The recipient of the inaugural Shaun Barnett Memorial Scholarship has been chosen. 

Twenty-nine-year-old Erin Hewetson will receive the $1000 scholarship to help her undertake a five-day tramp on the Hollyford Track in which she will retrace the steps of her Ngāi Tahu ancestors. 

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to embark on an adventure to follow in the footsteps of my Ngāi Tahu ancestors,  who would have used the Hollyford Valley as a route for trading pounamu,” Hewetson said. “This will be the longest backcountry journey I have undertaken and I am excited to push the limits of my comfort zone to learn more about myself and practising self-reliance in the wilderness.”

Hewetson will use the trip to explore and document her dual identity as a Pākehā and Ngāi Tahu woman. She plans to complete the trip in July 2026 and will camp the entire way. 

“[I want] to emulate the self-sufficiency my ancestors would have needed,” she said.

Judges included Wilderness staff Alistair Hall and Leigh Hopkinson, and Shaun’s wife Tania Stanton Barnett.

“Shaun would be especially encouraging of Erin and he would have looked forward to learning of her reflections on dual identity as she spends time in such a special part of the country,” Stanton Barnett said.

Wilderness editor Alistair Hall said: “Shaun Barnett was one of the most consequential and important outdoor writers in New Zealand. His breadth of knowledge and interest in tramping and our landscapes was unsurpassed. He inspired countless Kiwis into the outdoors through his writing and photography.

“The scholarship aims to help those who similarly wish to share their tramping journeys with others to offer enlightenment and understanding of our natural spaces and our place within them. In Erin we have found a worthy scholarship recipient. 

“We wish her every success in her trip and look forward to publishing her story later this year.”