Died aged 66
Professor Roger Neich was a world authority on Maori and Pacific art. As curator of ethnology at Auckland Museum from 1986 until last year, he made significant contributions to the knowledge and appreciation of Maori carving and kowhaiwhai art, and of Polynesian people and communities.
But anthropology was not his first choice of career.
"I actually started out as a geologist," he said in a Herald interview in 1987. "Then when I was working in Papua New Guinea I decided that studying people was more interesting than studying rocks, so I went on to do anthropology."
Educated at Hutt Valley High School and Victoria University, he began working at the National Museum of New Zealand in Wellington as an ethnologist. He attained degrees in anthropology at Victoria, travelling to Papua New Guinea and Samoa for his fieldwork.
He was appointed curator of ethnology, a branch of anthropology, at Auckland Museum, taking delight in increasing the collections of Maori and Pacific artefacts.
"Maori artefacts are not just seen as dead things sitting in a museum, they are part of a living culture."
When the ground floor galleries at the museum were refurbished in 1999, Dr Neich was in charge of the displays celebrating the lifestyles of Pacific and Maori communities.
The new exhibitions attracted crowds of visitors.
"In the past, displays like Maori exhibits were put together by European curators, who tended to put all the paddles in one case. We felt it was important to have the Maori perspective, to give a clearer understanding of their role in Maori culture."
The $43 million refit followed the museum's decision to stick with a contemporary but classical style, which sat well with Dr Neich.
"Auckland has the best collection [of Pacific artefacts] in the country," he said at the time. "We were looking for the opportunity to display it at its best. We all saw what Te Papa did. It's debatable how much it can still be considered a museum."
In 2006, a rare Polynesian canoe was the first of an estimated five million items moved back to the museum from warehouse storage, after extension of museum buildings.
The canoe is one of only four left in the world, derived from the seagoing canoes used by Polynesian explorers. Dr Neich reckoned even Captain Cook had nothing on the Pacific people that he took such pride in.
"The Austronesians, the earlier people who became the Polynesians, were doing ocean voyages while Europeans were sneaking around the coast of the Mediterranean."
Dr Neich retired last year because of ill health. He is survived by his wife, Limasene, and daughter, Kay.
Phoebe Falconer
