Warren Sanderson: City Rail Link Stations - or Mythical Symbolism to Excess

I read that the City Rail Link's Manu Whenua Forum which would appear to be a Maori Tribal Group have “gifted” to Auckland names for the two new stations and the two existing stations on the CRL.

This “gift” should be politely declined by the New Zealand Geographic Board and here is the reason why. Let’s take each station in turn:

1.    AOTEA: The proposed new name is Te Wai Horotiu. 

Firstly, for moderately mature Aucklanders this name suggests a meatworks situated just north of Hamilton, which is not a good start. It is stated that the name is from the stream that ran down the Queen Street valley to the harbour. In reality this muddy stream that ran down the valley to the harbour was not a pleasant feature of early Auckland and the street  was certainly improved for both pedestrians and horse traffic when piped underground.

Karl du Fresne: Honouring those gentle, benign stingrays

I read recently that the New Zealand Geographic Board proposes to change the name of Frank Kitts Lagoon, on the Wellington waterfront, to Whairepo Lagoon.

Fair enough. Sir Frank Kitts, a long-serving Wellington mayor, is already commemorated in the name of a nearby park. And while Whairepo may not be the easiest name for non-speakers of Maori to get their tongues around, it has local relevance. Whairepo is the Maori name for the eagle rays – commonly known as stingrays – that are frequently seen basking and feeding in the lagoon.