As a non-native New Zealander, I am occasionally contacted by other immigrants that are looking to practice in heritage related fields such as archaeology and conservation and are seeking advice and support. I thought I would share some thoughts here!
I got a variety of advice when I first arrived, having come from the United States, and some of it turned out to be true and some of it had to be taken in the context it was given. I will just share my personal experience because your journey here will be unique to you and who you are personally and professionally, so any advice may unnecessarily discourage or falsely encourage. Moving to a new country leads to experiencing a variety of emotions in all aspects of life.
I’m not sure how much time you have spent here previously or what your experience is, but I found it to be a major cultural change from having grown up in Florida and a big shock in financial costs.
Here are some of my experiences:
Cultural Understandings
I made the decision that in moving to New Zealand I would embrace the culture fully, especially knowing that my children would be native New Zealanders. If you are here for a shorter time, you may not be able to commit to doing this, but it is a great way to fully understand Aotearoa New Zealand as it was and as it is. It can be easy to think that because you are trained as an anthropologist, archaeologist, curator or material cultural specialist that you are ‘culturally aware’, but I am coming to appreciate that this makes you open to other cultural differences, but doesn’t make you truly aware of their perspectives until you live and work in the community. I found that I had generalisations about indigenous cultures that I applied to living with and working with Māori that differed from reality. Māori are a unique people. The everyday activities of life made me feel connected to what it means to be a New Zealander, but my every day as an immigrant is very different to te ao Māori (the Māori world). If you are just here for a short time or are unsure of how long you may be here and will work in the heritage field, it is unethical for you to not try to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of the culture. A great, quick, starting point is Tapuwae by Heritage New Zealand. Another great resource is Te Wānanaga O Aotearoa which has some courses available to do at home, especially if you are here a year or more. If you are from colonised (or previously colonised) English-speaking countries, then working with Pākehā may be familiar. However, it is still important to remember there are differences there as well! There is a brief overview on Social Customs and Culture at this website which echoed some of my experiences: https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/settling-in/customs-communication
I am making an effort to learn basic Te Reo Māori in greetings and understand the context in which they are used. There are a variety of free resources and classes (online and in person) you can take. I also picked up the language and social customs by attending heritage-related events. It is time-consuming but has been seen as respectful to gain an understanding for the heritage of the country. Even if you just learn some phrases that you would use every day, I found it goes a long way to show you are helping to keep the language alive and show respect.
I found that it is also important that, as a professional wanting to practice in New Zealand, it is beneficial to understand the challenges that exist between Pākehā and Māori relationships in New Zealand. This helped me be a part of the ‘national conversation’ better. The resources I mentioned above will help with that process, which begins with an understanding of the history of New Zealand.
Advice warning! It doesn’t matter your level of education or professional experience, you will work on artefacts, art, taonga and/or heritage that has been influenced by the events that have occurred in New Zealand and the people that have settled here so it is important that you have some context. If you are just starting out or struggling to find work, consider devoting some of your time to filling in the gaps of your historical knowledge or doing some courses that will add to your CV.
Finding Work
Finding work can also be hard but, as in any country, it can depend on your level of education and professional experience. So, how do you get a job?
My experience is that New Zealand is a small country and there are existing academic programmes for numerous heritage related fields. This has meant that the job market is limited to begin with and you are competing with trained native New Zealanders, so I felt I really needed to bring something unique to make me stand out to employers.
I also found that hiring within large government organisations such as the Department of Conservation, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Heritage New Zealand or local councils is frequently done from within or across agencies. This affects native New Zealanders as well.
I found that joining the professional societies was a great way to start meeting people and getting resources in my field specific to New Zealand. There are a few major ones in heritage-related professions. In no particular order, they are:
MA: https://www.museumsaotearoa.org.nz
NZAA: https://nzarchaeology.org
NZCCM: https://nzccm.org.nz
Many of these organisations will have job advertisements sent to them and if you are a member, they will be forwarded to you or posted. Memberships are insanely affordable compared to some countries. Many also have a membership list available which I found useful to find similar professionals nearby in which I could contact them for a cup of tea and hear their experiences practicing in the field.
Location, location, location! Where do you settle to find work? This is totally dependent on your situation. If you can be flexible in where you live, I have found that most of the traditional organisations we would work with as heritage professionals are located in the bigger cities such as Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland. That means that the majority of jobs with a company or institution are in these places. However, my family lives in Taranaki (one of the regions) because we have family here and we enjoy the lifestyle. Because of that, we have had to accept that there may not be work within heritage organisations. I have my own private practice because I have to. That isn’t to say I don’t love it, but if I want to make a living in a heritage profession in Taranaki, I have to work for myself. There are job opportunities, but these are few and far between and are often competitive. I could also work in a tangential area (grant writing, programme administration, visitor services), but I chose to continue to practice in conservation through my own business. This takes a lot of work and time, but it could be a good option for you if you think you might be ready to run your own business. I also had the benefit of having operated a private practice in the United States previously. One final comment on changing locations. One of the reasons that we chose to live in Taranaki was that we could afford the housing. While there are more job prospects in Wellington, the cost of living and housing is higher. Our quality of housing is also better, which was an important consideration with a young family.
Lastly, until we got some momentum in finding our feet, I had to consider that I might need to take work in retail, tourism or the food and beverage industry and even volunteer for heritage projects to gain local perspectives. This was really difficult. I have a Master’s degree and extensive experience in senior positions at internationally recognised heritage institutions and teaching experience at a respected university, and I felt like I was needing to start over as an undergraduate student. Unfortunately, this is not just an issue in our field, but is experienced by many new immigrants, even those with doctors degrees and in the medical field.
Final Words
New Zealand is an incredibly beautiful country and I feel fortunate to live in a country that represents and shares my values, but I found the first few years difficult to find my feet professionally. It can feel hard and demoralising, but the journey to New Zealand may not be easy for any immigrant, particularly those from much less fortunate countries and refugee situations. I have found that if I put the time in to becoming an informed citizen and professional, I benefit exponentially and gain skills that allow me to stand out professionally. Above all, try not to get discouraged.
Artifact Preservation 