Dr. Michael Stevens, history lecturer at Otago University and a proud "Bluffie", has received a Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant to research the history of Bluff between the years 1800 and 2000. He believes his historical case study of the port will re-shape thinking about New Zealand's economic development and race relations. Of Kai Tahu descent, Dr. Stevens is descended from some of Bluff's oldest Maori and Pakeha families and grew up in the port town.