At different times, three ocean voyagers sailed into the Coromandel peninsula. Their names were Kupe, Hei and Cook. Each left a legacy of place names in this area, Justine Murray is in Whitianga.
A feeling of rejection and loneliness, that's the story behind the name Mauao, to be caught by the light, but many know this place as Mount Maunganui.
Reon Tuanau - Storyteller nō Ngai te Rangi, Te Whānau a Tauwhao
Tommy Wilson - Author nō Pirirākau
A moment of anxiousness and the abundance of bird life, two similar names but two very different stories.
There are two names associated with the Manukau harbour.
One name has to do with a waka trying to launch into the dangerous Manukau heads, the other name is about the abundance of bird life wading in the water.
Justine Murray is in Waiuku with Roimata Minhinnick (Ngāti Te Ata Waikohua) and Robbie Paora (Ngāti Whatua ki Orākei) to find out the stories of the name Manukau, the second largest harbour in Aotearoa.
There's the main trunk line, a thriving timber industry and friendly folk. But is the story behind the name Taumarunui about a shelter or a fallen warrior?
One story about the name Taumarunui is that it was the last words of Te Peehi Turoa, a dying chief who wished to be shelterd by the sun. But according to local hapū Ngāti Rangatahi, Taumarunui was also the name of a warrior killed by a chief, Tama-aio.
Justine Murray is in the King Country to hear both sides of this story.
On a return trip from the beach Nukutawhiti's daughter Rewa decided to have a nap, and the name Moerewa was born. Josie Kemp-Baker shares the story about the never-say-die Northland town.
Have you assumed Paihia was a te reo word? It's actually a mash-up of Māori & English. But who said it and why?
Every year hundreds of people make the annual hikoi to Waitangi to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, and the man who translated the Treaty has a bit to do with the naming of the town of Paihia.
This story begins seventeen years before the treaty was signed, when Henry Williams was scouting for a place to set up a mission house.
According to Ngati Kawa Taituha, Chair of Te Tii Marae in Waitangi, the name likely stems from a conversation between Williams and the scouting party from the tribes from Ngāti Kawa or Ngāti Rahiri, who were helping him find a good site.
We talk to Taituha and some Williams’ descendants about the history of the sunny Northland settlement. And we also learn from Taituha about another, original name that pre-dates Paihia.
Wānaka is a resort town, an ideal movie location and was the backdrop to this years Matariki Celebrations. The name of this town is inspired by the teachings of the whare wānanga.
Read more about the Wānaka episode of Nau Mai Town here
From Treble Cone Ski Area in Wānaka, Kai Tahu heralded in the Māori New Year with the RNZ National's coverage of the Matariki Celebrations.
The name Wānaka in the Kai Tahu dialect has the same meaning as the word ‘Wānanga’ and both reference the teachings of Māori lore in the Whare Wānanga of old, these were places of higher learning.
But the former name of the Wānaka township was Pembroke named after Baron Sidney Herbert, he was the son of George Herbert the 11th Earl of Pembroke. In a 1948 recording of a show called ‘History and Harmony’ in Otago, host Selwyn Toogood brings that story to light.
Paulette Tamati Eliffe and Hana O’Regan are exponents of language revitilisation, they share the Kai Tahu story of the name Wānaka and the connection to the eponymous ancestor Rākaihautū.
Nau Mai Town is back with another haerenga around Aotearoa to find out more about Māori place names.
Nau Mai Town is back with a bunch of stories about Māori place names. Justine Murray hits the road and heads to Wānaka, a place inspired by schools of higher learning. Paihia has pretty good pies, but the name came about after a scouting trip by christian missionaries, and the name Taumarunui harks back to hundreds of years ago during tribal warfare.
It was thanks to the marketing genius of a land agent that resulted in a small Kāpiti Coast town being called Raumati, which means summer but does the town live up to that name?
On the Kapiti Coast a small coastal town was given a name that conjures up images of beaches, surf and sand.
Back in 1911 the name came about thanks to a clever marketing plan and it worked.
Raumati is a town and is a translation of the Engish word 'Summer'
But Raumati was not the original name of the town, in fact there were two previous names that originated from a local stream and a coastal town in England.
Justine Murray visits a few of the locals who are passionate about the town. The chair of the Raumati Community Board Bede Laracy point out that while the towns are minutes apart, Raumati South and Raumati Beach unique in their own way.
In this bonus episode of Nau Mai Town, Justine Murray joins Anthony Dreaver, Jackie Elliott, Sophie Handford and Bede Larracy.
Rāhui Pōkeka is the original name of Huntly and it's based on the story of a rangatira who placed a rāhui on the rivers in order to replenish the tuna.
Rāhui Pōkeka is the original name of Huntly and it's based on the story of a rangatira who placed a rāhui on the rivers in order to replenish the tuna.
Postmaster James Henry missed his hometown of Huntly in Scotland so much that he named a small Northern Waikato town 'Huntly' and it's been that since 1877.
The Māori name of the town is Rāhui Pōkeka and its origin lies in the foresight of Waikato chief Te Putu who saw a need to replenish a dwindling food source.
Sheryl Matenga is the Chair of the Huntly Community Board and shares the story behind the name.
Te Putu was the great-great-grandfather of the first Māori King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. Te Putu noticed the fish and eels in their rivers were depleted so he placed a rāhui (a restriction) on the area which forbid gathering kai.
To represent the rāhui in the physical sense Te Putu plucked a feather from his pokeka (cape or cloak) and tied it around the pou and hammered it into the ground.
If this pou was above the ground the rāhui stayed in place. On occasion Te Putu would hammer this pou further into the ground, after a time once the pou was covered the rāhui was lifted.
As a celebration Te Putu allowed the fishermen to gather kai again and their catch was divided equally amongst the villagers. According to Matenga, this act was called wawahitanga and it's where the name 'Waahi' pa originates.
The release of the rāhui was called 'Whakanoa' and is attributed to the name of Lake Hakanoa.
Justine Murray visits Rāhui Pōkeka and finds out more from the locals about their town, the negative media spotlight and yep, the DEKA sign is still there.
Timaru is a small town in South Canterbury which has two lesser-known names - Te Maru and Te Tihi o Maru. Justine Murray finds out more.
Timaru in South Canterbury is home to the little blue penguin, a young volcano and picturesque Caroline Bay.
It's also spawned famous people like Mika X and painter Colin McCahon.
But the name of the town has a couple of variations to it, Te Maru is the preferred name of local iwi Kati Huirapa according to Justin Tipa, a cultural advisor and chair of Te Rūnanga o Moeraki.
Another variant Is Te Tihi o Maru a name momentarily used on TV weather reports.
Timaru translates in English as the 'sheltered cabbage tree' or a 'place of shelter.'
Te Tihi o Maru translates as the 'peak of Maru' associated with a local ancestor or a progeny of the Māori god of the ocean, Tangaroa.
Justin Tipa says that while each of these names has its place, the research is thin on the ground.
"The conversations that I've had with various kaumatua over the years, their understanding was that the old name was Te Maru instead of Timaru so there's a slight corruption there, what's less clear is the true meaning of these names and their origins so it's a little bit obscure but we are absolutely sure in who Maru is" he says.
Philip Howe has worked at South Canterbury Museum for thirty-plus years and he is the current Museum Director.
"Māori place names, often the meaning is a little inexact and that reflects a couple of things, it could be the age of the name going back centuries ago and of course here in central South Island you've had changing peoples from Rapuwai, Waitaha, Kati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu"
There's also the familiar story where Europeans heard names and wrote them down according to their dialect and understanding. This was a familiar story for names like Te Kohurau (Kurow) and Tolaga Bay.
Justine Murray finds out more about the two other variations of the name Timaru and a bit about the town's history in this episode
Lady on the Rock is a bronze statue depicting one of the first women to arrive in the Bay of Plenty. Justine Murray visits Whakatāne to learn about the town's history - and scores some delicious drive-thru hāngī on the way.
A drive-thru hāngī with creamed paua and raw fish was probably the best lunch I've ever had on the job... I even took some home for my husband.
The delicious meal was courtesy of a family fundraiser in Whakatāne, and the great kai was just a bonus.
My real reason for visiting the Bay of Plenty town was an appointment with a naked young woman standing on a rock.
The Lady on the Rock - a bronze statue atop Turuturu Rock - is the main clue to the true story behind the name Whakatāne.
It was here that 600 to 800 years ago, the famous Mātaatua waka first arrived from Hawaiki, led by its captain-navigator Toroa.
After the waka landed, some men got out to survey the land and the canoe began drifting out to sea, says DOC cultural advisor Joe Harawira.
Fearing the worst, and defying the tapu of women handling waka, Toroa's young daughter Wairaka cried 'Kia Whakatāne au I ahau' (Let me act like a man) and hauled the canoe back to shore.
This is the story according to the local Ngāti Awa iwi, but the neighbouring iwi Te Whakatohea believe it was most likely Toroa's sister Muriwai who hauled the waka back to shore, most she was older.
Both versions of the story are now acknowledged, Harawira says.
So is it Wairaka or Muriwai depicted in the Lady on the Rock? And why is the statue dedicated to the wife of former Whakatāne mayor William Sullivan (1891-1967)?
Petone is a seaside town in Lower Hutt known for harbour views and niche shopping. Its proper name 'Pito-One' relates to a special area on the beach.
It's a small quaint seaside town and for many who boarded ships in Britain back in the 1840s, it was the first bit of land they saw and stepped onto after months at sea: Petone.
This area was also the pa site of Te Puni, a 19th-century chief from the local iwi Te Ati Awa. Today his name has morphed into the name of a suburb, Epuni, but that's another story.
This episode of Nau Mai Town is about the name 'Petone', which is the corrupted version of the name Pito-One. So what's the story behind that name?
Liz Mellish, Chair of Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust, explains that a certain area on the beach was known for burying the 'pito' or umbilical cords in the 'one' or the sandy part of the beach. Hence the name 'Pito-One'.
Well, that's one story. Mellish says there's a second origin story, as is often the case with Māori place names.
Justine Murray heads to Petone and takes in Jackson Street, visiting a mix of independent businesses and niche design stores, and in the rain, checks out the popular Petone spring on Buick Street.
Paeroa is world-famous in Aotearoa for its mineral water, but do you know the Coromandel town's longer name?
Walking around the Coromandel town of Paeroa, history lies at your feet.
Downtown, you'll see cast-iron pumps that once sucked Paeroa's prized spring water from the ground.
Not far away is the vacant Innes tartan factory where the classic Kiwiana drink Lemon & Paeroa was produced after 1963.
Rino Wilkinson (Ngāti Tamatera) grew up in Paeroa. He worked as a broadcaster at Nga Iwi FM for 33 years and in 2019 was the first Māori elected to the Hauraki District Council.
Rino used to take his glass bottles and fill them up at the water pumps, back before the well was closed off.
He remembers being a teenager in the floods of 1981 when the Ohinemuri River burst its banks and his family had to be evacuated from their home.
What Rino didn't hear much about growing up were stories about the longer name of Paeroa - Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi - and how that relates to a waka race and a Māori ancestor.
In this episode, Te Kehukehu Patara shares the story behind the name ' Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi'.
You'll also meet Laurie Smith, who's worked for the Paeroa District Museum for eight years and spent his whole life in the town. From gold mining to mineral water, local prohibition and the impact of the railway, Laurie knows all the local stories.
Nau Mai Town is back with host Justine Murray to find out the stories and meaning of place names around Aotearoa.
Rino Wilkinson remembers filling up glass bottles at the mineral water pump in and on school trips watching the factory in full swing at the Innes Tartan factory in Paeroa. But he never knew that the long name of his hometown is Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi, find out more on Nau Mai Town with host Justine Murray.
A once-thriving sawmilling industry on the outskirts of Tauranga would inspire the naming of the Tauranga suburb 'Tauriko'. Listen now.
A once-thriving local sawmilling industry inspired the naming of the Tauranga suburb 'Tauriko'.
The business name 'Tauranga Rimu Timber Company' seemed a bit long-winded so sawmill operators, the Gamman brothers shortened the name to Tau-Ri-Co.
The letter 'C' is not a consonant in the Māori language so it was replaced with the letter 'K' which formed the contracted name 'Tauriko' a suburb on the outskirts of Tauranga.
Tauriko is now home to the new housing development area 'The Lakes' and the retail and industrial hub 'Tauranga Crossing'.
The history of sawmilling begins with Samuel John Gamman who arrived in the country on board the Cameo in 1859.
Samuel and his wife Eliza lived at Akaroa in Canterbury before moving north to the Manawatu and the Tararua districts. Together they had 10 children, two of which died young, but his surviving sons would follow their father into the dangerous industry of sawmilling.
In 1908 Henry, Ernest, Arthur and George opened new mills in the Bay of Plenty.
Debbie McCauley is an author of narrative non-fiction children's books and has written extensively on the sawmilling industry in the region.
"They're big names in sawmilling in New Zealand, they start a sawmill at Oropi and George Gamman buys some bush at Omanawa falls and from there they put a tramline through from the Wairoa river and transport massive timber logs."
During this time, New Zealand timber was in high demand, and the Gammans exported it to Australia. As business thrived Debbie says the brothers went to register their business name but decided on a simpler version.
"The story is because 'Co' wasn't in the Māori language it was changed to 'Ko' and the name was Tauriko...that's why a lot of people think it's a Māori word," she says.
Charlie Rāhiri lives in Tauranga and has whakapapa to Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Kahu and Ngai Tamarāwaho, he says while the history of the name 'Tauriko' is based on a major industry set up by a migrant family, the history of the land is one of historical significance to tangata whenua.
"Ngai Tamarāwaho they have a large presence in The Lakes area, Ngāti Hangarau do aswell...their significant pa was called Tupenga and then Wairoa while we had no pa we had a number of kainga" …
Such was the respect that Māori explorer Ihenga had for his uncle and father-in-law Kahumatamomoe, he named two lakes in his honour. That's just part of the story behind the name Rotorua.
Such was the respect that Māori explorer Ihenga had for his uncle and father-in-law Kahumatamomoe, he named two lakes in his honour.
That's just part of the story behind the name Rotorua.
The first is Lake Rotoiti - an abbreviation of Te Rotoiti i kite ai a Ihenga i ariki ai a Kahumatamomoe or The small lake discovered by Ihenga in honour of Kahumatamoemoe.
The second lake he named Te Rotorua Nui a Kahumatemomoe, or The great second lake in honour of Kahumatamomoe" - abbreviated as 'Rotorua'.
Rangitihi Pene (Nō Tuhourangi, Ngati Tarāwhai) works in iwi engagement at Rotorua Library and is an orator well-versed in the history of his hometown.
"Kahumatamomoe initially lived on the coast of Maketu ... he's one of the sons of the captain of the Te Arawa waka, Tamatekapua. He is more or less our main ancestor in Rotorua ... Ihenga conquered Rotorua by re-naming it," he says.
According to Pene, before Ihenga founded and named Rotorua, it had already been given the name Nga Wai karekare o Maru Punga Nui or "the great rippling waters of Maru Punga Nui", (Maru Punga Nui was an ancestor who had been on the Te Arawa waka. )
There was deception on Ihenga's part, Pene says.
"Ihenga tricked him into believing that he had been there longer by antiquating an alter or a tuahu. He burnt it to make it look like it was older to prove that he had been there longer."
Maru Punga Nui couldn't disprove Ihenga's story so he left and shifted his people to Mokoia Island, which, perhaps ironically, Ihenga bestowed with the name Te Motutapu a Tinirau.
According to the 2018 Census, Rotorua has a population of just over 71,000 people, it's known for tourism, geothermal activity and as the hub of Māori arts, crafts and whakairo.
Marty and Jo Anstiss live in Denmark, Western Australia and travelled around New Zealand for five months.
While Marty knew about the geothermal activity that makes Rotorua an interesting place, he had no idea it was an abbreviated name.
Rotorua is home to former radio and TV host Kingi Biddle who agrees that the stories of place names are important. She is disappointed by the use of nicknames such as 'Rotos' and 'Rotovegas'.
"I hate that 'Rotovegas' ... I did an interview once and somebody said to me 'how's Vegas?' and I said to that person 'I've only been there once but if you want to know how Rotorua is - yeah it's awesome'."…
There was a mix-up of words when James Cook came up with the name 'Tolaga' for the small east coast town of Tolaga Bay, but the locals choose to call it Uawa.
'Tolaga Bay' - the name given to a small town on the east coast of the North Island - came about due to a misinterpretation.
In mid-October 1769, Captain James Cook sailed into the harbour and ask questions of local Māori.
Wayne Ngata (Nō Te Aitanga a Hauiti) lives in Tolaga Bay and is a leading figure in the local history of his hometown.
"When Jim Cook rocked up to Uawa... in that process he had been asking directions. Their response was to the effect of saying 'Te Raki' or to the north. He took that as being a placename."
The words 'Te Raki' were apparently heard as 'Te Raka' and wound up as 'Tolaga', Ngata says.
"The difficulty in communicating in languages that are different... We can surmise on these things, having said that, there were still references in Cooks' head about the name of the place and that was a mistake."
It wasn't the first time James Cook had gotten a name wrong.
It also occurred in other parts of Aotearoa, says the secretariat of the New Zealand Geographic Board Wendy Shaw.
"Captain Cook's North Umbrian ear wrote...Tovy - Poe - Nammu. So that's what he heard and so in his English, that's how he wrote Te Wai Pounamu."
But according to Wayne Ngata, the locals call their home 'Uawa' after the local river and an ancestor from Hawaiiki. The full name is 'Uawa Nui a Ruamatua' or 'The Great River of Ruamatua'.
While Tolaga Bay is still commonplace, local kaiako Hinauri Donald says the name 'Uawa' is still new to others outside of the town.
"When I would meet new people and you'd say Uawa...they wouldn't really know where Uawa was and so I would say Tolaga Bay... I mean, I've just always tried to use the Māori name because that's what we use here."
Te Rangirangi, who has lived in Tolaga Bay her whole life, remembers another iteration of the name.
"It was Tabago, not Tolaga... When Captain Cook first came here he landed at Cooks Cove. That was the original name for this place."
In 1894, the town was given the name 'Buckley' after colonial secretary Patrick Buckley but it never stuck and reverted back to being Tolaga Bay.
That name is similar to those of other towns named after men who lived overseas and never set foot in this country, Wayne Ngata says…
Paraparaumu is a beautiful town on the Kāpiti Coast so why would you want to call the town 'Pram'? Justine Murray finds out the story behind the name.
'Pram' and 'Paraparam' are two abbreviations of a Kāpiti coast that have stuck.
The proper name of the town - Paraparaumu - refers to an event that happened over 200 years ago.
As significant as the official name is, cultural advisor Kahu Ropata says the town's nicknames were just what everyone used when he was younger.
"Oh yeah, we're off to Pram' or 'we're off to Pram-Pram for the day'. It wasn't until later on in life when I realised the significance of the name and how it recalls some major events in New Zealand's history."
It's a similar story for Kapiti Island Nature Tours operator John Barrett who has lived in and around the Kāpiti Coast for 70 years.
He says names like 'Paraparam' are from a "bygone" era.
"I don't hear it quite so much now as we used to...it was a bit more of a colonial-era sound, I'm just hearing less and less of it... my old people it always came out Paraparaumu."
The name 'Paraparaumu' references an event that took place during 1819 - 1820 when the Northland-based iwi Nga Puhi and Ngāti Toa from Kāwhia, travelled down from the west coast of the North Island to the Cook Strait known as Te amiowhenua tuatahi (the first expedition).
It was an early foray of the Musket Wars, and Ngati Toa Rangatira Te Rauparaha and his nephew Te Rangihaeata were part of the taua (war party).
During their travels, alliances were made but blood was spilt along the way.
When the war parties arrived at the Kāpiti Coast, famished, they found nothing of substance. According to Kahu Ropata, this inspired the town's name.
"It is a name that is quite synonymous for our area...'parapara' is a word we use to describe waste or food waste...and 'umu' are the earth ovens they were cooked in... It reminds us of that event."
Kahu, who is a former Māori language teacher, encourages people to learn the significance of the name and its story and pronunciation.
"I don't really mind it they can't pronounce, at least they're trying especially our non-Māori, so I have a lot of time for that. It's when they carry on using the barbarisms like Pram -Pram... I've been a teacher of te reo Māori for a long time so I understand that language learning isn't that easy even for our own people... as long as they try and say Paraparaumu."
If you say it out loud, the word Kurow sounds a lot like Te Kohurau. That's because the latter is the original name of a small South Canterbury town named after a tupuna (ancestor).
Kurow is a small rural town in the Waitaki District of South Canterbury.
It's popular for its cycle trails, good fishing spots and is the hometown of former All Black captain and 110-test veteran Richie McCaw.
What is perhaps less known about the town is that the name 'Kurow' is the anglicised version of 'Te Kohurau' - an ancestor who arrived in the South Island on the Āraiteuru waka.
So how did Te Kohurau become Kurow?
This kind of transition was mostly to do with how place names were interpreted, says Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZ Geographic Board) Secretariat Wendy Shaw.
"The way it was transcribed from the original Māori names were usually done by a surveyor, a settler, a crown official or a missionary and sometimes they were not that well educated, and then the other way to look at it is that they would write down what they heard according to their ear of origin."
So in all likelihood, Te Kohurau was written down as 'Kurow'.
Māori language teacher Justin Tipa (Kai Tahu and Kāti Momoe) was raised in the Waitaki Valley and recalls his family being particular about the history and the name 'Te Kohurau' - even though Kurow was what everyone called the town.
"I had a couple of uncles and aunties that were very deliberate in using the name Te Kohurau... I think most of the family just conformed to the rest of the society and I certainly grew up calling the place Kurow"
Today Justin is a cultural advisor at Fonterra and by night teaches Te Reo Māori classes in Moeraki.
It's his mission to teach local Māori about ancestral names and local stories.
"We've started having community discussions and community talks where we talk about our local place names...we're getting good engagement and largely from non-Māori, people want to know this history."
Kate White runs Waitaki Braids - a café, restaurant and lodge in Kurow - and is originally from Banks Peninsula.
Previously, she worked for Environment Canterbury aiding the organisation's shift towards working with local iwi to cement a treaty partnership and better support the Māori language.
Over time, Kate formed good work relationships with three rūnaka (iwi authorities) and became aware of Māori names and the stories in the Waitaki district.
Her interest in the history of the area's name was first sparked when she started hearing the word 'Hacker'…
