Hundreds of original tangata whenua place names added to new Aotearoa maps

Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board has today released new maps of Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Waipounamu featuring hundreds of original tangata whenua place names as they were before European settlement.

The second edition Tangata Whenua Place Names maps, build on the original maps released in 1995, but this time add hundreds of newly collected names from iwi and hapū, as well as from Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

See the maps of Te Waipounamu and Te Ika-a-Māui

'We are delighted to present many more place names in these second editions than were able to be featured on the first maps in 1995,' Board Chairperson Anselm Haanen says.

'The new maps have been years in the making and show the breadth of work undertaken in partnership with iwi and hapū to collect and depict original place names, and ensure that ancestral and traditional oral histories are cemented in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history.'

A special feature of these maps is that the landscape is depicted as close to what it was in 1840.

By winding the clock back, Te Whanganui-a-Orotū is shown as it was before being drained by the 1931 Napier Earthquake, and glaciers of Te Waipounamu are shown as they were in 1840.

Some of the place names are for features and places that no longer exist.

'These updated maps are a national taonga that will help new generations of Kiwis to connect with Aotearoa’s history,' Mr Haanen says.

On the back of the maps, indexes share kōrero about each of the names and serve as an educational resource.

The maps will support the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum set by the Ministry of Education, and have been sent to every school in the country.

The maps will be available to purchase soon through map retailers and other outlets.

About Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa

Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is an independent statutory body. The Board is supported and administered by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.

Anyone may propose a name for a geographic feature or place. The Board uses naming guidelines and standards and follows international good practice to help it to make informed, robust and enduring decisions.

The Board recognises the importance of pronunciation in te reo, and macrons support both pronunciation and meaning. Therefore, the Board follows the orthographic conventions of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission).

If the Board doesn't agree with a proposal, it may consult on a different proposal considered to be more appropriate.

The Board consults with relevant agencies, local communities, councils, stakeholders and iwi. It researches all proposals and encourages original Māori place names.

Official place names must be used in all official documents like road signs, maps, websites, databases and publications for tourists.

Anyone can make a submission on proposed place names, either online or by emailing nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz, or by mailing directly to the the Board’s Secretariat.

Official and recorded place names can be searched in the New Zealand Gazetteer.

Media contact

Email: media@linz.govt.nz or 027 566 5251

Kua tāpirihia te hia rau ingoa wāhi ake a te tangata whenua ki ngā mahere hou o Aotearoa

Kua whakaterea i te rangi nei e Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa ngā mahere hou o Te Ika-a-Māui me Te Waipounamu e whakaatu ana i te hia rau ingoa wāhi taketake ake a te tangata whenua o mua atu i te rarau iho a Tauiwi ki tēnei whenua. 

Kua whānui ake ngā ingoa wāhi taketake i te putanga tuarua o ngā mahere Ingoa Wāhi Tangata Whenua i ngā mahere ake i puta i te tau 1995, i tēnei putanga kua tāpirihia te hia rau ingoa kua kohia i ngā iwi, ngā hapū, i ngā whakataunga hoki o raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Hei tā Anselm Haanen, Toihau o te Poari, 'E harikoa ana mātou ki te whakaatu i te maha noa atu o te ingoa wāhi i ngā putanga tuarua nei, i ngā ingoa i whakaaturia i ngā mahere tuatahi i puta i te 1995.'

'Ka hia tau ngā mahere hou e mahia ana, ka whakaatu hoki i te whānui o te mahi tahi ki ngā iwi, ngā hapū ki te kohikohi me te whakaatu i ngā ingoa taketake, me te āta whai kia poua tūturuhia ngā kōrero a ngā tūpuna, ngā kōrero tuku iho ki ngā hītori o Aotearoa.' 

Ko tētahi mea ahurei o ngā mahere nei ko te tata rite o te whakaatuhia o te wahi ki tērā o te 1840.    

I te hokinga whakamuri, kua whakaaturia Te Whanganui-a-Orotū ki tōna wāhi o mua atu i te whakatahea o ngā wai e te Rū i Ahuriri i te 1931, ko ngā awa kōpaka o Te Waipounamu e whakaaturia ana ki tō rātou wāhi ake o te tau 1840.

Ko ētahi o ngā ingoa he ingoa mō te tārainga whenua me te wāhi kua kore e kitea.

Hei tā Mr Haanen, 'He taonga ngā mahere kua whakahoungia nei mā te motu, ka āwhina i ngā whakatupuranga hou o konei ki te hono atu ki ngā hītori o Aotearoa.'  

I muri o ngā mahere, e takoto mai ana he kōrero mō tēnā me tēnā ingoa ka noho nei hei rauemi mā te ao mātauranga.

Ka tautoko ngā mahere i te marautanga mō ngā kōrero tuku iho o Aotearoa (ANZH) kua whakaritea e te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga, kua tukua nei ki ngā kura katoa o te motu. 

Ka taea ngā mahere te hoko ā kō ake nei i te hunga hoko mahere whenua me ētahi atu wāhi hoko.

Kōrero mō Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa

He rōpū motuhake ā-ture a Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa.  E tautokohia ana, e whakahaeretia ana te Poari e Toitū Te Whenua.

E āhei ana te tangata noa ki te tono ingoa mō tētahi tārainga matawhenua, tētahi wāhi rānei. Ka whai te Poari i ētahi aratohu taunaha, ētahi paerewa, me ngā tikanga mahi papai o te ao hei āwhina i a ia ki te whakatau i runga i te mōhio, e pakari ai, e mauroa ai tāna i whakatau ai. 

E mōhio ana te Poari ki te hiranga o te whakahua i te reo, ka tautoko hoki te tohutō i te whakahuatanga me te tikanga o te kupu. Nō reira, ka whai te Poari i ngā tikanga tuhi a Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.

Ki te kore te Poari e whakaae ki tētahi tono, e āhei ana ia ki te whakapā haere mō tētahi atu tono e whakapono ana ia ka hāngai ake.

Ka whakapā haere te Poari ki ngā umanga e hāngai ana, ki ngā hapori o te hau kāinga, ki ngā kaunihera, ki te hunga whai wāhi me te iwi. Ka rangahaua e ia ngā tono katoa, ka whakahau hoki kia takoto ko te ingoa wāhi Māori ake.

Me mātua whakamahi ko te ingoa wāhi mana ki ngā tuhinga mana katoa pērā i te tohu huarahi, te mahere whenua, te paetukutuku, te putunga raraunga me ngā whakaputanga mā te tūruhi.

E āhei ana te tangata noa ki te tuku whakaaro mai mō te ingoa wāhi kua tonoa, me tāpae mai ā-tuihono me īmēra tika mai rānei ki te Tokomatua o te Poari. 

Ka taea te rapu ngā ingoa mana ngā ingoa rānei kua takoto i te New Zealand Gazetteer.

Kaiwhakapā pāpāho

Īmēra: media@linz.govt.nz te 027 566 5251 rānei