The New Zealand Geographic Board has launched a new set of tangata whenua place names maps.
The maps, updated for the first time since 1995, present Māori and Moriori place names as they were prior to European settlement.
The two maps, one for Te Ika a Māui/North Island and one for Te Waipounamu/South Island, contain about 900 names each, from Te Rerenga Wairua/ Cape Reinga all the way down to Rakiura/Stewart Island.
Many of the names were sourced from a never-published 1940s centennial atlas, with the Māori names compiled by Sir Āpirana Ngata.
New Zealand Geographic Board secretary Wendy Shaw says iwi had the ultimate choice of what was included in the maps and what was left out.
Wendy says it’s important that the maps show Aotearoa as it was in 1840 prior to widespread European migration.
The maps will help both to refer to history and to bring people up to date with Te Reo Māori, he says.
The maps will be sent out to every school in the country, and a set of maps will be sent to every marae and iwi organisation by the board.
Anslem says they will support the new Aotearoa History curriculum.
The maps will soon be available to purchase and can be downloaded through the Land Information New Zealand Website.
