Senior specialist in Māori heritage

Edward Ashby's study gave him crucial skills in lateral thinking and analysis for his role as senior specialist in Māori heritage at Auckland council.

Edward Ashby photographed in front of an archaelogical site

Key facts

Career: Senior specialist in Māori heritage
Programme: Master of Arts
Subjects: Anthropology

"I am a senior specialist in Māori heritage at Auckland Council. My job is to work with the hapū and iwi of Tamaki Makaurau on identifying and managing their immovable cultural heritage and to provide advice to Council. I also provide private consulting services.

"Working with hapū and iwi brings a holistic and flexible approach to a wide range of issues related to indigenous rights, social justice, culture, economics and environmental sustainability, viewed through the lens of heritage management.

"This often clashes with the traditionally reductionist approach of Western institutions and values. My job allows me to develop cross-cultural tools and processes to help protect and effectively manage Auckland's Māori heritage.

I see Arts as providing the best avenue for learning and applying critical thought to ourselves to identify and try to work through our own internal biases.

"Anthropology gave me a grounding in the study of culture first and foremost, the ability to think critically and laterally about my own society and culture and to ask questions and examine evidence about others.

"It also gave me a broad education in areas including culture, Philosophy, Geography, Art History, heritage, History and others.

"Pursue what you are passionate about, what drives your curiosity or enables you to express yourself. Drive, innovation, dedication and capability are what employers want, and with an increasingly non-traditional emerging job market, the skill set an Arts degree can give will be put to good use."