Elisha Rolleston
2022 recipient of the Sir Hugh Kawharu Auckland Museum Scholarship.
Te rae o Kawharu
He kotuku rerenga tahi
The prominent brow of Kawharu
A rare white heron seen only once in a lifetime
Sir Hugh Kawharu was involved with the Auckland Museum’s governance for over 30 years and the architect of the Taumata-ā-Iwi, the legislated Māori advisory board to the Museum’s Trust Board.
The Sir Hugh Kawharu Scholarship is offered by the Kawharu Foundation in partnership with the Auckland Museum and its Ko Tawa Endowment, established in the mid-2000s by Sir Hugh and Professor Paora Tapsell.
The Scholarship comprises a grant of $10,000. In addition, the Foundation in partnership with the Museum may assist in arranging the appointment of an academic mentor for the duration of the candidate’s studies. It is anticipated that the candidate will undertake a research project which will form part of their university studies and contribute to completion of their degree.
The core objective of the Sir Hugh Kawharu Foundation is to support emerging Māori leadership. Previous recipients include:
Nikau Hindin (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) (tapa beating) (2014)
Ngahuia Murphy (PhD, mana wahine) (2015)
Lizzy Myers (PhD, marine ecology) (2016)
Kayreen Riana Tapuke (MSc, research award)
Tracy Maniapoto (PhD, te reo Māori revitalisation)
Elisha Rolleston (Master of Arts in Māori and Indigenous Studies, Waikato University) (2022)
Successful candidate 2022
Elisha Rolleston
The Sir Hugh Kawharu Scholarship for 2022 is awarded to Elisha Rolleston (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngā Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Te Whānau a Apanui). Elisha is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Māori and Indigenous Studies course at the University of Waikato. His research is titled “He piringa rākau, he piringa whakairo, he piringa mana Motuhake” and is a critical examination of the role of pou whakairo (carvings) in Tutereinga wharenui in terms of their functional ability to transmit intergenerational knowledge. Elisha notes that ‘heritage objects preserved, made accessible, and displayed in Auckland Museum are all vessels of Mātauranga Māori that tell stories and whakapapa. Auckland Museum has an extensive taonga Māori collection with a significant number of carved items. His research will enhance existing narrative with knowledge relating to different ‘iwi styles’ of carving and why they exist. It will contribute a deeper understanding as to how pou whakairo impact tangata whenua.
Elisha is an emerging professional with a young family currently working at Tauranga City Libraries in the Heritage and Research team as the Mātanga Taonga Tuku Iho (Māori Heritage Specialist). His role is to manage the preservation, access, display, digitization, and research of the taonga Māori (Māori collections) in their archives. Outside of this role he is heavily involved with his hapū and iwi in Tauranga Moana facilitating mau rākau/mau taiaha wānanga throughout the marae in Tauranga Moana. He has been involved with research projects such as Tai Whananake a Te Ao Māori localized curriculum for all Tauranga Moana schools to learn the local stories and history of the region. He has facilitated cultural competency wānanga and workshops on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tikanga Māori, and Mātauranga Māori. In his application Elisha noted that it has been a dream of his to migrate from Archives to Museums and it is projected for a museum to be built in Tauranga Moana in the near future.