Funding awarded to projects exploring the stories of kaumātua, activists, and entertainers

"The final Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grants have been awarded to projects exploring Māori heritage, social activism, wartime experiences and disability history," says Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Secretary and Chief Executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae.

"This year's successful applicants will now be able to add their contributions to the kete of Aotearoa New Zealand histories the grant has helped fund over the last 35 years. We are immensely proud of this legacy."

This year the fund received 63 applications and awarded $102,450 to ten projects, which the judging panel considered would make a significant contribution to our history. 2025 marks the final round of the Whiria Te Mahara New Zealand History Grant, with the fund now fully expended.

"Te Ringahuia Hata (Te Whakatōhea, Tūhoe, Te Whānau ā Apanui, Tūwharetoa) is looking at the architectural and cultural history of Ngāti Ira, while Sarah Orme (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Whakaue) is documenting the stories of kaumātua born around the motu in the 1940s.

"The life of refugee, economist and political activist Wolfgang Rosenberg is explored by Ross Webb, while Lily Pare Hall Butcher's story of early twentieth-century showman Wilfred Edgar Westwood shines a spotlight on the intersection of disability, childhood, and entertainment histories."

Both the War History Trust and New Zealand Historical Atlas Trust contributed funding to this round, with projects about First World War grief, Second World War Italian internees and Northland's Pataua River receiving support from these sources.