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Place naming

Consultation opens today on a proposal to correct the spelling of the Lower Hutt suburb Petone to Pito One

The proposal was made to Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board by The Wellington Tenths Trust and the Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust with support from the Hutt City Council and numerous other iwi groups from the region. 

Pito One is the correct spelling for the suburb,” says Board Secretary Wendy Shaw.

“The name refers to the burial of pito (umbilical cord) in the one (sand) as a symbolic tethering of a newborn to the land and their tūrangawaewae (place to stand) and as an expression of ahi kā (continuous occupation). 

Pito One pā was the place where senior rangatira Hōniana Te Puni met William Wakefield and the New Zealand Company settlers in 1839.”

Early correspondence and maps show the use of Pitoni, Pito One, Pito-One and Pitoone, however over time Petone became commonly used. 

At various times since 1930 the Board has recognised that the spelling of the name is incorrect but has never formally resolved the matter. 

The spelling Pito One has been confirmed by kaumātua and Te Taura Whiti i te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission). 

The Board would now like to hear from the wider community before any final decisions are made. 

Submissions on the proposal can be made in the following ways:

Consultation closes 10 September 2024.

 

The Board will not release submission details before a final decision is made. The submission report will be available on the Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand website at the time a final decision is announced.

New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa place naming process 

Tono panoni i te ingoa o Petone 

Ka tuwhera i te rangi nei te whakapā haere mō te tono kia whakatikaina te tuhia o te paenoho o Te Awakairangi mai i te Petone ki te Pito One. 

I tāpaea te tono ki a Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa e Te Wellington Tenths Trust me te Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust me te tautokohia e te Kaunihera o Te Awakairangi me ētahi atu rōpū ā-iwi maha o te rohe. 

Hei tā te Hēkeretari o te Poari a Wendy Shaw, “Ko Pito One te tuhinga tika o te paenoho.”  

“E kōrero ana te ingoa mō te tanumia o te pito ki te one hei tohu i te herea o te kōhungahunga hou ki te whenua me tōna tūrangawaewae, hei tohu anō i tōna ahi kā. 

“Ko Pito One te pā i tūtaki ai te rangatira nui a Hōniana Te Puni ki a William Wakefield me te hunga rarau iho o te New Zealand Company i te 1839.”

E whakaatu ana ngā kōrero me ngā mahere whenua o mua i te whakamahia o te ingoa o Pitoni, o Pito One, o Pito-One me Pitoone, heoi, i roto i te wā ka whānui te whakamahia o te  Petone.

I ōna wā mai i te 1930 ka mōhio te Poari ki te tuhia hētia o te ingoa engari kāore ia i āta whai ki te whakatika. 

Kua whakaūngia te tuhia o Pito One e ngā kaumātua me Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. 

Kua hiahia te Poari ināianei kia rongo i ngā whakaaro o te hapori whānui i mua i ngā whakatau whakamutunga. 

Ka taea te tuku whakaaro mai mō te tono i ēnei huarahi nei: 

Ka kati te whakapā haere hei te 10 o Mahuru 2024.

 

E kore te Poari e tuku taipitopito tāpaenga whakaaro i mua i te whakatau whakamutunga. Ka wātea te pūrongo tāpaenga ki te paetukutuku a Toitū Te Whenua ina pānuitia te whakatau whakamutunga.

New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa place naming process

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