Place Name Summary Report for Northern Auckland Islands
The report considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) at its meeting on 27 March 2009.
- Krone’s Creek (new name)
- Seeliger’s Creek (new name)
- Venus Valley (new name)
General Background
The submitter is seeking to assign place names to unnamed geographical features situated near Port Ross on the northern Auckland Islands. The submitter proposes that two of the features be named after members of a German expedition who were sent to the Southern Ocean to observe the Transit of Venus in 1874, and that the third be named for the valley where the expedition’s camp was based.
The submitter has provided evidence of reference sources which show Johannes Krone (d.1924) was the son of the expedition party’s chief photographer, Hermann Krone, and took part in the expedition as his father’s assistant. In his book Father and Son on a Voyage around the World (Vater und Sohn auf der Welt-Reise, 1900) Hermann Krone writes that he named Krone Creek after his son Johannes because the latter was first to ‘discover’ the creek by falling into it. Hugo von Seeliger (1849-1924), an eminent astronomer, was the leader of the Auckland Islands expedition.
The submitter has provided photos from the Hermann Krone Collection held at Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany depicting the expedition’s camp site, and Krone’s Creek and Seeliger’s Creek as they were in 1874. The submitter observes that a corresponding French expedition to Campbell Island left at least twelve place names in the landscape.
The submitter has provided translations of, and references to, the expedition’s journals written in German. The Board may have to rely on the submitter’s interpretation that the right streams and valley are being named as intended by the explorers.
The Board’s naming guideline discourages use of the possessive form and apostrophe; therefore it is recommended that the possessive form be dropped from Krone’s Creek to become ‘Krone Creek’ and Seeliger’s Creek to become ‘Seeliger Creek’ should those proposals be assigned. In the German language apostrophes would not be used in this situation.
The Board’s criterion for apostrophes is:
| Principle | The possessive form should be avoided whenever it can be done without destroying the euphony of the name or changing its descriptive application. Where the possessive form is retained, the apostrophe should be dropped. |
| Policy | No names considered by the Board will be approved in the possessive form, unless the Board is persuaded that, in its opinion, it is necessary. |
| Guideline/Practice | Only two names in New Zealand use a possessive apostrophe, Hawke’s Bay and Arthur’s Pass (see Section 17, ‘Discussion on the use of the Possessive Apostrophe’). |
There are no other geographical features, street or road names in New Zealand or offshore islands with the name of Seeliger. There is a Kroner Creek in Westland, however, duplication is not likely to be an issue as it is not in the vicinity of this proposal, and confusion would be minimal as there is a phonological distinction with the proposed place name of Krone Creek.
The other recorded ‘Venus’ feature names are far enough away geographically so as not to cause confusion:
| Venus Creek | North-west Nelson |
| Venus Cove | Campbell Island |
A number of streets and roads located around New Zealand are named ‘Venus’, but none are in the vicinity of this proposal:
| Venus Place | Queenstown Manukau Porirua |
| Venus Street | Invercargill |
| Venus Way | Palmerston North |
The Auckland Islands do not appear on cadastral maps, early historical maps or plans, or early survey plans. A map of the islands from On the Islands south of New Zealand (1890) show the features as neither depicted nor named.
Only one entry is made on a topographic map:
| Infomap 260 | Edition 1, dated 1991 | Depicted but not named |
There are no records of the Board (Westland, Canterbury National, NZGB card indices) relating to Krone’s Creek, Seeliger’s Creek or Venus Valley.
The Auckland Islands are a nature reserve under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation.
The views of DoC should possibly be sought.
The features are small and possibly too minor to warrant naming; however, the history would be preserved by their formal naming.
No comments have been received as to whether original Māori place names exist for these features. The views of Ngāi Tahu may be brought to the Board’s meeting on 27 March 2009.
Map
For a larger scale version of this map please refer to the pdf version of the Seeligers Creek place name report (pdf 1.90MB).
NZGB - Summary Report - Krone's Creek et al - 2009-03-27, for Meeting of 27 March 2009 LINZ file reference: GES-N15-07-09/131/01
