NZAA Annual Conference Mount Maunganui 2025

Theme: Tai timu, tai pari: the archaeology of place making in Aotearoa.

The 2025 New Zealand Archaeological Conference will be held in Mt Maunganui. The conference will focus on the idea of placemaking. This term will be viewed in the broadest sense, focusing on archaeological examples of people creating cultural places at both the landscape or site scale. Taking inspiration from nearby Tauranga Moana, the conference will be titled Tai timu, tai pari, which captures the idea of waves of people and subsequent ebb and flow of their fortunes in Aotearoa.

Tuesday 15 – Thursday 17 July 8:30am to 5:00pm and field trip on Friday 18 July 9:00am to 4:00pm

Tuesday 15 July

Mihi Whakatau, welcome, keynote speaker and paper sessions.
Welcome Event, drinks at Astrolabe Brew Bar with music from DJ BPM (Ben Pick Music), 82 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui (sponsored by CFG Heritage) 6:30pm.

Wednesday 16 July

Paper sessions and AGM
Evening Event: “Tatai Arorangi- Māori Navigation by Astronomy”, Mount Maunganui College Marae at 7:30pm – 8:30pm.

Thursday 17 July

Paper sessions
Conference Dinner at Latitude 37, 181 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui 7:00pm

Friday 18 July

Conference field trip 9:00am - 4:00pm
The field trip will visit the Pāpāmoa Hills Cultural Heritage Regional Park and the Mauao Historic Reserve. You will need good walking shoes and a reasonable level of fitness for Pāpāmoa Hills as it is a steep walk, but the archaeology and the views are worth it! If you have concerns about the walk, please contact Rachel Darmody BEFORE booking the fieldtrip (archaeologistln@heritge.org.nz).

A picnic lunch will be provided.

Bus transport will run from the conference centre, leaving at 9:00am and returning at 4:00pm.

New Zealand Archaeology Association Annual Conference 2025