Matiu (Matthew) is affiliated with Te Rūnaka o Wairewa (Kāti Irakehu, Ngāi Tahu Whānui) on Horomaka/Banks Peninsula and is a Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury. He is interested in understanding the adaptations of Māori/Pasifika societies in the past and present to the often hostile environments of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa/Pacific Ocean, and has been fortunate enough to work on most archipelagos in the region, from Papua New Guinea to Rapa Nui. Matiu is currently a principal investigator on a new Pūtea Marsden project examining horticultural adaptation on the offshore islands of Aotearoa, and is an associate investigator on another Marsden project examining past agricultural adaptation on Sāmoa (Upolu).