Maniaiti/Benneydale sign vandalism 'telling' of a larger issue within New Zealand
Friday, 15 November 2019
It only took 10 days for someone to deface the new dual Māori/English sign in a King Country township.
Where once was just Benneydale now stood Maniaiti/Benneydale.
The change came after the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board compromised from a request the area revert to its original name of Te Māniaiti to the dual name Maniaiti/Benneydale during it's treaty settlement negotiations earlier this year.
They were willing to share the naming of the sleepy town - some were not.
New Zealand has almost 700 landmarks and 18 towns that are dual named, many as a result of treaty negotiations.
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Blue and black spray paint obscured 'Maniaiti' from signage at the northern entrance to the township.
The statement was clear; we are Benneydale only, just like the day the town was named when it sprang from the King Country on the back of a government created coal mine in 1940.
NZTA contractors cleaned the sign 5 November - only ten days after the sign was unveiled on 25 October.
It's no secret the townspeople fought to keep its English name.
About 170 people live there - police said they couldn't find a report of vandalism.
Local man Graeme Reinhardt petitioned for to keep things as is, gathering 292 signatures by March 2019.
He told Stuff in a previous article that 'Benneydale is the name it was given and that's the name it should stay'.
But historian Dr Vincent O'Malley said it's time to move on.
'The dual name was a suitable compromise given the level of resistance to change there, which is why it's disappointing the sign has been defaced.
'Clearly they're not protesting the loss of the English name, it's the addition of the Māori name or the restoration which has upset some people - which is quite telling.'
Some Pākehā have a rose-tinted view of the nation's race relations history, O'Malley said, growing up with a 'mythical idea that New Zealand was both harmonious and homogenous'.
'The developments since the 1970's where we've seen treaty claims process and various other things is a source of unease for some people.'
Place names signify identityt O'Malley said, but in New Zealand, there's two histories to consider.
He noted the controversy that erupted when the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) ruled Whanganui must be spelled with an 'h' in 2009.
'Passions were aroused there in a big way, on the other hand in the Gisborne district the dual naming of Poverty Bay with Tūranganui-ā-Kiwa - there was some opposition to that - but was relatively straight forward by comparison.'
While that change was easier it wasn't without debate, Gisborne Council's Māori engagement advisor Walton Walker said.
'The controversy at the time that change happens is just the price you pay for change to happen, and in due course people who don't have a memory of that will just take that they've got in front of them as the norm.'
Waitomo Rural Councillor Allan Goddard lives in the Maniaiti/Benneydale area.
He's aware of the divide between the townspeople and Ngāti Maniapoto.
Tensions were high when the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) held public consultations, Goddard said.
'There are some people who obviously don't want to lose the old name.
'I think you're talking about a small group of people … there is no more opportunity to have their voice heard again.'
Minister for Māori development Nanaia Mahuta rejected that excuse.
Benneydale was the only English name in the Maniapoto rohe, Mahuta said, and while that history is rich and they don't want to take away from that, another history also took place there.
'I don't condone it (vandalism) and I don't accept that you have to resort to doing that to have your voice heard. The intent that we had that Benneydale and Maniaiti had dual name recognition was a positive thing.