The New Zealand Gazetteer
The New Zealand Gazetteer has all official place names of New Zealand, including:
- its offshore islands
- undersea to the limits of the continental shelf
- the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.
It also records unofficial names that are shown on official maps, charts, and other publications. Original Māori place names are included where known.
Each place name in the Gazetteer has:
- a status – official or unofficial
- the gazette notice reference or legislative reference, for an official name
- the type of place or feature, such as, town, mountain, stream, bay
- its position on official maps (including latitude and longitude)
and may include:
- a description of the feature
- the extent of the feature covers
- its history, origin or meaning
- source information
There is a ‘How to Use’ guide on the righthand side once in the Gazetteer.
If you want to re-use the information in the Gazetteer you can:
Māori place names with macrons
You can identify Māori place names with macrons by downloading a .csv file from the Gazetteer.
Download a .csv file of Māori place names with macrons
Not all place names in the Gazetteer are official, and not all Māori place names have been reviewed for correct spelling.
Antarctic place names
You can find place names in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica in the Gazetteer. It is not a list of all place names in Antarctica as the Board only has responsibility for place names in the Ross Sea Region.
Undersea feature names
You can search for undersea feature names on New Zealand’s continental shelf and in Antarctic waters within the Ross Dependency in the Gazetteer.
Names not in the Gazetteer
Some of New Zealand’s place names may not be in the Gazetteer. Please find links to other sources of place names information below.
