April 21, 2022
Hapū make ripples over Clive river name
The Green Party is backing an effort by the hapū of Kohupātiki Marae near Heretaunga to put the Clive River back under its original name, Ngaruroro.
MP Elizabeth Kerekere says that comes from Ngaruroro Moko-tū-ā-raro-ki-Rangatira, the name given by Ruawharo, a tohunga on the waka Tākitimu, who was describing the ngaru or ripples (ngaru) created by now-extinct upokororo fish when Māhu crossed the awa with his dog.
That’s a stronger connection than Robert Clive, a British soldier who never set foot in Aotearoa and is mainly known now for unleashing the wholesale plunder of India.
“The town was named after him and then when they created the diversion of the river, the Geographic Board in its wisdom in 1975 said ‘let’s just call the river Clive as well,’ and since then it has been a bone of contention for our local iwi,”
Dr Kerekere says.
The Greens have posted a petition to support an application to the New Zealand Geographic Board for a name change.
https://action.greens.org.nz/202204_petition_for_operation_patiki