Wellington’s rocks star at International Sedimentological Congress

The flagship conference for the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) attracted 615 delegates from 45 countries to Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre. More than 90% of attendees travelled from overseas. 

The event was hosted by Earth Sciences New Zealand, with support from Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand Business Events. 

Conference co-convenor Dominic Strogen, senior scientist at Earth Sciences New Zealand, says the event highlighted New Zealand’s strengths as both a visitor destination and a place for scientific research. 

“New Zealand’s a great destination. We certainly have some world-class rock outcrops, and we have a long history of high-quality geological research here, in New Zealand as a whole, but also in Wellington particularly.”

Local expertise featured across four days of presentations under the theme ‘Sedimentation on active plate margins through time and space’. 

Researchers from Earth Sciences New Zealand and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington shared their work alongside international peers. Delegates also had the opportunity to experience New Zealand’s active geological landscape firsthand through seven sold-out pre- and post-conference field trips. 

A mid-conference excursion programme explored the scenery, history, and geology of Wellington city and Te Whanganui a Tara. Local geologists guided delegates through key sites around the harbour and surrounding hills. 

Students and early career researchers also took part in a field-based workshop at Porirua Harbour, where they collected sediment cores and excavated trenches. 

“You want to get together in other places and see other rocks. It really does help with your ongoing education as a geologist,” says Dominic.

Hosting the congress in New Zealand for the first time created opportunities to explore Māori and Pasifika perspectives on land, sediments, and geological processes. 

Te Āti Awa welcomed delegates with a mihi whakatau . Māori knowledge and perspectives were woven throughout the programme, including the cultural field trip ‘Haerenga — Layers of Land and Legacy’. The excursion visited sites of significance to mana whenua around Te Whanganui a Tara. 

In te ao Māori, whenua holds not only physical matter, but also whakapapa , wairua, and lived experience. The field trip explored these perspectives alongside the area’s geological story. 

The opening keynote was delivered by Associate Professor Daniel Hikuroa from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. His presentation connected scientific and Indigenous knowledge through themes of long-term responsibility, cultural understanding, and environmental guardianship.   

“A lot of people really enjoyed that to set the scene. It’s opening people’s eyes to the Indigenous world, and I think New Zealand is among the leading countries doing that,” says Dominic.

IAS and conference organisers were pleased to see strong participation from early career researchers. 

A dedicated networking event at Shed 22 proved popular, alongside a programme hub where emerging researchers could connect and present short talks. 

“It was great to see plenty of young researchers coming through because science dies if you don’t keep bringing new people in,” says Dominic. 

The congress also helped New Zealand researchers strengthen existing relationships and build new international connections. 

“Fostering collaborations is really important. I've been talking with some Chinese colleagues who we met at the conference,” says Dominic. “It’s early days, but I've got a lot more LinkedIn contacts than I did before the conference.”

Dominic says the support from Tākina and professional conference organiser Conference and Events helped ensure the event ran smoothly. 

“Between Tākina and Conference and Events, we had to worry about the science, but everything else ran really smoothly. Everybody said that the highlight of the conference was the catering, which is good because a well-fed geologist is a happy geologist.” 

Delegates also responded positively to the venue's central location and walkability. Tākina is within easy reach of the Wellington waterfront, Te Papa, accommodation, bars, and restaurants. 

“You can just wander around the city, and it’s a beautiful place to be. Everybody was very enamoured with Wellington.”