One of Northland’s most historic towns could revert to its original Māori name if a proposal being considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa goes ahead.
Public consultation started today on returning Russell to its pre-1842 name of Kororāreka, which translates literally as “sweet penguin”.
The Geographic Board initially considered an outright name change from Russell to Kororāreka, the dual name Kororāreka/Russell, or adopting both names as alternatives — before settling on the first option.
However, the decision could be swayed by public feedback, and a Government minister may have the final say.
The proposal was lodged by the Kororāreka Marae Society with chairwoman Deb Rewiri describing it as a name restoration rather than a change.
“We’ve talked about it for long enough. We’ve put up signs but we’ve never done anything officially. John Russell [a British politician after whom the town was named] never set foot in New Zealand, so why do we hang onto these colonial names?”
Rewiri said the name Kororāreka was widely used by Māori but also by an increasing number of Pākehā residents.
Russell was the only town of any size in the Far North that did not have its original Māori name, although a few, such as Kaikohe, had been shortened over the years.
Rewiri expected pushback but was “forever hopeful”. She said some prominent residents supported the restoration and expected others would come around.
Public meetings would be held to discuss the proposal, at Kororāreka Marae, on the Russell waterfront, on January 24 at 9am, 1pm and 5pm. Everyone was welcome.
Geographic Board secretary Wendy Shaw said any individual or group could propose a name change.
Many were the result of Treaty of Waitangi settlements, while others commemorated people or events, such as the recent renaming of a ridge on Aoraki/Mt Cook after Sir Edmund Hillary.
Shaw said the proposer had asked for an outright name change but board members had also considered a dual name and alternative names.
The advantage of alternative names was that they recognised the history of both names and allowed a transition so people could get used to the change.
Examples of alternative names included Mt Egmont or Mt Taranaki, and Whanganui or Wanganui.
In this case, however, the board felt Kororāreka was already well-recognised so a transition was not necessary.
It helped that Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi supported the change, as did the Far North District Council — albeit with reservations about potential costs and consultation with tourism operators.
Shaw said every submission would be read by the board, but its members were interested in the reasons behind people’s views rather than just numbers.
“It may well be that people come back and say a dual name, or alternative names, will suit the community better.”
While John Russell had never been to New Zealand, the long-term use of a name, and people’s attachment to it, were factors the board took into account.
“These decisions are not taken lightly,” she said.
Consultation would be open for three months with the board considering submissions mid-year.
If the proposal proved controversial, it could be referred to Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor for a final decision.
According to the proposal report, reasons for opting for an outright name change included the board’s “responsibility to investigate and determine the priority of the discovery of a geographic feature, and to collect and encourage the use of original Māori names on official charts and maps”.
Also, Kororāreka was already widely known, and dual and alternative names were discouraged in the Australia-New Zealand Addressing Standard.
Arguments put forward for the dual-name option included overcoming problems that could be caused by wholesale replacement such as loss of identity, and confusion among holiday-makers and tourists. Confusion while identifying the town in an emergency was another factor, though that risk was deemed to be low.
A dual name would also recognise long-term use and “equal historical significance” of both names, while placing the Māori name first would recognise first discovery by Māori.
Both parts of the name would have to be used together so the second option would lock in both.
Advantages of the alternative names option included that both names would not have to be used together on official documents.
That would address the council’s concerns about the costs of an outright name change, plus it would allow a gradual transition to use of the Māori name.
However, the New Zealand Geographic Board Act stated there should be one name for one place, with alternative names assigned only in exceptional circumstances.
The proposal report said the council had asked the board to consult directly with tourism stakeholders because the town had a strong brand as a holiday destination.
The council also asked the board to consider the cost of a name change, for example replacing signs, and how the Crown would fund it.
However, the board said if the proposal went ahead as an outright change or a dual name there should be no significant costs.
Updates to signs, promotional material, maps and websites could be done over time during routine maintenance.
If the alternative names option was chosen nothing had to be changed, the board said.
If the name change went ahead it would apply to the township only and not the wider area or other features such as Russell Forest.
Kororareka Bay, Kororareka Point and Kororareka Point Scenic Reserve may be changed for consistency — but only by adding a macron so controversy is unlikely. In each case Kororareka would become Kororāreka.
Other Northland place names that have changed include Karikari Peninsula’s Matai Bay to Maitai Bay in the 1990s and the Whangārei hill Parahaki to Parihaka in the early 2000s.
The Parihaka name change spawned great controversy although another spelling fix around the same time — Grenville Point, north of Kaitāia, to Granville Point — caused not the slightest ripple.
More recently an application by a Whangārei hapū to change the name of the city’s river from Hatea to Hoteo was rejected on the grounds that it could cause confusion during emergencies due to a double-up with the Hoteo River in Wellsford.
Instead a macron was added to make the waterway the Hātea River.
Russell’s proposed name change is part of a wider drive to reassert its Māori heritage.
Other moves to lift Māori visibility in the town include the recent installation of a carved pou and waharoa (gateway) at Russell wharf, plus new interpretation panels at Maiki/Flagstaff Hill.
Submissions can be made until April 18 at https://www.linz.govt.nz/consultations/kororareka or by emailing nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz.
A short history of Kororāreka v Russell
■ Date unknown: An ailing chief, on being given soup made from the little blue 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. The name Russell is transferred to the town then known as Kororāreka, about 8km away.
■ 2022: The Geographic Board, which makes decisions on New Zealand place names, receives a proposal to restore Russell’s original Māori name.
■ 2023: The proposal goes out for public consultation.