploration, contemporary scientific research, fishing and more. The
work of Māori Antarctic students and researchers highlights current Māori interests
across the spectrum of Antarctic science, policy, history and governance. Evidence of
relational responsibilities and mātauranga frameworks is captured in the oral histories
of those who have ventured south, and in cultural marks, such as carvings, that
connect to the landscape, but are less visible in New Zealand policy and science.
Taking account of responsibilities to under-represented groups, and particularly Māori
as Treaty partners, is important for both contemporary and future programmes of Ant-
arctic research. Similarly, exploration of New Zealand ‘s obligations within the Antarctic
Treaty System in relation to the post-settlement Treaty of Waitangi social and political
milieu of governance in New Zealand is a critical area.
Mātauranga encapsulates an intergenerational obligation to ensure that human
relationship with Antarctica is reciprocal and sustainable. Whakapapa, kaitiakitanga
and the broader Māori concepts that these terms invoke provide a cultural lens
through which to analyse human-environmental relationships with Antarctica and chal-
lenge the cultural biases and assumptions inherent in dominant western liberal ideologies
that pervade the global Antarctic narrative (see Wehi, van Uitregt, et al. 2021). As yet, this
strength is largely untapped in our attempts to imagine future relationships with
Antarctica.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Tom Thorpe for tukutuku photos at Scott Base, and Vanessa Wells and the Elanti
Media team for photos of Te Kaiwhakatere o te Raki and photograph editing. The authors thank
two anonymous reviewers and Miles Lamare for constructive comments on an earlier version of
this manuscript.
10 P. M. WEHI ET AL.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
The VM Ross-RAMP programme [Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
grant number CO1x1710] supported P. M. W. and B. V. U.; P. M. W. and K. W. are supported
by Rutherford Discovery Fellowships 14-LCR-001 and 18-MAU-001.

ORCID
Priscilla M. Wehi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9821-8160

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