Auckland celebrates 21 new te reo Māori names for significant sites

Ōtāhuhu College students sang uplifting waiata, mingling their voices with mana whenua gathered in Te Taahuhu [embed Criterion Square https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/news/2024/09/otahuhu-criterion-square/] as the community celebrated the gifting of 21 te reo Māori names for sites around the Māngere-Ōtāthuhu Local Board area.

The Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board, alongside mana whenua from Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāti Tamaoho, and Te Ākitai Waiohua were present for the blessing, and local board chair Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich said the Māori names and narratives enrich and honour the area's cultural heritage.

"The whakarewatanga ceremony was a powerful and moving event led by mana whenua.

"This initiative not only celebrates our Māori community but also enriches the cultural fabric of our entire area, inviting everyone to connect with and appreciate our shared history."

In March 2019, mana whenua were invited by the board to give dual names to 123 parks. In February 2021, sixty-two of these names were adopted, and in June 2023, a further 21 were adopted.

Another 27 parks and three libraries are currently being worked on being named by mana whenua. This is tranche three of the Te Kete Rukuruku project which aims to recognise and revitalise Māori place names across Auckland.

Bakulich said that a key theme in their local board plan is Ō Tātou Wāhi or "our Places".

"Key to that is letting mana whenua lead the way and actively promoting Māori names for parks, facilities, roads, and other public spaces."

All sites are intended for naming as dual names where the Māori name is added to the existing name, and nothing is taken away.

Te Ākitai Waiohua, Ngāti Tamaoho and Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua are the three iwi that provided the names for these sites.

About the Te Kete Rukuruku programme

The Te Kete Rukuruku programme was launched in 2017 by the Auckland Council.

It focuses on culture and identity by collecting and sharing unique stories of Māori in Auckland. This initiative is led by iwi in partnership with the council and its local boards.

One key component of the programme is a naming project that aims to restore iwi and hapu names.

In some instances, these names existed before the current ones.

Short narratives explaining the significance of these names are provided by mana whenua, illustrating their meaning and connection to the places being named.

This initiative serves to protect and return names, along with the rich mana whenua stories of Auckland-many of which have been lost over the years.

Stories behind the names

• Te Taahuhu is the name given to the Ōtāhuhu's Crierion Square and it translates as "the ridegepole" and is a shortened version for "Te Taahuhu nui o te waka o Tainui" (the large ridgepole of the Tainui canoe).
• Ootaahuhu (which is the spelling used by Tainui rather than Ōtāhuhu) also comes from this phrase, and was adopted for the suburb's name.
• Kanae-a-tai which is the name gifted to the Church Street Foreshore Reserve in Ōtāhuhu

is translated as "mullet on the tide" and refers to the guardian taniwha Paneiraira, who feasted on mullet in the Tāmaki River.

• Kukume is the name gifted to the Wickman Way/Tennessee Reserve in Māngere and means "to haul" and refers to waka being hauled across the Pūkaki portage to the Tāmaki River, and from the Ōtāhuhu waka portage Te Tō Waka into the Māngere inlet close to Harania creek.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.