Will Hansen

Will Hansen is a transgender historian based in Pōneke. He completed his PhD in History at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington in 2025, with his thesis ‘Queer Activism in Aotearoa New Zealand, 1961-2013‘. Using both archival research and oral histories, ‘Queer Activism’ traced queer organising, protest and resistance across five decades in Aotearoa. Expanding on prior histories that focused on gay men and lesbians, Will’s thesis brought the activism of transgender, bisexual, takatāpui, intersex, and other queer communities into focus, using the word ‘queer’ to foreground how these myriad communities were materially entwined. Thanks to support from the Judith Binney Trust, Will is currently working on turning his thesis into a publication for a general audience.

In 2026 Will began working full-time as a Heritage Assessment Advisor at Pouhere Taonga Heritage New Zealand. He thoroughly enjoys spending time diving deep into a diverse range of Aotearoa’s place-based histories, exploring everything from silent movie theatres in Taihape to art deco towers in Wellington! Will has also worked with a variety of GLAM organisations, including Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Library, Wellington Libraries and Manatū Taonga.

Since 2017 Will has been a trustee of Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa, which collects, preserves, and makes available the records and taonga of queer people and organisations in Aotearoa. He loves this volunteer role, which enables him to spend time collaborating with others to find fun and interesting ways to collect and share Aotearoa’s queer histories with communities, such as through the Archive is Alive zine project.