What's the name of that place?
KO HEA TĒRĀ?
Aotearoa (Te Waipounamu),[no date], MapColl-NZGB-1/2/377/ACC.55063, New Zealand Geographic Board: Selection of maps of New Zealand. 1860s-1990, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.799970
Māori Place Names Activity
Where do the name of places and sites come from? Along the Otago Central Rail Trail, there are a number of places that have a Māori and an English name. There can be a lot of debate whether a site should be called one thing or another.
Māori named their sites after an important event, a way to remember or celebrate or an important person. The European settlers, on the other hand, often named sites and places after people that founded or owned the land.
A place can often have a significant meaning or connection to a person and a connection to the past. Think of a significant memory of a place that means something to you.
The disappearing lake on the Otago Rail Trail was called Taiari Lake, however the Māori called it Tunaheketaka which means 'dangling of the eels'. However, the lake is actually named after a Māori Chief Mr Dangling the Eels from the Ngati-Mamoe tribe.
Looking at the Otago Witness newspaper article from 1909, select one of the places mentioned and find the story behing the name.
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Who is the place named after?
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Where did the name come from?
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What is the story behind the name?
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Write a short history of the name from the information you've gathered.
MAORI NOMENCLATURE
OTAGO WITNESS, ISSUE 2862, 20 JANUARY 1909, PAGE 15
