TAKAANINI

Te Ao Hou, October 1958, Page 56

TAKAANINI Sir, In your issue of April, 1958, Mr Johannes C. Andersen writes interestingly of several Maori place names and, in particular, of Takanini and states that the Geographic Board adopted this spelling although evidently convinced that the name properly was Takaanini. Quoting Fenton's “Judgments”, Mr Andersen said that the Ihaka Taka-anini was an historical personage. This was confirmed by the late Mr James Cowan, who in his booklet “New Zealand Railway Station Maori Names and their Meanings” said that the old chief Ihaka Taka-anini, a great friend of the early colonists, lived near Papakura. In 1863 he was made prisoner by the Government, under the impression that he was an enemy. It was shown that this was a mistake, nevertheless he was kept a prisoner of war, latterly with some of his people on one of the small islands in the Hauraki until he died in 1864. His tribe was the Akitai. It is of interest to note that Wiri was also named after the chief, for this was a contraction of the pakeha-Maori Wirihana of Wilson. It is evident that Ihaka Takanini was known locally as Takanini Wilson. A. W. REED.