Kororāreka Marae chairwoman Deb Rewiri by the waharoa (gateway) welcoming visitors to the Bay of Islands town. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
Kororāreka Marae chairwoman Deb Rewiri by the waharoa (gateway) welcoming visitors to the Bay of Islands town. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf
A decision is imminent on whether an historic Northland town will keep its colonial name or go back to its original te reo Māori name.
Russell, in the Bay of Islands, is already also known as Kororāreka but in 2021 the Kororāreka Marae Society decided it wanted theMāori name officially recognised.
A three-month public consultation on the name change was held in early 2023, and in June of that year, the Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa NZ Geographic Board transferred the contentious decision to the then-Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor.
New minister Chris Penk, who took over the portfolio after the 2023 elections, has not yet announced a decision about the name.
But he told the Northern Advocate this week an announcement would be made shortly: “I have considered the proposal provided by the New Zealand Geographic Board and submissions from the public, and expect to communicate a decision imminently”.
Kororāreka Marae chairwoman Deb Rewiri said she is forever hopeful the name will be changed — or restored, as she calls it — to Kororāreka.
Russell is the name of a leader who never set foot in Aotearoa, she said.
Russell is already also known as Kororāreka but in 2021 the Kororāreka Marae Society decided it wanted the Māori name to be officially recognised.
Kororāreka records how an unwell Māori chief was revitalised by a sweet penguin broth from the area, with kororā being the name for blue penguin and reka meaning sweet.
The name Russell was given to New Zealand’s first capital, the town of Ōkiato, in 1840 after the then-leader of the British House of Commons, Lord James Russell.
The name was transferred to Kororāreka, about 8km north of Ōkiato, after 1842 when Old Russell burnt down and the capital was transferred to Auckland.
Rewiri said people were learning more about the name Kororāreka, including during three meetings at the marae.
“Once people understand the meaning of the name and how it got its name, then suddenly it makes sense for them.”
Rewiri believed even if the township had a dual Kororāreka/Russell naming convention, the Māori name would eventually become more prominent, in the same way the name for Mt Taranaki/Mt Egmont has.
The name restoration would not require businesses to change their name, she said.
Rewiri said the town’s younger generation was leading the way, according to what she observed at a recent event with tamariki.
“They call Kororāreka by the right name. I feel in good heart — they know and understand the history of the area.”
While the decision and resolution of the NZ Geographic Board has been kept confidential, Rewiri said she was told the board voted for the township to be named Kororāreka.
The minister was required to make the final determination due to the controversy, she said. No time frame has been set for that decision.
■ Date unknown: An ailing chief, on being given broth made from a penguin, declares: “how sweet is the penguin” (kororā = little blue penguin, reka = sweet). Kororāreka remains the name of the town, which becomes a busy whaling port, until the early 1840s.
■ 1840: Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson establishes the colony’s first capital at Ōkiato, which he names Russell after the leader of the British House of Commons, Lord John Russell. (Ōkiato, where the Ōpua-Russell car ferry docks, has since reverted to its original name.)
■ 1841: The capital is moved to Auckland.
■ 1842: The original Russell (Ōkiato) is destroyed by fire. As Kororāreka, about 8km away, is part of the Port of Russell, it gradually assumes the name Russell.
■ 1844: Governor FitzRoy formally decrees Kororāreka should be a part of the town of Russell.
■ 1939: At the request of the Marine Department, the Honorary Board confirms Kororareka is the correct spelling for the bay and point in the Bay of Islands.
■ 2021: The Geographic Board receives a proposal to restore Russell’s original Māori name.
■ 2023: The proposal goes out for public consultation. The Geographic Board considers the feedback, takes a vote and requires the Land Information Minister to make a final decision.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
