February 17, 2022
Pākaraka revived as Maxwell consigned to past
A locality near Whanganui which was the site of an unprovoked attack on tamariki Māori during the Land Wars has been returned to its original name.
Accepting the recommendation of the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa, Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor said the change from Maxwell to Pākaraka addresses a long-standing Treaty grievance.
He says Ngāti Maika sought an outright change of name rather than dual or alternative names.
Pākaraka means a settlement surrounded by an abundance of karaka trees,
Pākehā settlers renamed it in the 1870s to honour George Maxwell, the leader of a government militia which in 1868 attacked a group of unarmed Māori children with sabres and killed two boys.