Place Names Flashcards
Pacific Ocean
Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa
Napier
Ahuriri
after the chief, Tu Ahuriri
Christchurch
Ōtautahi
the place of Tautahi, originally a particular place by the river
Gisborne
Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa
‘the great/long standing place of Kiwa (ancestor)’
Tasman Sea
Te Tai-O-Rehua
Bay of Plenty
Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi
‘the sea of Tai, the only child/lone born’
Hawkes Bay
Te Matau-a-Māui
‘Maui’s fishhook’
Hastings
Heretaunga
‘to tie up at home (canoe)’
Wellington
Te Whanganui-a-Tara
emphasis on the ‘a’
‘Tara’s great harbour’
Dunedin
Ōtepoti
‘place of the English boat’/place of the corner’
‘corner of the harbour’
Invercargill
Waihōpai
Bluff
Motupōhue
'motu' = island (hill that looks like an island) 'pōhue' = a type of climbing vine
Greymouth
Māwhera
‘widespread river mouth’
ma - short for ‘manga’ - branch of river/tree)
whera - to open out/spread out
Nelson
Whakatū
‘the erection/putting up’ (eg of a home)
Palmerston North
Te Papaioea ; or Te Papa-i-oea
‘how beautiful it is’
New Plymouth
Ngāmotu
‘the islands’
Auckland
Tāmaki-makaurau
‘Tāmaki of 100 lovers’
‘Tāmaki, desired by many’
Tāmaki = Auckland
East Coast
Te Tai Rāwhiti
tai = coast, rāwhiti = east/eastern
Northland
Te Tai Tokerau
tokerau = north, tai = coast
South/Southland
Te Tai Tonga
tonga = south
West Coast (of the North Island)
Te Tai Hauāuru
hauāuru = west/western
place
wahi
place name
ingoa wahi
Stewart Island
Rakiūra
North Island
Te Ika-a-Māui
‘Maui’s fish’
South Island
Te Waipounamu
“the greenstone”
South Island
Te Waka-a-Māui
“Maui’s canoe”
Hamilton
Kirikiriroa
“long stretch of gravel”
Rotorua
‘second lake’
‘Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe’ = second lake discovered by the chief and dedicated to his uncle Kahumatamomoe.
Taupo
Taupō-nui-a-Tia
‘the great cloak of Tia’
