Readers Write

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1941, Page 4

Readers Write

Re your “Want To Know’’ feature—the meaning of Whangarei—the third explanation given is undoubtedly the right one. It is a MEANING OF pity that in writ“WHANGAREI.” ing Maori words

we do not indicate the length of the vowels. In “Whanga,” meaning bay, both a’s are short; in Whangarei the second a is long and ( sometimes spelt aa by precisions.

“Whanga” is a command, meaning wait; literally, “let it be waited for,” and “rei,” another command, meaning “charge.” The two words together mean “ambuscade.” It refers to a tribal invasion from the north, the details of which I have forgotten, but I do remember that my informant stressed the other local name “Horahora,” in this connection, as expressing the results of the battle. Horahora means “spread out,” and refers to the disposal of the bodies of their enemies ready for the even by the local tribe. Almost any of the older Maorispeaking Maoris will corroborate ray assertion that the second a of Whangarei is long (like the a in father) and carries most of the stress of the word. (The first a is, of course, short, almost like the u in up, and the last part of the word is much more like ray than ree.)—“F. T.”

In our “What Do You Want To Know?” feature on Saturday, three interpretations of the meaning of “Whangarei” were given in reply to an inquirer., They were: I—Whanga: Bay, bight, nook, stretch of water. Rei: Swampy ground. 2. Whanga: Harbour. Rei: Storage or safety place, hence protected harbour. 3. “Steady—charge,” a command given in battle.