Celebrating 100 years of place naming

Today, Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is marking 100 years of official place naming in New Zealand, its offshore islands, Antarctica and on the sea floor.

On this day in 1924 the Board held its first meeting after Surveyor-General William Neill of the Lands and Survey Department wrote to the Minister of Lands, Alexander McLeod, recommending he establish an Honorary Geographic Board of New Zealand.

“We’re delighted to be celebrating 100 years of official place naming,” says Board Chairperson Anselm Haanen.

“Reflecting on the progress the Board has made in the past century helps to remind us of the importance and relevance of official place naming.

“Place names are integral to clearly communicating location and address, give context to space and help us to navigate to where we want to go to. Beyond these practical needs, place names contribute to our sense of identity – both individual and national,” says Haanen.

After 22 years the Honorary Board transformed into the New Zealand Geographic Board, having been established under the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946 to give weight to official decisions. Place naming powers in that first Act included collecting original Māori place names and a 1998 amendment encouraged their use on official maps and charts.

At the direction of Cabinet, in 1956 the Board began naming places in New Zealand’s area of interest in Antarctica. The current 2008 Act formalised its naming jurisdiction to include the Ross Dependency of Antarctica and extended to include undersea features out to the limits of our extended continental shelf, and Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai’s reserves.

Mr Haanen, as Surveyor-General, has served as the Board’s Chairperson since September 2018. He follows a long line of influential Surveyor-Generals from Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand and its predecessor departments, who each successfully lead the changing makeup and priorities of the Board. Over that time, Anselm has noted many milestones and significant place name decisions, adding that decision making is well considered and well informed with scholarship and collegiality.

“The centenary is a great opportunity to look back on some of our bigger milestones, such as introducing Mount Taranaki as an alternative name for Mount Egmont. This was significant at the time because it marked a historical turning point in the way New Zealanders began to acknowledge the place names that were first here. It also sparked public consciousness of the very strong attachment we all have to our place names. Over 10,000 public submissions were received in the 1980s. Forty years later we are now seeing the Māori name predominantly used and widely accepted.

“We are particularly proud that we uphold internationally recognised good practice to ensure standardised, consistent and accurate place naming, which results in robust, enduring and accepted decisions. In the 100 years of its existence, the Board has adapted to public and government expectations, including meeting its Treaty of Waitangi obligations, and therefore staying applicable and meaningful to New Zealanders. Noting especially that the stories associated with places have prevailed and give us a window into the heritage that shapes our national identity.”

Today the ten Board members include the Surveyor-General Anselm Haanen as Chairperson, the National Hydrographer and eight other members appointed by the Minister for Land Information. These include two people recommended by the Minister of Māori Affairs and nominations from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, New Zealand Geographical Society, Federated Mountain Clubs and Local Government New Zealand. There have been some illustrious members over the 100 years, such as Sir Āpirana Ngata, Johannes Andersen, Tā Tipene O’Regan, Wharehuia Milroy and Dame Evelyn Stokes. A small Secretariat within Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (the agency who has supported the Board for its 100 years of operation) manages the Board’s mahi.

The Board is responsible for upholding our unique cultural and national identity through place names. It does this by making them official, restoring, collecting and correcting them, and sharing their origin and history.

For more information on the Board’s centenary, see Celebrating 100 years of place naming (linz.govt.nz).

Te whakanui i te 100 tau e taunaha wāhi ana

I tēnei rangi, ka whakanuia e Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa te 100 tau e taunaha wāhi ana i Aotearoa, i ōna moutere o waho, i te Tiri o te Moana ki te Tonga, me te takere o te moana. 

I tēnei rangi i te 1924 ka tū te hui tuatahi a te Poari i muri o te tuhi atu a te Kairūri-Matua a William Neill o te Tari Lands and Survey ki te Minita Whenua, a Alexander McLeod, e tūtohu ana kia whakatūria tētahi Poari Matawhenua Hōnore o Aotearoa. 

Hei tā te Toihau o te Poari a Anselm Haanen, “E harikoa ana te ngākau ki te whakanui i te 100 tau e taunaha wāhi ana.” 

“Ka āwhina te titiro ki te kokenga a te Poari i te rautau ka taha ake nei e mahara ai tātou ki te hiranga me te hāngai o te whakamana i te taunahatanga o tētahi wāhi.   

Hei tā Haanen anō, “Kei te iho te ingoa wāhi o te āta whakamārama kei hea tūturu tētahi wāhi, tētahi wāhitau, ka tuku horopaki ki te takiwā, ka āwhina anō i a tātou ki te haere ki te wāhi e hiahia haere ana tātou. 

I muri o te 22 tau ka huri te Poari Hōnore ki te New Zealand Geographic Board, i whakatūria nei i raro i te New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946 kia kaha ake ai ngā whakatau mana. I uru atu ki te mana taunaha i te Ture tuatahi te kohi ingoa wāhi Māori taketake ake me te whakahau a tētahi whakahounga o te 1998 kia whakamahia aua ingoa ki te mahere whenua mana me te tūtohi. 

I runga i te tohutohu a te Rūnanga Kāwanatanga, i te 1956 ka tīmata te Poari ki te taunaha wāhi i Te Tiri o te Moana ki te Tonga, te takiwā whai pānga o Aotearoa.  I whakamanahia e te Ture 2008 o tēnei wā kia uru atu te Ross Dependency o Te Tiri o te Moana ki te Tonga ki tōna mana taunaha ka whakawhānuitia ki te takere o te moana rere noa ki ngā paenga o tō tātou pūkawa raurarahi rōraha, me ngā whenua rāhui a Te Papa Atawhai. 

Nā te noho a Mr Haanen hei Kairūri-Matua, kua noho ia hei Toihau mō te Poari mai i te Mahuru 2018. E whai ana ia i tētahi rārangi roroa o ētahi Kairūri-Matua awenga nui a Toitū Te Whenua me ōna tari o mua, i angitu nei tēnā me tēnā ki te hautū i te huringa o te āhua o te Poari me āna mahi matua.  I roto i taua wā, ka kite a Anselm i ētahi tūāmahi huhua me ētahi whakataunga ingoa wāhi hiranga, me tana kī ake ka āta whakaarohia ngā whakatau i runga i te noho mōhio me te ngākau pai. 

“He huarahi nui te whakanui i te rautau nei ki te titiro whakamuri ki ētahi o ngā tūāmahi nui tonu, pērā i te whakanoho mai i a Mount Taranaki hei ingoa kē mō Mount Egmont. Hiranga ana tēnei i taua wā i te mea i tohu i tētahi huringa kē mō te āhua o te whakaae a Aotearoa ki ngā ingoa wāhi taketake ake. I whakaoho anō i te mauri tūmatanui ki ō tātou hononga tino kaha ki ō tātou ingoa wāhi.  Neke atu i te 10,000 ngā tāpaenga whakaaro tūmatanui i tae ake i ngā tau 1980. E whā tekau tau i muri iho kua kite iho tātou i te ingoa Māori e kaha whakamahia ana, e whakaaetia whānuitia ana. 

“E tino ngākau whakahī ana mātou i tā mātou tautinei i ngā tikanga mahi papai o te ao kia tūturu ai te aro whānui, te auau me te tino tika o te taunaha wāhi, e hua ai ko te whakatau tuawhiti, mauroa, e whakaaetia ana. I ngā tau 100 e tū ana ia, kua urutau te Poari ki ngā tūmanako tūmatanui, kāwanatanga, tae atu ki te whakatutuki i āna here i raro i te Tiriti o  Waitangi, ka noho hāngai ai, whai tikanga ai ki te katoa o Aotearoa. Ka aro nui atu ki ngā kōrero mō ētahi wāhi kua angitu ka noho hei matapihi ki ngā taonga tuku iho ka tārai i tō tātou tuakiri ā-motu.   

I ēnei rā tekau ngā mema o te Poari pērā i te Kairūri-Matua a Anselm Haanen e noho ana hei Toihau, te Kaiwhakatātūtū o te Motu me ētahi atu mema tokowaru ka kopoua e te Minita mō Toitū Te Whenua. Ka uru atu ko tētahi tokorua ka tūtohua e Te Minita Whanaketanga Māori me ētahi tautapanga a Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, te New Zealand Geographical Society, te Federated Mountain Clubs me te Kāwantanga ā-Rohe o Aotearoa. Kua noho mai ētahi tāngata mana nunui i roto i te 100 tau nei pērā i a Tā Āpirana Ngata, a Johannes Andersen, a Tā Tipene O’Regan, a Wharehuia Milroy me Dame Evelyn Stokes. Whakahaeretia ai e tētahi Tokomatua o roto o Toitū Te Whenua (te umanga kua tautoko i te Poari mō ngā tau 100 nei) ngā mahi a te Poari. 

Kei te Poari te kawenga ki te tautinei i tō tātou ahurea motuhake me tō tātou tuakiri ā-motu mā roto i te ingoa wāhi. Ka tutuki tēnei i tana whakamana, whakahoki ake, i tana kohi me tana whakatika ingoa, me tana tuari i te pūtakenga mai o te ingoa me yōna hītori. 

Mō ētahi atu kōrero e pā ana ki te rautau a te Poari, tirohia te Celebrating 100 years of place naming (linz.govt.nz). 

About Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board 

This year, Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is marking 100 years of official place naming in New Zealand, its offshore islands, Antarctica and on the sea floor. 

Find out more about its history here: Celebrating 100 years of place naming. And check out some notable moments.

The Board is an independent statutory body. It 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 Board’s Secretary.

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