Mount Chamberlain Place Name Report

The report considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) at its meeting on 27 March 2009.

• Mount Chamberlain (spelling correction)
• Chamberlain Creek (spelling correction)

South Westland – south end of Toaroha Range

General Background

The submitter is seeking to have the spelling corrected from Mount Chamberlin to Mount Chamberlain and Chamberlin Creek to Chamberlain Creek. The submitter provides supporting evidence that this feature was named by Sir Julius von Haast in 1866 or 1867 after Walter Chamberlain (c.1847–1920), a wealthy Englishman and naturalist, who visited New Zealand on at least one occasion to purchase pastoral land as an investment, and at whose home in England von Haast was later a guest. The submitter states that Walter Chamberlain was also the brother of Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914), one of the most prominent British politicians and statesmen of his time.

The submitter notes that most of the geographic names given by Sir Julius von Haast were names of members of his family or people with whom he had been associated earlier in his life, and names of friends and companions who had accompanied him on expeditions.

The submitter has provided evidence of reference sources to help verify the spelling of Chamberlain.

Although there are a number of place names, streets and roads throughout New Zealand with the name of Chamberlin(s) or Chamberlain(s), duplication is not likely to be an issue as none are in the vicinity of this proposal:

Chamberlin Snowfield	North east of Mount Tasman
Chamberlins Island	East of Ponui Island, North Auckland
Chamberlain	South west of Fairlie
Chamberlain Stream (x2)	South west of Fairlie
Chamberlain Creek	South east of Levin
Chamberlains Bay	Ponui Island, North Auckland
Chamberlains Ford	Lake Ellesmere
Lake Chamberlain	Doubtful Sound
Chamberlain Road	Masterton, Franklin, Gore, Waitakere, Wellington, Mackenzie District, Waipa
Chamberlain Avenue	Amberley, Wairoa
Chamberlain Lane	Rangiora
Chamberlain Place	Mt Maunganui, Hamilton
Chamberlain Street	Waimangaroa, Dunedin, Motueka, Nelson, Waimate, Feilding, Westport, Auckland, Blackball, Levin, Dannevirke
Chamberlains Road	Springston

Changing Mount Chamberlin and Chamberlin Creek to Mount Chamberlain and Chamberlain Creek should not cause confusion as both the current and proposed names are pronounced the same. Chamberlain Creek in the Manawatu district is far enough away geographically so as not to cause confusion.

Cadastral and Topographic maps have shown the following through the years:

NZMS 1, S058	Edition 1, dated 1970	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin
NZMS 1, S058	Edition 2, dated 1975	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin
NZMS 1, S058	Edition 3, dated 1981	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin
NZMS 13, WES029	Edition 3, dated 1955	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin
NZMS 177, S058	Edition 3, dated 1974	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin

Some early survey plans show the following:

SO 5682	Dated ?	Chamberlin Creek/Mount Chamberlin
SO 6280	Dated ?	Mount Chamberlin

Early historical maps/plans show:

G155	Dated 1873	Mount Chamberlin
GAZ188	Dated ?	Mount Chamberlin
WD(R)140	Dated 1874	Mount Chamberlin

Archive records of the Board (NZGB card indices) record only the name of Chamberlin with no further information. Mount Chamberlin and Chamberlin Creek are located within the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Area.

Ngāi Tahu are yet to advise whether original Māori names exist for Mount Chamberlin and Chamberlin Creek.

The evidence provided by the submitter concludes that the mountain and creek were named after Walter Chamberlain. The submitter has requested that the Board exercise its responsibility to examine cases of doubtful spelling, in terms of Section 8(1)(b) of the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946 [now Section 15(1)(b) of the 2008 Act]. The Board should note that its discretion to uphold misspelled place names which have been in long term local usage, may not apply for these place names, given that they do not appear to be a place names that would attract controversy or contention.

There is no conclusive evidence that these mountain and creek features have been named after Walter Chamberlain – the documentation provided by the submitter does not provide a clear link. However, the submitter has provided documentary evidence of maps produced from a biography written by Sir Julius von Haast’s son, Dr HF von Haast, showing an alteration from Chamberlin to Chamberlain, which were published with the approval of Julius Haast.

Map

For a larger scale version of this map please refer to the pdf version of the Mount Chamberlain and Chamberlain Creek place name report (pdf 351KB).

NZGB - Summary Report - Chamberlain Creek & Mount - 2009-03-26&27, for Meeting of 27 March 2009. LINZ file reference: GES-N15-07-09/15/01