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.
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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, "Te Apārangi" (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.
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.
Fellows
The Academy Executive Committee of the Society from time to time elects as a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand any person who in its opinion "has achieved distinction in research or the advancement of science, technology or the humanities." The number of Fellows is limited to such number as is agreed from time to time between the Academy Executive Committee and the Council of the Society. A Fellow is entitled to use, in connection with his or her name, either the letters FRSNZ, which stand for Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, or such other letters or title as is agreed from time to time between the Academy Executive Committee and the Council. The first female Fellow, Kathleen Curtis, was elected in 1936.
Chief executive
Di McCarthy served as Chief Executive from 2007 to 2014. Andrew Cleland led the Society from 2014 until his retirement in 2021.
Cindy Kiro was appointed Ahorangi Chief Executive in October 2020, commencing on 1 March 2021; she left later that year on being appointed Governor-General of New Zealand, sworn in on 21 October 2021.
In July 2021 the Society announced that Paul Atkins would become Chief Executive; he took up the role on 29 November 2021. In September 2025 the Society announced that Justine Daw had been appointed as the next Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive, to take up the position on 5 January 2026.
Constituent organisations
The Society has both individual and organisational members. Constituent organisations help the Society identify and address issues relevant to the research, knowledge and innovation sectors, and link into the research information and activities that the Society undertakes. These constituent organisations are:
Regional constituent organisations
Regional constituent organisations (branches) are geographical constituents and include:
Auckland Museum Institute (formerly known as Auckland Institute and Auckland Institute and Museum), the membership body of Auckland War Memorial Museum
Hawkes Bay Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Nelson Science Society
Otago Institute for the Arts and Sciences
Royal Society of New Zealand Canterbury Branch
Royal Society of New Zealand Manawatu Branch Incorporated (formerly the 'Manawatu Philosophical Society')
Royal Society of New Zealand Rotorua Branch
Royal Society of New Zealand Wellington Branch (formerly the 'Wellington Philosophical Society')
The Waikato Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Wanaka Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Affiliate organisations
The Society includes affiliate organisations that cover a diversity of disciplines, including policy, science education and the museum sector:
Wellington Astronomical Society Inc
Otago Museum
Environmental Protection Authority
House of Science (HoS NZ Charitable Trust)
International Institute of Refrigeration (NZ National Cttee)
Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
National Science-Technology Roadshow Trust
New Zealand Association of Economists
New Zealand Association Impact Assessment
Statistics Research Associates Ltd
Te Manawa: Science Centre/Manawatu Museum
Water New Zealand