September 22, 2022
Names put under spotlight
Former George FM host Kara Rickard and comedian Joe Daymond are putting the spotlight on New Zealand place names.
Their six-part series on TV3, Get The Name Right, looks at the origins of names both Māori and Pākehā.
That involved travelling as far as Zeeland to find why the country is named after a Dutch province rather than something like … Aotearoa.
Ms Rickard says names can change, depending on people’s sense of connection.
“Poverty Bay, Turanganui a Kiwa, a few years ago that was officially made a dual name and now more people just call it Turanganui a Kiwa. We’re not saying one is better than the other. We’re just providing the facts on how the names were give to the areas and you can decide which one you want to use,” she says.
The series could be a useful resource for schools in the new history curriculum.