May 19, 2022
Von Tempsky St in dustbin of history
A spokesperson for the Kiingitanga is welcoming a Hamilton City Council decision to strip the name of New Zealand Wars mercenary Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky from a Hamilton East street.
Von Tempsky St will become Putikitiki Street and the nearby Dawson Park, named after an early mayor, becomes to Te Wehenga Park, after a historic urupā in the area which was destroyed by road works.
Ngira Simmonds says it should not be seen as wiping history, but people who committed war crimes against te iwi Māori shouldn’t be on street names.
“We don’t need to forget those things, We do need to remember them, We do need to teach that history accurately in schools. But we don’t need to force the victims of that invasion to see it on street names every single day,” he says.
Archdeacon Simmonds says renaming brings to life a history of events and people who were on the land before Pākehā, and he gets a thrill out of driving around some of the newer suburbs in Kirikiroa and seeing Māori street names.