The same ceremony also named University stakeholder Sir Mark Dunajtschik, who just this week gave $10 million to Te Herenga Waka’s Faculty of Engineering, Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau. His $53m contribution to the Wellington Children’s Hospital was pivotal in seeing this facility completed in 2022.
Professor Mātāmua holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts with Honours, and Master’s degree in Māori Studies from Te Herenga Waka. He completed his Master’s in 1998, with a thesis on traditional Māori weaponry. According to e-tangata, it was while he was studying towards his undergraduate degree that he asked his grandfather Jim Moses (Timi Rāwiri Mātāmua) about Matariki—at which point he was gifted a 400-page manuscript in Te Reo Māori. This included knowledge passed to him from his ancestor Te Pikikōtuku.
“It wasn’t for another year that it dawned on me what that manuscript was. So I went back and asked him if I could have the book. He said yes, but only on condition that I’d never let it go,” said Professor Mātāmua to e-tangata. That is when he dedicated himself to the recognition of Matariki, and the study of astronomy through Mātauranga Māori.
Professor Mātāmua, who is an academic at Massey University, was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit 2022 for services to Māori astronomy, as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi , the 2020 Callaghan Medal winner, and the 2019 Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize winner for his work writing and speaking about Māori astronomy and Matariki.
Sir Mark Dunajtschik received a knighthood in 2022 for services to philanthropy, and has previously received a Wellington Business Icon Award, and 2017 Wellingtonian of the Year award.
In the Stuff article on his win, he says, “I am pleased that the community at large appreciates my contribution. I can’t take it with me, and I like to put it back in the community where it belongs.”
Find out more about Professor Mātāmua, Sir Mark, and the other winners.