MAORI NOMENCLATURE

Otago Witness, Issue 2881, 2 June 1909, Page 15

MAORI NOMENCLATURE

: EARLY HISTOP.Y OF OTAGO. i By W. H. S. RoßEfrrs. I No. XIII. FOVEAUX STRAIT. Foveaux Strait was named after Major ! Joseph Foveaux. a favourite of Governor 'King, of New South Wales. On April 29, 1800, he was appointed commandant at Norfolk Island, and on June 9, 1801, Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island. It was not named by Cook, for he did not discover that it was a strait. He wrote : " At 3 o'clock on the afternoon on March i 5, 1770, we saw land extending from N.E. :by N. to N.W. 2 N. ; and soon after we discovered some low land, which appeared like an island. We continued our course ' to the W. by S., and in two hours we saw high land over the low lands extending to the southward, but did not 1 appear to be joined to the land to the northward, so that either there is water, a deep bay. or low land between them." , Had Cook remained of that opinion and , searched further he would have had the strait marked on his chart, but, unfortu- [ nately, on the 11th he altered his opinion, j and says : '" We? had now sailed round the j land which we had discovered on the I sth, and which then did not appear to be f joined to the main, which lay north of it; and being now come to the other side of • what we supposed to be water, a bay, or ' low land, it had the same appearance, but ; when I came to lay it down upon paper I saw no reason to suppose it to be an island; on the contrary," I was clearly of opinion that it made part of the main." On the 11th he saw ( an island in latitude' 46.31 south, longitude 192.49 west, -and named it Solander's Island, after the Swede, Dr Solander. who was a naturalist on board the shin Endeavour with Captain Cook. Mr Robert M'Nab wrote: "Foveaux Strait has nothing to do with Furneaux. Foveaux was an officer who came to Sydney about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and was to' have charge of Norfolk Island, and subsequently of New South Wales. He was at his height when the strait was discovered in 1808, and it was called him." H.M.S. Tees, under the command of Captain Coe, was sent in February, 1824, to try and float the Elizabeth Henrietta, which had run aground at Snapper's Bay. Ruapuke. Foveaux Strait was re-named Tees Strait on that occasion by Captain Kent, of the Elizabeth Henrietta. The whalers nearly always called it " Favourite Strait," and claimed that that was the first name given to it. The strait was discovered in 1808 by Captain Dugald, or William Stuart, or Stewart, of the schooner Prince of Denmark, in which he sailed through the strait, and proved Stewart Island to be separated from the Middle Island or mainland, as Cook termed it. The island was ! named after. Stewart, but was not spelt correctly, for he was a scion of the Royal Stuart clan, and proudly wore its tartan to the day of his death in 1851 (one authority says 1844), which occurred at Poverty Bay, at s the advanced age- of 82 years. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the correct way of -spelling the Royal Stuart. Queen Victoria, in the inscription which she placed on the tombs of her Scottish ancestors in the 1 chanel of Holyrood, used the spelling " Stewart " ; and it is maintained that it is the most ancient mode of "spelling the name ; others assert that Steward was the original, and Stuart the modern spelling ; a fourth form is " Steuart." due to the use of "v " for "w" which frequently occurred. All names were carelessly spelt about two centuries ago, and often the same name would be speit in several different ways in the same document. The following is from the Sydney Gazette. March 9, 18C9: "Yesterday arrived from the southward the Governor Bligh (M'Goron, master), with upwards of 10,000 fur seal skins. In a newh'-dis-covered strait, which cuts off the South Cape of New Zealand from the mainland, about the middle of February, ha fell in with the Pegasus, Captain Bunker. In the strait abovementioned, which has been called Foveaux Straits, the 3>ga.«us struck on a rock, but received little damage. The strait M'Goron describes a.= being about 35 or 40 miles in width, and a -\ery dangerous navigation from ths numerous rocks. «hoals, and little islands with which it is crowded" (R. Carrick). Either Fir George Gipps, Governor of New South in 184*0, or Governor Hobson, during his short reign from January, 1840, to September 10, 1842, tried to change the name of Stewart Island to^ New Leinster. It was first so named officially in the deed which gave New Zealand, separation from New South Wales in November. 1840, and created it a separate oolony, with a Governor of its own. Stewart Island was formally taken possession of for Great Britain on June 5, 1840, by Major Thomas Bunbury. 80th Regiment, but the Maoris held the land by occupation until paid for in 1864. "It was not coded to Britain by virtue of the Treaty of Waitangi, but possession was claimed on the right of discovery by Captain Cook " (parliamentary papers, 1841). Stewart Island was purchased by Government for £6000. of which amount about £2000 was retained as a fund to provide for the island medical attendance. The Maori name of Stewart Island was Rangi-ura, or. in southern dialect, Rakiura, meaning Rangi sky. or heaven. Ura to redden, therefore ''Red sky." or "dried up by (he bright sun." Mr Ro. Carrick poetically translates it " The land of heavenly glows." others " The brightness of heaven." or " I«le of the glowing sky." Strange as it may eeem. the climate of its east coast is much milder than the southern parts of the Middle Island. An ancient mythological honorific title of Stewart Island (or Raki-ura) is Te Puka-o-te-waka-a-Maui. which means ''The anchor of Maui's canoe" (Trans. N.Z.I. 38). The Middle Island v/as Maui's canoe. Stewart Island is 39 miles long, and it greatest breadth 20 miles, being- 120 miles in circumference, and containing nearly 665 square miles, or 425,390 acres. The whole island consists of primary rocks, felspar being by far the predominant material. Granite is found on some of the hills, and several metals, including tin. Sadile Point, the north-eastern point of the island is Timu-o-te-ure-o-te-kaha. It is a low projecting promontory, the end of a spur from Mount Hana-nui, and three miles north-east of it. in latitude 168deg. east, and longitude 46deg 43min 2G&°c. The

first bay southward of Saddle Point is Hotako (let loose), pleasantly situated, under the shelter of Mount Hana-nui. Port William ought to have a final "s." Its first name was Williams's Bay, given to it by Captain Grono, a.bout the yeyr 1809, in honour of the • owners of the ship Governor Bligh — Messrs Lord, Williams, and Thompson, of Sydney. Lord's Rher, south-west of Port Adventure, was named after Mr Lord, and Thompson's Sound, West Coast, after Mr And v ew Thompson. The Maori name of Port Williams is Poti-repo (a corner swamp, or basket swamp). The township on the north ' shore of Port Will-ams is Raki-uia. A beach in Port Williams is Iva-one-o-te-Wera (the ! sand of Mr Wera.). There is a pilot station !on the north head of Port Williams. Port ' Williams is a gcod little harbour, sheltered ' on the land side from westerly winds by I hills, and from easterly • winds by islands ' and rocks. It is 16 miles from the Bluff. ' About two miles to the eastward are two islands which still have Maori nam-es, Motu1 nui (big island), a long, narro.v island, and Puke-okaoka (to 'stiip off, hill). Betwebn Port Williams and Horseshoe Bay is Mamakau Point (the name of the large speciee of ! tree-fern, Cyathea medullans)* Mamakau j and Ponga — another tree-fern. — were once | fish, the children of Te Hapuku (the groppr), but were chased ashore by Ta/whaki. on his return from heaven, whither he- had climbed j up a vine, like the English Jack the Giant- • killer, to search for h.b wife and child. There are several variations of this legend. TA-WHAKI (Rush About). Ta-whaki was a celebrated hero of Polynesia, sometimes represented as a mortal, sometimes as a deity, but with supernatural powers. Ta-whaki went with his brother Ka-rihi to rescue the bones of his father, Hems, from the amphibian fairies named Ponattiri. His mother, Urutonga, had also been carried away as a prisoner by these fairies, and was confined in their great dwelling, the Manawa-tane. Mother and son plotted to destroy them, and stopping up every chink that would let light into the sleeping house, kept them there till the sun was up and shining brightly. They suddenly let in the full sunshine on them, and awoke the fadries, who tried to escape to th« sea, but the heat of the sun destroyed them all. The fame of this- exploit reac&ed the celestial abodes, and Tangotamgo, one of the maidens of the heavenly race, descended- to earth and married Ta-whaki. A baby was born, and, named Arahuta. Shortly afterwards Ta-whaki and his wife had a quarrel, and Taingotango fled back to her home in heaven, taking the child with her. Ta-whaki called to her to come back, as he loved her, but she would not. She told him that the way to reach her abode was by a vine which hung down from heaven. Ta-whaki pined for his lost wife and child, and after some time set out with his brother, Karihi, to search for the vine she told him of. The brothers sought direction from an old blind ancestress named Mata-kerepo. Ta-whakd moistened some clay with his spittle and rubbed it over her eyes, and her sight was restored. She then told him where to find the vine, up which' he could climb to heaven, but warned him to look upward, and not to look to the earth after he once left it, and to chant ar< incantation which she taught him. Following her instructions, he safely reached the heaven above the sky, and after a long search found bis wife and child. While in the heavens he learnt all the incantations Mai-waho (come forth) could teach him, and then returned to earth and taught them to the people of this world. (Tregear and A. H. M.) East of Mamaku Point is Fish Rock, towering 30ft out of the sea. Horseshoe Bay is south of Mamaku Point. A little farther south is the splendid little harbour Halfmoon Bay, known to the Maori a^ Hote, also -spelt Hootee, to show that both vowels should te pronounced long. No doubt the word should be Hotete, the name or a large caterpillar. Mrs Traill (nee Wohlers) says Halfmoon Bay is Taki-rakau (crying or sounding woods). Probably that .was the name of a portion of the forest, or a kaika on the snore of the ba\, possibly near Oban, the c'lief town pn Stewart Islp^td, which is situated at the south-east ! corner of Halfmoon Fay, 25 miles from the Bluff. Outside Halfmoon Bay is Whj.le Inland, which, when seen from certain positions, resembles a gigantic whale lying on the surface of the water, and Te Marania (the bright place) Island. The New Neck in Halfmoon Bay was Puku-heke in the stomach gone down). The south head of Halfmoon Bay is Acker" a Point, it al-o forms the noith head of Paterson In'.pt, though the inlet is not really entered till Native Is'and is passed, thiough the narrow, rocky channel b .ween that ! island and Ringa^ringa line h-iml) Point, or by the widor channel between Nathe Island and An^lem j Point, the south-east head. The fceach along the north shore of Paterson Inlet, war the point, is also 'ns.ined Ringaringa, in consequence of a man who, long ago, resid-ed there while suffering from leprosy in his hands. The llev. J. P. H. Wohlers u;is buried on this point, in May, 1885. He was a German Lutheran missionary, who ! arrived at Ruapuke in the brigantine Deborah, of 121 tons, on 17th May, 1844. He was received with intense delight by the Maoris, and remained with them, teaching them the Word of God for 41 years. PATERSON INLET is a spacious port, running inland for 10 miiss in a westerly direction. Its Maori name was Wehingao-te-wera. or. perhaps Wehinga-o-te-wera, referring to the " fork" I made by the arms stretching north and J south. Halswell eaid the name was Ohakea (mountain parrot abundant), and that Wehingao-te-wora was the Neck, which i 6 a remarkable peninsula on the oaot of Paterson Inlet, three miles long terminating in Anglcm Point. It is almo=t divided in three place 3by narrow necks of land ; the middle, known as the Old Neck, is merely a low, sandy beach. Part of the Neck was named Kai-aro-haki (sorrow for departure). I It was on the Neck that the head chief j formerly lived, surrounded by his t.aua. The New Zealand Tourist Department gives Paterson Inlet the name of 0-hekia (Hekia's residence). Native Island, opposite Te-ringa-rhiga Point, is Wharawhara, the name of the Astelia banksia plant. A bay four miles from Native Island, on the northern &,hore ' of Paterson Inlet, west of Golden Bay, is Kaipipi (to eat cockles). The eastern -point of the bay is Kaipipi Point. The south-west head is Price's Point, which was named after a. convict named Price, who landed there in 1826. The principal or north arm is now called Ka-moana-erua (tht two seas, or the sea in two), but the name really belongs to that part of the inlet where it divides into the two parts, known as north and south-west arms, the latter being also

| named Cserhowel, or Rakeahua Arm. The i north-west part of Paterson Inlet receives [ a fair-sized river, now called Freshwater, i which was O-hekia, or O-hengia (of the black skin, or the residence of Hekia). This river flows through the only pain on tha island, about 10 miles long by three broad, and is navigable for rowing boats for some j j •c'istanca. A large tributary horn the south ' 1 among tbs hills is Wai-para-hoaka (the ! i grindstone water sediment). Another I affluent which joins the Ohekia close to i*s ! debouchure is Wadpikaho. Rakea-hua means I " the power of Rakea,"' which was the nania jof Manaia's famous weapon. Manaia. was a renowned ancestor of the Ngati-awa- tribe He came to New Zealand from Hawaiki in ' the Tokomaru canoe. A river named Rakeahua runs into the ' Arm, and a mountain 2217 ft high, near ths middle of Stewart Island, west of Caerhowel Arm, bears the same name, though its correct name is said ' to be Raki-ahua (to build up towards the sky. From the head of Paterson Inlet there is a low pass to Mason's Bay, on the West , Coast, the highest part not exceeding 30ft I-t ( which suggests the opinion that formerly' i the ser 3owed through it, dividing Stewart Island into two islands. The largest island I in Paterson Inlet is Cooper, or TJlva Island. It is two miles from east to west, and half a mile wide. West of it is a small islet named Tami-hau (pressed down by the | wind). A place in Paterson Inlet on the i south shore, where M'Kay's sawmill was m | full work during 1902, is Hapua-tuna (eel | lagoon). East of Hapua-tuna is Pawa Beach, I which should _be spelt Paua (the sea, ear shellfish). Paterson Inlet formerly was called Paterson's River,, but the whalers more i generally termed it the Neck, from the name , of the peninsula, where they obtained potatoes, etc., from the Maoris. A bay on the west of the Neck is Popo-tiki (a rotten carved figure), "where there was a Maori I settlement. Glory Cove, at the base of the Neck, was O-te-kia (Mr Kia's place). Te ara-o-te-Kaha (the path of Te Kaha, who | was an early explorer ages ago) is the name Jof an ancient Kaika in Paterson Inlet. A , rocky islet- near the entrance of Paterson | Inlet is Here-kopere (a spear and sling), now I Mummy Island. Buller's Point is kai-aho (the eaten fishing line). A boat landing- ' place south-east of the Neck is Te-ara-te-j Kaha (Mr Kaha's path — kaha means strong). • South of it is Kuri (the dog) Point, forming the north head of Chew Tobacco Bay, seven j miles south of Paterson Inlet. The Maori name of the bay was Ka-one-o-Tu (the beach or sand of Tv). Tv was the New Zealand | God of War, the Mars of classic days, and | one of the greatest and most widely-wor- ' shipped of Polynesian deities. To him all war parties ware sacred. He was the son of Raingi and Papa, before they were separated and light admitted on the earth. An island in Chew Tobacco Bay is Pi-hore (not a young bird). East Cape, the south' head ! of Ka-one-o-iu Bay is Koro-mere (the stone | weapon belonging to Koro). Koro was a ] divin-e person, son of the Goddess Hina and I Tinirau, the gcd of fishes. Further south is the boat, harbour Pikarora, which pjohably should be Pi-karoro (the young birds of the seagulls). / .