Hadfield Clearing Place Name Proposal Report
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This Hadfield Clearing Place Name Proposal Report is also available in pdf (1.6MB).
Place Name Proposal Report 27 March 2009
- New name
- Awaroa Inlet, Abel Tasman National Park.
General background
The Department of Conservation is seeking to assign a new place name to a cleared area adjacent to Awaroa Inlet in the Abel Tasman National Park. In 2006 the Nature Heritage Fund, an independent committee serviced by the Department of Conservation, entered into an Agreement for Sale and Purchase with the Hadfield family to purchase 793 hectares of land. The Agreement is conditional upon an open area surrounding the homestead area, which is leased back to Elaine Hadfield, being known as ‘Hadfield’s Clearing’. The Department is obligated under the agreement to request the Board to name the feature.
The submitter has provided a summary of the history of the Hadfield family’s association with Awaroa Inlet (Dawber, C. and Wilson, L. (1999(, Awaroa Legacy, the story of the Hadfield family, Picton: River Press), and proposes that the location be named after two brothers, William and Harry Hadfield, who initially settled the land in 1863 and whose descendants farmed the land until 2006.
The submitter has consulted with local iwi, Manawhenua Ki Mohua, and provided documentary evidence that they have no objection to the name. The submitter has also consulted with local Māori historian John Mitchell, who confirms that there is no known Māori name for the location.
The submitter has provided documentary support for the proposal from the Golden Bay Community Board, which is a committee of the Tasman District Council.
There are no other geographical features in New Zealand with the name of Hadfield(s). A number of streets and roads located around New Zealand are named ‘Hadfield’, but none are in the vicinity of this proposal.
Duplication of roads:
| Hadfield Avenue | Mt Albert, Auckland |
| Hadfield Court | Otaki |
| Hadfield Crescent | Wanganui |
| Hadfield Place | Paraparaumu |
| Hadfield Road | Clutha District Kapiti Coast |
| Hadfield Street | Otaki |
| Hadfield Terrace | Wellington Napier |
Early cadastral/topographic maps have shown the following through the years:
| NZMS 1, SO09 | Edition 1, dated 1948 | Not named |
| NZMS 1, SO09 | Edition 2, dated 1968 | Not named |
| NZMS 1, SO09 | Edition 3, dated 1973 | Not named |
| NZMS 13, NEL008 | Edition 3, dated 1953 | Not named |
| NZMS 177, SO09 | Edition 1, dated 1965 | Not named |
Some early survey plans show the following:
| SO 5559 | Dated 1899 | Not named |
| SO 7765 | Dated 1908 | WH Hadfield Freehold, WW Hadfield LiP |
| SO 7237 | Dated 1912 | Not named |
| SO 8012 | Dated 1920 | WH Hadfield Freehold, WW Hadfield LiP |
| SO 8551 | Dated 1929 | Not named |
Early historical maps/plans show:
| SO 5559 | Dated 1880 | Not named |
| GAZ167 | Dated 1885 | Not named |
| PROC 3084 | Dated 1951 | Depicted but not named |
There are no archive records of the Board (Westland, Canterbury National, NZGB card indices) relating to Hadfields Clearing.
The feature is located within Abel Tasman National Park, a Crown Protected Area.
The Board’s naming guideline discourages use of the possessive form; therefore it is recommended that the possessive form be dropped from Hadfields Clearing to become Hadfield Clearing, should the proposal be assigned.
Place Name Proposal Report 16 September 2009
- New name
- Awaroa Inlet, Abel Tasman National Park.
General background
At its previous meeting on 27 March 2009, the Board supported this proposal in principle for the name of ‘Hadfield’ being assigned, but agreed to defer its decision in order to seek confirmation from the Department of Conservation on the following matters:
- whether the generic geographic feature type to which the name applies, is appropriate as a ‘Clearing’ or should it be a ‘Flat’ (given that it will regenerate), or should some other more appropriate descriptor be applied; and
- whether the Department of Conservation has any concerns about dropping the possessive form, so that the specific or primary name is ‘Hadfield’ rather than ‘Hadfields’.
The Department of Conservation responded to a request for the above information in a letter dated 30 April 2009, with comments summarised as follows:
- the department acknowledges that the area may not remain a clearing, but it has been locally known as Hadfields Clearing for many years;
- the option of Hadfields Flat is not considered to be viable because of the need to go back to remaining family members, the community and iwi; [note: that any objection could be raised through the notification period]
- that the Hadfield family did in fact clear the area and maintained it as a clearing for over 100 years – Hadfields Clearing reflects that cultural modification to the landscape;
- the option of Hadfields Flat would not reflect current usage nor the cultural connection of the clearing;
- the department did not propose Hadfield’s Clearing with the possessive apostrophe because it was aware of the Board’s guideline. The department prefers Hadfields, but would accept Hadfield, if the Board’s policy does not allow the use of the possessive form;
- toponymy often reflects historical events or situations which may no longer be apparent on the landscape;
- the term ‘Clearing’ is used in several instances of place names, which have now largely regenerated, e.g. Holyoake Clearing, also in the Abel Tasman National Park;
- the department does not support Hadfields Flat for the reasons provided.
Map
A printable version of this map is available in the Hadfield Clearing Place Name Proposal Report pdf (1.6MB).
