About the medal
About the Te Rangi Hiroa Medal
Design of the medal
Te Rangi Hiroa Medal (front) featuring Te Rangi Hiroa
Te Rangi Hiroa Medal (back)
Background of the medal
Te Rangi Hiroa, Sir Peter Buck, a pioneer New Zealand social scientist, qualified in medicine from the University of Otago in 1904. After twenty-two years of medical practice during which he made major contributions to Maori health, and then, after a brief period in Parliament, he embarked on a career in anthropology, attaining international distinction through his research on Maori and Pacific cultures. His appointment to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, as Director, and to Yale University as a Professor of Anthropology was recognition of the esteem in which he was held.
The Te Rangi Hiroa Medal was established by the Academy of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1996, with the support of Ngati Mutunga at Urenui, in memory of Sir Peter Buck KCMG MB ChB Hon MA Yale Hon DSc New Zealand Hon DSc Rochester Hon D Litt Hawaii Hon DSc Yale FRSNZ to recognise excellence in the social sciences. The medical anthropology category was added in 2006.
He whakamārama mō te mētara
He tangata mātātoa i te ao pūtaiao pāpori a Te Rangi Hīroa, e mōhiotia nei hoki ko Tā Peter Buck. I eke ia ki te tohu tākuta i te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou i te tau 1904.
I mahi ia i te ao tākuta hauora mō te rua tekau mā rua tau, ā, he nui āna mahi mō te hauora Māori, kātahi ka uru ki te whare Pāremata. I muri ka uru ki te mahi mātai tikanga tangata, me te eke ki ngā tino taumata o te ao, rā roto i āna rangahau ki ngā ahurea o te iwi Māori, me te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa.
Ka whakaūngia atu ia ki te taumata tumuaki o te Bishop Museum i Honoruru, i muri ka noho hei Ahorangi mō te Mātai Tikanga Tangata ki te Whare Wānanga o Yale, hei tohu hoki ēnei tūnga mō tōna mana puta noa i te ao pūtaiao.
I whakatūria te Tohu o Te Rangi Hiroa e te Academy o te Royal Society Te Apārangi i te 1996, i raro anō i te maru o Ngāti Mutunga i Urenui, hei tohu whakamaumahara ki a Te Rangi Hīroa Tā Peter Buck KCMG MB ChB Hon MA Yale Hon DSc New Zealand Hon DSc Rochester Hon D Litt Hawaii Hon DSc Yale FRSNZ, hei whakatairanga i te hiranga o ngā mahi i ngā pūtaiao pāpori. I tāpiritia te wehenga ki te mātai tikanga tangata whakaora mate i te tau 2006.