Stonefields Place Name Proposal Report
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A pdf verions is available of this Stonefields Place Name Proposal Report (pdf 1.79MB).
Place Name Proposal Report 27 March 2009
- New suburb name
- Auckland City.
General background
The submitter is seeking to assign a place name to a newly established residential development on the former Mt Wellington quarry site, which lies between St Johns, Remuera and Mt Wellington suburbs in Auckland city. The name ‘Stonefields’ is descriptive of the environment, geography, history and physical features of the site. The submitter has not provided documentary evidence of the history of the area, but has summarised the traditional and historical background. Formed on a volcanic site, ‘Stonefields’ is derived from‘stone field’, and was the site of an ancient Polynesian garden. The submitter advises that the new community contains one such ancient garden, which will be preserved by the Auckland City Council as part of Stonefields.
Although the new suburb area covers only a square kilometre, it will be densely populated, housing a community of approximately 6,500 people, along with a school, town centre, shops, restaurants, parks and links with public transport. The submitter advises that the name Stonefields is well established in the media, and has been the commonly used place name for the area since 2007. The Board should consider whether this area warrants its own suburb name.
The submitter has provided documentary support for the proposal from residents within the community, Ngāti Pāoa Trust Board, Eastern Bays Community Board and Auckland Netball. No evidence of support or resolution by the Auckland City Council has been provided. One letter of objection has been received from a neighbour adjacent to the development; however, it is outside of the statutory notification period.
In regard to suburb and locality names item 16.27 of the Board’s Frameworks document refers:
| Principle: | Suburb and locality names come within the Board’s naming jurisdiction, pursuant to Section 10 of the Act, which states that the Board may assign or alter a name to any place in New Zealand. The term place means any town, village, village settlement, special settlement, goldfield or mining district, land area, or other district, place or locality whatsoever. The Board recognises the importance of suburb and locality names in providing a key component to unique location identification, which is critical to the responsiveness of emergency services in verifying and locating an incident. Suburbs and localities are also important for government administration, and provide an important identity/association for local communities. |
| Policy: |
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| Guideline/Practice: | The Board does not formally define bounded geographical areas of suburbs and localities (see Section 16.21). While it recognises that populated places may conform to or are limited by naturally defined geographic boundaries or infrastructures made by people, they can also be subject to growth and redefinition, so a fixed definition may not be desirable. However, despite not formally gazetting prescriptive boundaries, the Board recognises that new suburb and locality extents may need to be known, at the time of assigning, to satisfy enquiries by affected people. Boundary definitions, particularly for suburbs and localities, are generally determined by local authorities in the first instance. Through the public notification process, other agencies and/or individuals can influence final determinations, and any possible conflicts can also be identified. |
Two streets located around New Zealand are named Stonefield or Stonefields, one of which is adjacent to the proposed new suburb.
Duplication:
| Stonefields Avenue | Mt Wellington |
| Stonefield Place Johnsonville | Wellington |
Topographic and cadastral maps have shown the following through the years:
| NZMS 1, sheet N42 | Edition 1, dated 1949 | Not named |
| NZMS 1, sheet N42 | Edition 2, dated 1962 | Not named |
| NZMS 1, sheet N42 | Editions 3 & 3A, dated 1966 | Not named |
| NZMS 1, sheet N42 | Edition 4, dated 1978 | Not named |
| NZMS 13, sheet NAK077 | Edition 3, dated 1959 | Not named |
| NZMS 16, sheet 9 | Dated 1929 | Not named |
| NZMS 177, sheet N42 | Edition 3, dated 1968 | Not named |
An early survey plan shows the following:
| Deed Blue 68 | Dated 1913 | Not named |
Early historical maps/plans show that the area was a Quarry Reserve vested in the Auckland City Council (Gazette, 1892:341&515). From 1936 until 2001 the area was mined by Winstones Limited and formed part of the company’s Mt Wellington quarry. There are no archive records of the Board (Canterbury National, NZGB card indices) featuring the name Stonefields.
Te Puni Kōkiri is yet to advise whether an original Māori place name exists for the area; however, there may be other overlapping iwi interests that could reveal an original Māori name.
Place Name Proposal Report 16 September 2009
General background
The Board agreed to defer its decision on this proposal at its previous meeting of 27 March 2009, in order to:
- confirm the support of the Auckland City Council for this proposed suburb name, noting that the Eastern Bays Community Board supports Stonefields;
- seek from local iwi, any comment or views as to any original Māori names for the area, noting that Hariata Gordon of Ngāti Paoa has confirmed support for Stonefields, and also noting that the submitter advises of a known original Māori name for a wider area, Te Tauoma (home of Te Kete-ana-taua); and
- consult with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust to determine whether they have any records on or knowledge of the history of this ancient garden site.
Letters were sent to relevant agencies/organisations on 3 July 2009 (Auckland City Council, NZ Historic Places Trust, Te Kawerau a Maki, Ngāi Tai Ki Tamaki, and Ngāti Whatua o Ōrakei), with no response received from iwi by the requested mid-August 2009 deadline. The Auckland City Council provided an interim response of 13 July 2009, advising that its response would be forthcoming.
Further correspondence from the Auckland City Council of 19 August 2009 advises that the Council supports the proposed new name of Stonefields.
Other considerations that the Board may wish to consider, include:
- possible confusion resulting from duplication – Stonefields Avenue in Mt Wellington (though this is an associated name within the proposed suburb, so is not likely to cause confusion) and Stonefield Place in Johnsonville, Wellington;
- plural form – the name could also be Stonefield, those common/local usage suggests Stonefields;
- the geographical extent of the area is relatively small for a suburb, though the significant population and facilities servicing the suburb are noted;
- this ‘subdivision/development’ will become a suburb within a suburb. It may be more appropriate to classify it as a ‘village’ or ‘settlement’ or ‘urban locality’ or something similar, rather than a ‘suburb’;
- the definition of a suburb in s.4 of the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008 is “suburb means an identifiable area within a local authority area, usually urban in character, with facilities such as those for education, transport, and shopping”; and
- any issues for emergency services.
The submitter, Landco Land Developments Limited, has submitted a thorough proposal, having carefully covered off the requirements for making a proposal, including consultation with the local community, iwi, and relevant agencies/organisations. Significant evidence of support has been provided. The Board has received just one objection from a resident who prefers his property to continue to be within the suburb of St Johns.
Map
A printable version of this map is available in the Stonefields Place Name Proposal Report (pdf 1.79MB).
