The Royal Society of New Zealand, branded as the Royal Society Te Apārangi, is a not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. These fundings (i.e., Marsden grants and research fellowships) are provided on behalf of the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

History The Royal Society of New Zealand was founded in 1867 as the New Zealand Institute, a successor to the New Zealand Society, which had been founded by Sir George Grey in 1851. The institute, established by the New Zealand Institute Act 1867, was an apex organisation in science, with the Auckland Institute, the Wellington Philosophical Society, the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, and the Westland Naturalists' and Acclimatization Society as constituents. It later included the Otago Institute and other similar organisations. The Colonial Museum (later to become Te Papa), which had been established two years earlier, in 1865, was granted to the New Zealand Institute.

Publishing transactions and proceedings was one of the institute's initial functions. It was granted a budget of 500 pounds, established through the Act, which was almost exclusively spent on the production and free distribution to members of incorporated societies.

James Hector was the manager of the institute and Director of the Colonial Museum and Geological Survey from 1867 until his retirement in 1903.

In 1933, the Institute's name was changed to Royal Society of New Zealand, in reference to the Royal Society of London, a move requiring royal assent and a subsequent Act of Parliament. In 2010, the organisation's remit was expanded to include the social sciences and the humanities.

In 2007, "" (Māori for 'group of experts') was added to its name. In 2017, its sesquicentenary, it started using the shortened full name Royal Society Te Apārangi. Its legal name, as defined in legislation, remains Royal Society of New Zealand.

Goals Constituted under the Royal Society of New Zealand Act 1997 (amended in 2012), the society exists to: Foster in the New Zealand community a culture that supports science and technology, including (without limitation): The promotion of public awareness, knowledge, and understanding of science and technology; and The advancement of science and technology education, Encourage, promote, and recognise excellence in science and technology, Provide an infrastructure and other support for the professional needs and development of scientists and technologists, Provide expert advice on important public issues to the Government and the community, Do all other lawful things which the Council considers conducive to the advancement and promotion of science and technology in New Zealand.

It is a federation of 49 scientific and technological organisations and several affiliate organisations, and also has individual members.

Activities The Society's activities include:

Science funding – as a non-political funding distribution agency for government funding, particularly in science research and science education. The Society administers the contestable Marsden fund for 'blue skies' research. Since 2010 the Society has run the annual Rutherford Discovery Fellowships, supporting ten early to mid-career researchers for a five year term. In 2021 a one-off round of thirty post-doctoral fellowships, the MBIE Science Whitinga Fellowships, was announced, to be administered by the Society. From 1996 to 2023, the Society administered the James Cook Research Fellowship. After 2023, both the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships and the James Cook Research Fellowships were replaced by the MBIE-administered New Zealand Mana Tūārangi Distinguished Researcher Fellowships. Publishing – peer-reviewed journals such as the New Zealand Journal of Botany and the New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Meetings and seminars – most local branches and constituent scientific and technological organisations run seminar series of some description; the Society promotes these and coordinates touring international lecturers. Awards and medals – including: Rutherford Medal (formerly the Gold Medal) – awarded annually for exceptional contributions to the advancement and promotion of public awareness, knowledge and understanding in addition to eminent research or technological practice by a person or group in any field of science, mathematics, social science, or technology Fleming Award – awarded triennially to recognise protection of New Zealand's environment Hector Medal – awarded annually for outstanding work in chemical, physical or mathematical and information sciences by a researcher in New Zealand Hutton Medal – Earth, plant and animal sciences award for outstanding work by a researcher in New Zealand, awarded annually. Pickering Medal – awarded annually to recognise people who have made outstanding contributions to New Zealand society and culture in science, mathematics, social science, and technology. Te Rangi Hiroa Medal – awarded for work in social sciences. Humanities Aronui Medal – awarded annually for "research or innovative work of outstanding merit in the Humanities". Science education – promotes quality science education and plays a role in setting the national science curriculum.

The Society administers the Prime Minister's Science Prizes.

As part of its 150th anniversary celebrations, the Society published a series of 150 biographies of women who had contributed to knowledge in New Zealand, called "150 women in 150 words".

Statement on climate change On 10 July 2008, the Society released a statement on climate change that said, in summary: The globe is warming because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Measurements show that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are well above levels seen for many thousands of years. Further global climate changes are predicted, with impacts expected to become more costly as time progresses. Reducing future impacts of climate change will require substantial reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Listener letter on science

In 2021, a report by a working group appointed by the New Zealand Government proposed giving indigenous knowledge, or mātauranga Māori, parity with Western science in the secondary-school curriculum. In response, seven University of Auckland academics —Kendall Clements, Garth Cooper, Michael Corballis, Doug Elliffe, Robert Nola, Elizabeth Rata and John Werry — published a letter, "In Defence of Science", in the 31 July issue of New Zealand Listener. They acknowledged mātauranga Māori's cultural value but argued it "falls far short of what can be defined as science itself" and warned that treating the two as epistemologically equivalent would be patronising.

Immediate reactions Vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater told staff the letter had "caused considerable hurt and dismay" and did not represent the university's view. The Tertiary Education Union called the wording "offensive, racist [and] neo-colonial", arguing it ignored Māori scholars who already combine science and mātauranga Māori. A counter-letter organised by Shaun Hendy and Siouxsie Wiles labelled the original text "scientific racism"; within forty-eight hours more than 2,000 people had signed it online. Māori academics such as Daniel Hikuroa, Tara McAllister and Ocean Mercier argued that elements of mātauranga Māori—like the maramataka lunar calendar—are demonstrably empirical and that science itself has often aided colonisation. By contrast, supporters including MP Paul Goldsmith (politician) and biologists Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne defended the seven authors and compared the proposed curriculum change to teaching creationism in science classes.

Royal Society investigation On 17 November 2021 the New Zealand Free Speech Union revealed that the Royal Society had opened a formal investigation into Fellows Garth Cooper and Robert Nola over alleged breaches of its Code of Conduct. Seventy Fellows later sent a motion of no confidence, accusing the Society of "shutting down useful debate and bringing international opprobrium". On 11 March 2022 the Society's Initial Investigation Panel dismissed the complaints, stating that they relied on "contentious expert opinion" unsuitable for disciplinary adjudication.

Academic freedom, tikanga Māori and censorship claims Free Speech Union spokesperson Jonathan Ayling argued the investigation created a "chilling effect" on dissent and showed the Society had "abandoned its own heritage of academic freedom". Literature professor Brian Boyd and chemist Peter Schwerdtfeger likewise criticised what they called an ill-considered attempt to police legitimate scholarly debate. Others maintain that free speech, academic freedom and tikanga Māori are not inherently at odds. Legal scholar Carwyn Jones contends that wānanga—structured deliberation guided by tikanga—"protects and supports the free exchange of ideas", demonstrating that Māori frameworks already embed rigorous debate. Conversely, critics such as Tina Ngata argue that invoking "free speech" here masks structural power imbalances and perpetuates the marginalisation of Māori perspectives.

Subsequent developments Debate over how to teach indigenous knowledge resurfaced in 2024 when Science published a series of commentaries. Some authors urged educators to "teach Indigenous knowledge alongside science", while others said moves toward epistemic "equal status" risked importing vitalism and other non-empirical beliefs into classrooms. After eighteen months of controversy, exam objectives referring to the Māori concept of mauri were withdrawn from the national chemistry standards, though related teaching materials remain.

Presidents

The list below shows all presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand, known as the New Zealand Institute from 1867 to 1933, and since 2017 as the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

+ Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand Name Dates Field of expertise Frederick Hutton 1904–05 James Hector 1906–1907 G. M. Thomson 1907–1909 Augustus Hamilton 1909–1911 Thomas Cheeseman 1911–1913 Charles Chilton 1913–1915 Donald Petrie 1915–1916 William Benham 1916–1918 zoology Leonard Cockayne 1918–1920 Thomas Easterfield 1920–1922 Harry Kirk 1922–1924 biology Patrick Marshall 1924–1926 Bernard Aston 1926–1928 Allan Thomson 1928 geology Bernard Aston 1928–1929 Coleridge Farr 1929–1931 Hugh Segar 1931–1933 Robert Speight 1933–1935 William Williams 1935–1937 William Percival Evans 1937–1939 John Holloway 1939–1941 botany Gilbert Archey 1941–1943 Harry Allan 1943–1945 Noel Benson 1945–1947 Ernest Marsden 1947 Robert Falla 1947–1950 Frank Callaghan 1950–1952 Walter Oliver 1952–1954 David Miller 1954–1956 entomology Bob Briggs 1956–1958 chemistry Robin Allan 1958–1960 Joseph Dixon 1960–1962 Charles Fleming 1962–1964 ornithology Miles Barnett 1964 Charles Fleming 1964–1966 ornithology John Miles 1966–1970 microbiology Dick Willett 1970–1974 Malcolm Burns 1974–1977 Richard Dell 1977–1981 Ted Bollard 1981–1985 Trevor Hatherton 1985–1989 Jack Dodd 1989–1993 Philippa Black 1993–1997 John Scott 1997–2000 Gil Simpson 2000–2003 Jim Watson 2004–2006 biology Neville Jordan 2006–2009 Garth Carnaby 2009–2012 David Skegg 2012–2015 Richard Bedford 2015–2018 human geography Wendy Larner 2018–2021 Brent Clothier 2021–2024 Jane Harding 2024–present

Fellows