A long-standing Treaty grievance for mana whenua will be addressed when the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa formally changes Maxwell to Pākaraka today.
Board Chairperson, Anselm Haanen, said that the Minister for Land Information Hon Damien O’Connor has confirmed the Board’s recommendation to change the small rural locality’s name following a request from Ngāti Maika, and subsequent consultation carried out last year.
“Over 500 submissions were received for this change,” Mr Haanen says.
“In 1868, a government militia led by George Maxwell fired on a group of unarmed Māori children, attacked them with sabres and killed two boys. It was an unprovoked attack. The area was named ‘Maxwelltown’ in 1870, shortly after his death, and officially changed to Maxwell in 1927.”
Minister O’Connor said the change addresses a long-standing Treaty grievance for mana whenua and that Ngāti Maika had sought an outright change of name rather than dual or alternative names.
“None of the reasons given against changing outweighed the case to right this wrong. I am pleased we can restore the original Māori name, Pākaraka, meaning a settlement surrounded by an abundance of karaka trees”.
The Board also announced the Minister’s decisions to make Pikipari Pass, Onetāhua Rise, Rangitoto-ki-te-Tonga / d’Urville Valley and Taumoana Canyon official.
Naming Milford Sound/Piopiotahi alpine pass corrects an error and improves safety
Naming Pikipari Pass near Milford Sound/Piopiotahi corrects an error that dates back to the 1950s and will also help emergency responders, Mr Haanen says.
The Minister confirmed the Board's recommendation to assign Pikipari Pass in the Darran Mountains, which had been incorrectly labelled Pakihaukea Pass.
“Climbers and mountaineers know just how challenging these remote and treacherous mountains are. Not only was this historically inaccurate but it creates a very real risk of confusion for emergency response.”
Undersea feature name changes
The names of three undersea features will soon align with the historical Māori names of nearby landmarks, following recommendations to Minister O’Connor from the Board:
- Farewell Rise becomes Onetāhua Rise
- D'Urville Seavalley becomes a dual name Rangitoto-ki-te-Tonga / d'Urville Valley
- Five Fingers Canyon becomes Taumoana Canyon.
The undersea features are all largely outside of New Zealand’s territorial waters, so once the official naming process is complete, the Board will propose the changes to the international Sub Committee on Undersea Feature Names for approval internationally.
“We finalise the name changes in New Zealand first, which increases the likelihood of them being accepted internationally,” says Mr Haanen.
Other Board decisions and new consultation
In addition to the Minister’s decisions, the Board has notified final decisions to discontinue the name Maxwell Railway Station, which no longer exists, and assign new names to four previously unnamed creeks in Porirua: Kapakapanui Creek, Koangaumu Creek, Ohangao Creek and Tītahi Creek.
A second round of public consultation has also begun on the name for a recently formed lake on Mangapōike River, inland from Wairoa. Previously, the Board consulted on a proposal to name it Lake Te Horonui but is now seeking submissions on Lake Mangapōike. The closing date for submissions is 16 May 2022.
All final decisions by the Board and Minister will be become official on 16 February 2022. Information on the Lake Mangapōike proposal and how to make a submission is available at Lake Mangapōike.
Background and further information
- The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa is an independent statutory body. We are supported and administered by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
- Anyone may propose a name for a geographic feature or place. We use naming guidelines, standards, and international best practice for standardised, consistent and accurate naming, to help us make robust and enduring decisions.
- We consult with relevant agencies, local communities, stakeholders and iwi. We research all proposals and where possible encourage the use of original Māori names.
- Information about official and recorded place names is available on the New Zealand Gazetteer.
Kua whakatikaina e te panonitanga ingoa ā-Tiriti tētahi mamaetanga auroa
16 o Huitanguru 2022
Ka whakatikaina tētahi mamaetanga auroa o te mana whenua i raro i te Tiriti ina whakamanahia e te New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa te huringa o te ingoa o Maxwell kia Pākaraka i te rangi nei.
I kī ake te Toihau o te Poari, a Anselm Haanen, kua whakaūngia e Hon Damien O’Connor, te Minita mō Toitū te Whenua te tūtohunga a te Poari kia panonitia the ingoa o tētahi takiwā iti ki taiwhenua i muri i te tono a Ngāti Maika, me ngā whakapāpātanga i whakahaeretia i tērā tau.
Hei tā Mr Hāanen, “Neke atu i te 500 ngā tāpaenga tono mō te panonitanga nei.”
“I te 1868, ka pakū ngā pū a tētahi kura takahi puni kāwanatanga e arahina ana e George Maxwell ki tētahi rōpū tamariki Māori ringakore, ka tukia ki te hoari, mate atu ana ētahi tama tokorua. He tukinga tēnei kīhai i whakapātaritia. Ka taunahatia te wāhi ko ‘Maxwelltown’ i te 1870, i muri tata iho o tana matenga, ka mana te panonitanga kia Maxwell i te 1927.”
I kī ake a Minita O’Connor kua whakatikaina e te panonitanga nei tētahi mamaetanga auroa mō te mana whenua i raro i te Tiriti, ka mutu, i tonoa e Ngāti Maika kia āta panonitia ki te ingoa ake, kia kaua e ingoa tōrua e ingoa kē rānei.
“Kāore ngā take whakahē i te panonitanga o te ingoa i kaha ake i te take kia whakatikaina tēnei hē. E harikoa ana au ka taea te whakahoki ake te ingoa Māori ake, arā, a Pākaraka, ko tōna tikanga ko te karapotia o te kāinga e te nui o te uru karaka”.
I pānuitia anō e te Poari te whakatau a te Minita kia mana ngā ingoa o Pikipari Pass, o Onetāhua Rise, o Rangitoto-ki-te-Tonga / d’Urville Valley me Taumoana Canyon.
Mā te taunaha i te nonoti i Milford Sound/Piopiotahi e whakatikaina ai tētahi hē, e piki anō ai te haumarutanga
I kī ake a Mr Haanen nā te taunahatia o Pikipari Pass pātata ki Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, kua whakatikaina he hapa ka hoki rawa ki ngā 1950, ka āwhina hoki tēnei i te hunga urupare take whawhati tata.
I whakaūngia e te Minita te tūtohunga a te Poari kia taunahatia a Pikipari Pass i te pae maunga o Darran, i hē nei te kīia ko Pakihaukea Pass.
“Ko te hunga kake maunga e mōhio ana ki ngā wero nui o ngā maunga tūhāhā mōrearea nei. I hē te taha hītori, he raru nui hoki ki te pōkaikaha te hunga urupare whawhati tata ki tōna wāhi tūturu.”
Panonitanga ingoa tārainga takere moana
Taihoa ka hāngai ētahi ingoa tārainga takere moana ki ngā ingoa Māori tuku iho o ētahi tohu whenua pātata, i muri mai o ngā tūtohunga a te Poari ki a Minita O’Connor:
- Kua Onetāhu Rise a Farewell Rise
- Kua ingoa tōrua a D'Urville Seavalley, kua Rangitoto-ki-te-Tonga / d'Urville Valley
- Kua Taumoana Canyon a Five Fingers Canyon.
Kei waho kē atu te nuinga o ngā tārainga takere moana nei i ngā moana taka mai ki raro i te maru o Aotearoa, nō reira ina oti te whai i te tukanga ingoa mana, kua tāpaea e te Poari ngā panonitanga ki te Komiti Ingoa Tārainga Takere Moana ki te ao hei whakaae mai mā rātou.
Hei tā Mr Haanen, “Ka whakaaetia e mātou te panoni ngā ingoa ki Aotearoa i te tuatahi, kia kaha ake ai te tūpono whakaaetia mai ki tāwahi.”
Ētahi atu whakatau a te Poari me te pānuihia o tētahi whakapāpātanga
Āpiti atu ki ngā whakatau a te Minita, kua pānuihia e te Poari te whakatau whakamutunga kia unuhia atu te ingoa o te Maxwell Railway Station, kua kore nei i reira, me te tohu ingoa hou hoki mō ētahi kautawa e whā i Porirua kāore he ingoa: ko Kapakapanui Creek, ko Koangaumu Creek, ko Ohangao Creek me Tītahi Creek ērā.
Kua tīmata hoki ngā whakapāpātanga tūmatanui rauna tuarua mō te ingoa o tētahi roto kua takoto mai ki te awa o Mangapōike, kei te tuawhenua o Wairoa. I whakapāpā haere te Poari i mua mō tētahi tono kia taunahatia ko Lake Te Horonui, engari kua rapu whakaaro ia ināianei mō Lake Mangapōike. Ko te rā kati mō ngā tāpaenga ko te 16 o Haratua 2022.
Katoa ngā whakatau whakamutunga a te Poari me te Minita ka mana ā te 16 o Huitanguru 2022. E wātea ana ngā kōrero e pā ana ki te tono mō Lake Mangapōike me te āhua o te tāpae tono i Lake Mangapōike.
Kōrero tuaroa
- He rōpū motuhake ā-ture te New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa. E tautokohia ana, e whakahaeretia ana mātou e Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
- E āhei ana te tangata kia tono ingoa mō tētahi tārainga whenua, mō tētahi wāhi. Ka whai mātou i ētahi kōrero ārahi taunaha, ētahi paerewa me ngā tikanga papai o te ao mō te taunaha i runga i te aro whānui, te auau me te tika, hei āwhina i a mātou kia tūkaha, kia auroa ā mātou whakatau.
- Ka whakapā atu mātou ki ngā umanga e hāngai ana, ki ngā hapori o te haukāinga, ki te hunga whai wāhi me ngā iwi. Ka rangahaua e mātou ngā tono katoa, ina hāngai ka whakahau anō mātou kia whakamahia ko te ingoa Māori ake.
- E wātea ana ngā kōrero mō te ingoa wāhi mana me te ingoa kua takoto kē mai i te New Zealand Gazetteer.
Media contact
Email: media@linz.govt.nz