Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell delivers baby girl and announces unique name

Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell with her daughter, Kahumoa Caroline Clancy.

Rotorua’s mayor has spoken about the “truly special” moment she and her husband first laid eyes on their new baby girl.

Tania Tapsell, the second mayor in New Zealand history to give birth while in office, today announced the news of baby Kahumoa Caroline Clancy’s arrival last week. She said she and husband Kanin Clancy were delighted.

She gave birth to Kahumoa at Rotorua Hospital - the same place Tapsell was born - last Friday, on her second day of maternity leave.

“Home is where the heart is just got a whole new meaning,” she said in a public announcement supplied to Local Democracy Reporting.

“We’re looking forward to making the most of these first few weeks before I return to my duties as mayor and Kanin takes on the important duties of full-time daddy.”

Tapsell provided Local Democracy Reporting with a few additional details of the big day, including how it felt to look at her daughter for the first time.

“We felt overwhelmed with happiness and there were a few tears of joy. It’s a truly special moment holding your baby for the first time and one we’ll never forget.”

Tapsell said the pair “wanted a unique name” that honoured their daughter’s Māori heritage while also acknowledging how special she was to them.

Kahumoa translates as “most distinguished cloak” and came from the words kakahu (cloak) and the moa bird, which Tapsell said was the most distinguished species of bird during its time.

“The name Kahumoa also pays tribute to an ancestor of my husband called Kahureremoa, and I like that it has Kahu in it as my sister and an ancestor of mine was called Kahutapeka.”

Her little girl came into the world a week early: “I had planned to work right up until then but fortunately lots of local ladies convinced me to take time off earlier.”

Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell on May 31, her last day of work before maternity leave. Photo / Andrew Warner

It was not all smooth sailing, however.

“There was one moment during labour when a fire alarm was accidentally set off.

“The look the midwife and I gave each other was the most priceless ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ moment. I’m very glad that it was a false alarm and I was able to safely carry on delivering her.”

Tapsell, who was a National Party candidate in 2020, paid tribute to the Rotorua Hospital team.

“I’ve had our baby at a time that our health system in New Zealand is facing significant pressure and staff shortages so it’s been sad experiencing first-hand the impacts of this.

“Despite the lack of resources and facilities, there’s no doubt that the staff are incredible and work long hours to care for others.”

She said the couple were also thankful to their midwife Tracey Smitsdorff and the TRG Imagining radiology clinic “who helped us, and many others through their pregnancy journeys”.

Tapsell will return to work on June 28 and was soaking up all of the newborn moments while she could.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do getting Rotorua back on track so I’m looking forward to recovering well and coming back strong.”

She said her colleagues had been “incredibly generous” with their support and it had been lovely sharing the journey with them.

Clancy had been as well, she said, and he was fully embracing taking time off work to care for Kahumoa.

The couple announced her pregnancy in March, and at the time she said she felt twice blessed taking on the roles of both mayor and mother.

She said she was grateful to deputy mayor Sandra Kai Fong for stepping into the role of acting mayor during Tapsell’s maternity leave.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist for four years.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air