PLACE NAMES OF OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND

Southland Times, Issue 17454, 20 September 1913, Page 9

PLACE NAMES OF OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND

EARLY HISTORY OF OTAGO AND OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION.

By W. H. SHERWOOD ROBERTS.

(Written Specially for the Southland Times.) [AH Rights Reserved.] XIV. There is a difference of opinion as to the origin of the name “Skipper's Point' 1 on the Shotover River. Some say it obtained its name from Captain Gay, of the unfortunate steamer Victoria, which was wrecked not far from Otago Heads In 18 51. who then went to try his luck on the Otago goldfields. But .lames Duncan, Tourist Guide, wrote; —"Skippers obtained its name in the following manner; In 1562 a party of four miners, their leader being Skipper Duncan, originally master of a schooner on the American coast, went over the ranges from Fox's (now Arrowtown), and discovered gold in a small creek about two miles from where it joins the Shotover River. Hence the name Skippers.” The Government Hand Book of New Zealand Mines. 1887, page 17. says; “In 1862 gold was discovered by a man named William Fox In the Shotover River, and at the Arrow River in 1863. For a time these discoveries were kept quiet, but at length Fox's haunts were tracked out by enterprising miners, and a large population was soon located on the site of the Arrow' Township. Then followed fresh discoveries in the Upper Shotover. Skippers’ Creek, >lokl Creek, etc. By this it seems that gold was found in Skippers Creek in 1563. But Moki Creek, also named Moonlight and Muriiites Rush were discovered on December 23rd, 1862. The first buildings •were erected in Arrowtown early in December. 1862. All the “Points” had names, the richest being Barney Point. A Skippers Gully is mentioned in the Otago Witness, January 31st. 1863, p. S.

Manuherikia is not the correct spelling for the large tributary to the Molyneux. It should be either Manu-here-kla. or Manuhiri-kia. Mr W. .7. Habens says Manu-here-kia is right, and I agree with him. It may be interpreted ** I hope you will spear birds.” Evidently a wish expressed by his wife when' a Maori went out to try to obtain food.

I desire to thank His Honour Air Justice Chapman for the great assistance he has given me In collecting the Maori place names, also “Te Wahine” (Mrs Turton), for some of the Dunedin names.

Leaving Central Otago, we return eastward to the River and Lake Waipori (water of a tribe), which are south of Maungatua. Some Maoris say the correct spelling is Wai-pouri. which means “dark water.” or "gloomy stream, “because it runs through a deep dark gorge, or "water of sorrow.” The tailings from the gold diggings appear to be filling up the lake. The electric plant Is situated at the Waipori River for supplying Dunedin with light and power.

Waihola Lake. south of Waipori. ought to be spelt Wai-hora, as there is jio "1” in the Maori alphabet. It means •‘water spread out," and it is an extensive lake considering how shallow the •water is. A short tidal river, joined by the water from Walpourl, connects the lakes with the Talari River, so that small craft or steamers can reach Clarendon, at the south end of Lake Waihola. This was a great boon to the coaches and carters in 1562. when there was heavy traffic to the Tuapeka goldfield. before the roads were made. A glaring Instance of confusion exists here. Waihola is the name of the lake, a survey district, and a small Government township opened for sale on January 3, 1862. The township of Waihola Is in the survey district of Clarendon. Clarendon was named by John Hyde Harris after an ancestor. The township of Clarendon, first offered for sale on December 1. 1837. is in the survey district of Waihola: The country to the west of Waihola and Horseshoe Bush was Te Kohao Taka-wera (the parting instructions of Takawera). The Horsesh ne Bush was named, from the ■hape of the only bush in the district, by Mr IV, H. Valpy. who bought the property in the early fifties. The. name of the hill on the east of ,Waiho!a Gorge Is Owlti, or rather O-whiti. which means “to be jealous" or “suspicious." A small Government township in Waihola Gorge. S3 miles from Dunedin, on the Main South road, was offered for sale on July 2, 1869. with the name Kaplti (accent on first syllable), meaning a gorge or narrow pass. Tokomairiro is a large plain and a river south of ‘Waihola Gorge. It may mean "a pole brought hither." Mrs W. Cameron spells the name Toko-mai-raro. and translates it “to walk with a stick to feel one's way." But it may also mean "to polo oneself up the stream" which is shallow. instead of using paddles in a canoe. It (s a mistake to spell the name Tokomairo. which is the way it is often mispronounced. The first township on the Tokomairiro Plain was laid out at the foot of the Seaward Range, and was named Fairfax. The Otago Daily Times. February -1, 1909. said; "Fairfax, near Milton, is hereafier to be known as

Toko-iti, and a telephone bureau has been opened there." Toko-itf signifies a little pole. Milton, the chief town in Tokomairiro, is reported to have been named because Peter McGill built a flour mill in South Tokomairiro in 1537, ■which was followed by settlors building bouses in the vicinity giving it the appearance of an embryo town. It first got the name Mill Town to distinguish it from Fairfax. The surveyor, when he pegged off the town sections, spelt the name Milton, thinking it was named after the English poet, and with poetic Sympathy named some of the streets fcffer other poets. The Otago Witness. January ftfh, •85S, in reporting th© second annual ploughing match on the Tokomairiro Plain, states that "it took place on land belonging to Mr A. Duthie, near the Poponui Brook." Popo has many meanings. here it may mean “a post." or "a pole." nui "big,” The brook was afterwards renamed Salmond's Creek, because it passed through Mr Salmond’s farm on its way from the Akator© Hills to join the Tokomairiro River. To the east of Tokomairiro. over the Seaward range of hills, is the district and River Aka-tore. Aka is the tree, metrosideros scandens: tore means "heated." or "to burn." A little further south is a boat harbour, with a brook running into it called Wangaioa, which should be XVbanga la bay or harbour), and roa (long). The beach at the mo.uth of the Tokomairiro River was Tera-mii (that big). There are four small rocky islets between the mouth of the Talari and Tokomairiro Rivers mentioned in the deed of sale. Paparoa (long fiat rock) is about four miles south of Moturata Island; then Ma-toketokc (many toke fish), or. according to some Maoris. Matonetuki. or Matu-katu I fat fullgrown bird). All these names may. at different times, have been given by the various owners, but evidently Matoketok» was the name when purchased. A little further south th© islands Ha-kini-kini (what! to pinch), or Haka-nini (a little dance); and Aonui (the god of storm clouds), now Cook's Rock, a tali basaltic rock off the beach, near the mouth of the Tokomairiro River, surrounded bv water at high tide: sometimes misspelt Anul. Probably the second names in all three islands are errors in orthography. A place on the mainland. about three miles north of the mouth of the Tokomairiro River, is To Kalnii (the herd, or flock, or company of people). In a very early map of t lie Otago Block, two points between the Taiari mouth and tlie Molyneux were marked TH;.- (circumcision, etc.) and O-tauira (Tauira's Place). Tauirn was a heavenly personage: also an Acolyte, or a pupil being instructed by a priest. The country between Lake Rakitoto and Maunga-atua was Matoa. A snort distance north of Coal Point, Moly neux. is tVai-Karo i mussel water), ppw known as Measly Beach. At the time of the Ngati-Awa raid, about IS3S,

a couple of war canoes, filled with a war party (tana), landed there suffering from karawaka (measles), a new disease imported hy Europeans. They drew up their canoes above high-water mark with great difficulty, and camped, making for themselves- temporary shelter whares. It Is reported that every one of them died, and the remains of their bones and the canoes were seen hy some of the early European .settlers and hy others as late as 1850. A place on the coast south of Wai-karo is Te Aivahouhou ttlie channel dug out). .A little further south. Te Ake-roa (the long Dodonea viscosa, a tree. Then Mirniwaie. A little nearer Coal Point is TeKarehu (the spade). The coal mine near the Tokomairiro River, known as Waironui. was named by the company that opened the pit about the year 190G (big coal or big pit). It was formerly known as Fortification.

A stream on the south-west corner of Tokomairiro Plain, a tributary of that river, is Manuka Creek, so called from the quantity of the tree Leptospermum scopnrium that formerly grew along its banks and up the hillsides, along which the railway clim6s its tortuous coarse. About 17 miles inland from Milton the railway crosses the Wai-tahuna River. The accents on “ta," not on “hu" as generally pronounced. It means “water on sand shoals.” or “sand banks In the water.” If the accent were on "hu,” it w'ould mean "sparkling water.” They say it does sparkle in the moonlight— Mimihaka, as the American Indians call it in their poetical language. The railway station here is Waitahuna. but the town is Havelock, named after the great general. Sir Henry Havelock, who relieved Lucknow in 1857, only to be besieged himself by the rebel army till he was in turn relieved by Sir Colin Campbell. The town of Havelock was offered for sale on November 7, 18C2. but it still is only a village. A hill east of Waitahuna is To Poutahi (the one post). Posts were often put up to mark a boundary, or a spot where something happened they wished to commemorate. yet very few marks of Maori occupation have been found in this neighbourhood. Tuapeka. where gold was discovered by Gabriel Read in June, 1861, is the Maori name for the common fern (Pteris aquilina)—or to dissemble. It was known that gold existed at Tuapeka before 1861, but it had not been found in payable quantity. Mr Alexander Garvie, surveyor, found the colour in several places near Tuapeka in March, 1858. and Edward Peters, better known as Black Peter, a native of Bengal, found gold there in 1859. The town at Tuapeka is Lawrence, and is 60 miles from Dunedin. The first sale of town sections was held November 5. 1862. It was constituted a municipality on June 15, 1866, being the ninth borough under the Otago ordinance.

Munro’s Gully. Tuapeka. was named after Mr George Mvmro. who was shepherding in the Tuapeka District for Messrs Musgrove and .Murray as far back as 1858. He crossed th© first flock of sheep over the Waituhuna River in that year, and was living there when Gabriel Read found the gold in Gabriel s Gully in May, 1861, and long after. He was very hospitable, and assisted miners and travellers in many ways. The Rev. A. B. Todd, Presbyterian Minister, stationed at Tokomairiro in 1861. wrote an account of his visit to Gabriel's gold diggings. He reached Tuapeka on July 13th, 1861. "and lodged that night in the shepherd's (Munro) house at the head of the gulliy. on the other side of the spur from Gabriel's. On Sabbath, July 14. J conducted divine service in the open air. Standing on a cart, I preached to about TOP people. A second service was held in the afternoon with a smaller number in Munro’s Gully." The Beaumont . (Beautiful Mountain) probably was named after a river which rises in Rosburgb-shlrc. and joins the Till River in Northumberland, near Klodden Field. .7. T. Thomson. Chief Surveyor, of Otago, came from that district, and imported many North of England Place Names into Otago. The first bridge over the Clutha at Beaumont, was washed away by a very high flood in September, 1878. A post and telegraph office, and school were opened at Wbare-toa I warrior’s house), near Tuapeka Mouth in lain. Kononi (crooked) is a post and telegraph office 13 miles from Lawrence. A settlement and post-office 11 miles from Waitahuna. in Bruce County is Puke-ti (Cabbage Tree Hill). Ronga-h'ere is on the south-west *ide of the Molyneux. and was formerly known as Rankleburn. It is 10 miles from Tuapeka. I think this should be Rongo-here (Kongo’s spear). Beaumont (beautiful mountain), a township on the Molyneux. over which there, is a bridge, some people say was named after -a small town on the north-east of the county of Essex. The eastern slopes of the Blue Mountain here were clothed with a forest of birch (beech), flanked with manuka. Fallow deer are plentiful on the hill side.

Two lakes appear between Tokomairiro and the Molyneux at such a low elevation that they appear to have been Inlets from the sea at some distant period. The northern one is Tu-aki-toto fblond from the disembowelled fish or bird), formerly and more correctly, known as Ttangitolo. or in southern dialect. Raki-toto (day of blood), a murderous battle having occurred on its banks. It is very sh.allow, with an area of 20!) I acres, which appear to he slowly filling with debris from the adjoining hills. The other lake, close below it. with which a water-way connects it. is Kai-langata (eat men), pronounced by the Southern Maori Kaitakata. where the victims of the battle were cooked and eaten. It is a little deeper than Tuakitoto. hut covers only :’.TO acres. Formerly these lakes swarmed with wild ducks and the black pukeko, nr swamp lien, with its long red legs, which was imported from Hawaiki by Turi in the Aotea canoe, one of the first migration, about 1.13(1. Xow imported swans are added to the aviary. A hill and a native bush on the east of the Tuakitoto Take is Tara-tu (anger aroused), where a enal mine lias been opened. A township was laid out at the junction of Kaitangata Creek with (lie Mataura River, and named 'Kaitangata. The first sections were sold on February 2S. 1562. Il was proclaimed a borough in November. ISST. containing 1 1 -r.s acres. The principal population, which in 1006 numbered 1652 souls, are coal miners, employed In digging black diamonds out of the hill. In the fifties there was a ‘.Maori kainga there, and a fair extent of native bush. An extensive Maori head swamp (Tutao Kuri —Cares virgatai formerly existed between the lake and tho terraces on the north-west of the lakes, which is being drained and cultivated now. A new post office was opened in 1011. ID miles from Balclutha in Bruco County, and named Awa-mangu (Black River). There is a school there, (To be Continued.)