Tāmaki Makaurau, the Māori name for Auckland, means Tāmaki desired by many. This name refers to the abundance of natural resources, strategic vantage points, portage routes, and mahinga kai which first attracted Māori, and then other settlers.
It is an ancient Polynesian word for battle; it can also mean full of people, i.e., heavily populated – an ironic possibility given that the Maori name of the heavily populated Auckland isthmus in Māori is Tāmaki-makau-rau.
The Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki Makaurau, meaning "Tāmaki desired by many", in reference to the desirability of its natural resources and geography.
Aotearoa (Māori: [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is the contemporary Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, the name of the whole country being Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu ("North Island and South Island").
Tāmaki (Auckland) has been home to a number of iwi (tribes), and today there are six in the region – Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tai, Te Wai-o-Hua (who originate from Ngā Oho), Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei, Ngāti Te Ata and Te Kawerau-a-Maki.
Ngāpuhi is the largest tribe in New Zealand. Their territory stretches from the Hokianga Harbour to the Bay of Islands, and to Whangārei in the south.
Tribal Waka
Each iwi has their own hapū (sub-tribes). Iwi can trace their entire origins and whakapapa (genealogy) back to certain waka hourua. The seven waka hourua that arrived to Aotearoa were Tainui, Te Arawa, Mātaatua, Kurahaupō, Tokomaru, Aotea and Tākitimu.
While there has been historical debate between Māori iwi across the North and South Islands, Tamihere says Aotearoa is "now widely accepted up and down the country as the term that defines what Pākehā continue to call New Zealand". "Changing the name to Aotearoa is what a lot of Māori want.
New Zealand (Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
For Aotearoa, is it widely assumed, is the original 'indigenous name' for New Zealand. It is certainly the 'modern' name favoured by many Māori and others. But our current common use and understanding of the name was probably not in existence before Western contact.
There is archaeological evidence that the Auckland Islands were briefly settled and abandoned by Polynesians around 600–700 years ago. Māori and Moriori from the Chatham Islands settled at Ranui Cove from 1842 till 1856.
The term may have originally referred to the North Island only. The original name used by the indigenous Polynesian population was Te Ika Nui A Maui or Te Ika-a-Māui (“The great fish of Maui”); from te (“the”) + ika (“fish”) + nui (“big, great, large”) + a (“of”) + Māui (a Polynesian demigod).
In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand. Once New Zealand was established as a state in 1840 relations have been good.
Haere rā – nearly as common as 'Kia ora', Haere rā means goodbye, farewell or bye-bye and is said to someone leaving.
Aroha means 'love, compassion and empathy'. It is a girl's name as well as being a term used in everyday conversations. Always roll your r's when enunciating Māori words: pronounce Aroha as ah-roh-huh.
South Auckland (Māori: Te Tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand.
His wife, Hine-te-aparangi, called out “He ao! He ao!” (a cloud! a cloud!) Later Kupe decided to call the land after his wife's greeting to it, and the cloud which welcomed them. The name Aotea was given both to the Great Barrier and to the North Island, but the latter became Aotearoa, presumably because of its length.
The name derives from the kiwi, a native flightless bird, which is a national symbol of New Zealand. Until the First World War, the kiwi represented the country and not the people; however, by 1917, New Zealanders were also being called "Kiwis", supplanting other nicknames such as "Enzedder".
Locating Aotearoa
The precise origin of the composite term “Aotearoa” is not known. But if we translate “Ao” as world, “tea” as bright or white, and “roa” as long, we have the common translation of “long bright world” or “long white cloud”.
New Zealand – Land of the Long White Cloud/Middle Earth
The Kiwis across the ditch have picked up not just one, but two nicknames. The Land of the Long White Cloud is the most common translation of Aotearoa – the Maori name for New Zealand.
Kia Ora is a greeting many people outside of New Zealand are familiar with. It can mean a lot of things, too! Kiwis use it to say hello, good morning, good luck, and take care. It's essentially an all-encompassing way to wish someone well.
Australasia. The region consisting of Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and neighboring islands in the Pacific Ocean is sometimes referred to as Australasia. Oceania covers an area of approximately 100 million square kilometers; this is about one-fifth of Earth's surface area.
Māori are the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand, they settled here over 700 years ago. They came from Polynesia by waka (canoe).
Aotearoa's wealthiest iwi which has settled with the Crown under Te Tiriti o Waitangi remains Ōtautahi-headquartered Ngāi Tahu with $2.28b assets up on 2021′s $1.92b. Waikato-Tainui jumped from third to second place with $1.97b, up on $1.52b previously.
Māori were the first inhabitants of Aotearoa New Zealand, guided by Kupe the great navigator. Learn more about the arrival of Māori.