July 07, 2023
Treaty research fills in Māori maps
Two maps showing the original Māori and Moriori names of hundreds of places across nga motu have been updated for a new generation.
Wendy Shaw, the secretary of the Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa, says each map contains about 900 names, compared with 600 on the set released in 1995.
Those maps built on work done by politician and scholar Sir Apirana Ngata, whose idea for a map to mark the 1940 centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi was interrupted by World War Two.
The late Te Aue Davis met with kaumatua around the country to extend that list.
“(Since then) there have been many more original names that have come to light through treaty settlements and names resulting from direct consultation with hapu and iwi. The additional thing we have done is correct some of the orthography on the original 1995 maps such as with macrons,” Ms Shaw says.
Retailers with the tangata whenua place name maps are listed on the Toitu Whenua Land Information New Zealand website, linz.gov.nz, and they can also be digitally downloaded from the site with supplementary information.





