In a Newshub-Reid Research poll, respondents were asked what they thought New Zealand should be known as.
Fifty-two percent wanted the country to be called New Zealand, pure and simple. Thirty-six percent wanted Aotearoa in the mix, as in the bob-each-way formulation Aotearoa-New Zealand.
But here’s the crunch: only 9.6 percent of those polled thought the country should be renamed Aotearoa. This is a resounding rebuff to the political, bureaucratic, academic and media elites who have tried for years to impose Aotearoa by sheer frequency of usage.
Predictably the poll results were buried deep in a Newshub story, despite the network having paid for the research. You can bet it would have been the lead item in the 6pm news if the results had gone the other way.
Newshub’s political editor Jenna Lynch chose to mention the poll almost as an afterthought in a story that was mainly concerned with taking puerile digs at National Party leader Christopher Luxon over his speech at Waitangi.
There can’t be a sentient being in New Zealand who expects straight journalism from Lynch. She appears incapable of it. I no longer watch the Newshub News but I can imagine her reporting the survey findings through gritted teeth.
The question now is whether the aforementioned elites, having noted the poll findings, will abandon their campaign to have Aotearoa adopted in popular usage. But of course they won’t, because they have little regard for the will of the people and like all elites, are convinced they know what’s best for the rest of us.
They will explain the survey result to themselves by concluding that their fellow New Zealanders are racists. But objections to the use of Aotearoa as a substitute for New Zealand have less to do with it being a Maori name than with the perception that it has been foisted on us without a mandate – just as Otautahi for Christchurch, Tamaki Makaurau for Auckland, Otepoti for Dunedin and Te Whanganui-a-Tara for Wellington are. That the public don’t endorse any of these names is clear from the fact that you never hear them in conversation.
Yes, the name New Zealand is an historical anomaly that, in itself, says nothing about us or our national identity. But it's the name we've been known by since James Cook (there was no Maori name for the country, as was demonstrated by the use of Nu Tireni - a transliteration of the English name - by the Maori chiefs who signed a Declaration of Independence in 1835), and to repudiate it is to erase much of our history.
This is not something to be undertaken without a proper, informed debate. As long as New Zealand purports to be a democracy, voters will assert the right to decide what the country and its major cities are to be called. Any government rash enough to challenge that right will be signing its own death warrant.
Karl du Fresne, a freelance journalist, is the former editor of The Dominion newspaper. He blogs at karldufresne.blogspot.co.nz.
14 comments:
The other day I was in Arrowtown on holiday and happened upon the war memorial. The soldiers died in two world wars fighting for NewZealand. Disgracing their sacrifice by renaming the Country they fought and died for is something that goes beyond politics and treaty. Those who moan and groan about it sacrifice not one thing.
Must be a kick in the privates for all the woke journos on TV1 as well.
They'll still trot out all the Maori names when they do the weather but nobody will use or want them.
Even most Maori I suspect.
I look forward to the day that the PIJF money is stopped and our MSM has to financially support itself.
Every high profile redundancy will be a cause for all New Zealanders to cheer.
They will try to change every English name from
Car Tyre to Wire Wrapper!
Kevan.
Can I put a "firecracker in the mix and see what happens"?
If on looks at all the all "the woke hysteria" that is occurring over the many issues that arise (NZ & World Wide), on a daily basis, I can not but notice it appears that it is "white women" that seem to lead the charge for change.
The question to ask those in NZ who push for Maori Names over the current English name, for Towns & Cities, is, as an example - was Auckland already a Town/City on the 6th Feb 1840 and was it already named by Maori, who resided there as Tamaki Makaurau? If so, then there is justification for the Maori name to lead.
Waipukurau, in CHB was named in English on the basis of Maoridom and their naming of the river (smokey waters)- due to the fog that arose, from the water, especially during winter months. Should Waipuk now be renamed Smokey waters?
I understand Capt Cook is not mentioned in the new history syllabus. So the name New Zealand cannot have been used since his time. So the transliteration Niu Tirani was imaginary. But helpfully some one liked the name Aotearoa - maybe they thought it sounded “authentic”? And so we the people are going to be called Ngati Aotearoa? As this means some chief has made a decision will the new passport be blood red to symbolise the slaughter of Ngati Other Views? Is my understanding correct?
Yes, right from the get go it's been a bloody nonsense. If that's what people want, then let's have the referendum. But the majority of us know it has a snowball's chance for, as others have noted, it goes beyond politics. Besides, you don't go building a world recognised brand for almost two hundred years and then change it for some bastardisation that has no real provenance. Just plain dumb, or should I say, woke?
According to all the sources I've checked, the name Waipukurau means the water (wai) where an edible fungus (pukurau) grew. This is confirmed by a very informative historical display in the town's Hunter Park, which was the site of an important pa.
What do you mean it's an historical anomaly? It was named after the Dutch province from where the first European to discover New Zealand came from. It sounds to me like an impeccable genealogy. All names are accidental. Australia was originally Terra Australis Incognita till Mathew Flinders shortened it to Australia, the word Australis meaning Southern Land in Latin. There's nothing more banal than Maori names. Aorangi (Mt Cook) means cloud in the sky, but the worst of all is Te Wanganui a Tara, which means big bay at Tara, and yes if you're savvy you know that means Wellington. I'm waiting for that name to be changed because, horror of horrors it was named after an English aristocrat, a duke who had never been to New Zealand. You can't get anything worse than that in this climate where anything English is considered bad and anything Maori ten times better. Wellington is a name with global recognition; there is even one in India where Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke, served in the 18th century with the British East India Company.
Thank you Karl.
I especially liked your point that nobody seems to use the Maori names for our cities in conversion. Which means surely that the PIJF-paid media have failed, so far, to re-educate us.
Oh we deplorables are to be re-educated alright, make no mistake; and TV1, TV 3 and RNZ are some of the main force-feeders. Our kids are to be educated too - they are to be taught the benighted culture throughout their entire schooling, from pre-school to post-grad.
Karl has correctly explained the origins of the name 'Waipukurau'. It was neighboring Waipawa that meant 'Smokey waters'.
Ewan Mcgregor.
My six year old son's teacher who is American refuses to say the words New Zealand but loves to use the word Aotearoa.
My son's great grand father was a squadron leader in the Royal New Zealand Airforce. Sewn on is uniform were the words New Zealand. If this crap Carrie's on it will be time to pull the kids out of the state run propaganda centers aka schools.
Can anyone please tell me where I can get daily New Zealand News other than on TV1 and TV3. We currently listen to TV3 because it uses less Maori than TV1. HELP.
Don't watch any main stream media in NZ try Sky News Australia as no Maori spoken on that channel and I get more real news about NZ from them than you'll get here.
The MSM can only force feed their agenda if it's being consumed. We switched off all NZ news sources ages ago. Couldn't stand the agendas, opinions, half-truths or downright lies that were being pushed or considered 'news you need to know'. Easily fixed!
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