Rosa Olga Sansom

Rosa Olga Sansom (née Jensen; 3 June 1900 – 1 July 1989) was a New Zealand teacher, museum director, botanist, broadcaster and writer. She was a curator at Southland Museum and became the director of that museum in 1953. She was a founding member of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. In 1979, she was awarded the Queens Service Medal.

Early life and education Sansom was born on at Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand, in 1900. Her parents were Mary Elizabeth Leask and Newton Julius (Hans) Jensen, who was a fisherman and farmer.

In 2017, Sansom was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's 150 women in 150 words.

Published work Sansom broadcast general talks about science on the radio and gave lectures for the Correspondence School. She wrote a monthly newsletter about Stewart Island for three years from 1962, and was a book reviewer and features writer for the Southland Times. Sansom's published work includes: