An unnamed public road in Hira, north of Nelson, will be called Hawaiki Lane, despite locals calling for it to be given an English title.
Last week, a Nelson City Council hearing panel agreed the new te reo name would be given to the public road connecting Cable Bay Rd to the new Drumduan Rise subdivision.
The decision came after local iwi representatives told the panel the name Hawaiki carried mana and dignity.
But, while the name was backed by iwi, local residents objected to it and called for a name that reflected the history of the farmers who had worked the land since the 1840s.
In a report to the panel, council officers recommended Hawaiki Lane be adopted, with Rotokura Lane as an alternative.
“The proposed names have ancestral significance to the Wakapuaka region and their use supports the revitalisation of te reo Māori and Māori histories. The names also address the imbalance in the visibility of mana whenua heritage.
“Hawaiki can also refer to the traditional homeland of where Māori migrated from, and a reference to where the spirit returns after death. In modern times Hawaiki refers to Māori aspirations for future generations to thrive and flourish.”
Two Ngāti Tama representatives addressed the hearing panel, advocating for the name Hawaiki, which was also the name of a pā in the area.
Environmental manager Dayveen Stephens said Māori had been in the area since before the 1820s, but she pointed out that all the major landmarks in the area had English names.
As examples she listed Delaware Bay - in te reo Whakapuaka; Pepin Island - Mahepuku; Cable Bay - Rotokura; and Bishop Peninsular - Huri-o-te wai.
She urged the panel to choose Hawaiki for the unnamed road.
“That name carries a lot of mana, that name carries a lot of respect, the name carries a lot of dignity because it acknowledges how and when that name came to this shore.”
Trustee Andrew Stephens said it was important to bring back Māori place names and acknowledge “the first colonisers of this whenua”.
But, the name was opposed by residents of the road, whose addresses will be changed from Cable Bay Rd.
Lachlan Banks said his family had farmed in the area since arriving in 1842.
“The two names have absolutely no significance to myself or anyone I know in the area ... I would like a name for the road I live in to reflect the people of the land.”
People in the area had always know it as Harvey’s Rd, he said.
Peter Ruffell, the developer of Drumduan Rise, said the road should be called Drumduan Rd.
It was “totally unacceptable and undemocratic” that the residents didn’t get to have a say, he said.
“I would like to think councillors have actually listened to the people that are affected and have lived in the area since the 1840s.”
Drumduan, the name of the hill the subdivision is on, was given to the area by a Scottish man in the early 1800s, he said.
He had spent millions building the subdivision, including developing the road, and “had the right” to name the road too.
“An English name is what the community has always been. We have got Māori on it, they’re all more than happy to have it as an English name.”
According to Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand the hill’s official name is Horoirangi/Drumduan.
Council’s group manager environmental Mandy Bishop told the panel it wasn’t possible to name the road Drumduan Rd as it was too similar to Drumduan Rise and would be confusing for emergency services.
It was standard practice for developers to fund upgrades to roads to new developments. Developers were able to name roads in subdivisions, but it the council named public roads, she said.
Councillor Mel Courtney said Hawaiki was the “most appropriate name”.
“It’s a good fit ...its ancestral significance is high.”
Councillors Matthew Benge and Aaron Stallard agreed.
“You can’t deny the fact who was here first,” Benge said.
Stallard said there was a “great need to bring Te Reo Māori back into our communities to embrace the richness of that pre 1840s period and the status of mana whenua”.
- Nelson Mail