City Rail Link proposes four te reo Māori names for Auckland train stations

Friday, 6 May 2022

Four te reo Māori names proposed for new City Rail Link stations.

City Rail Link and Auckland Transport want to give four stations te reo Māori ingoa (names) in honour of the city’s past.

The announcement comes as City Rail Link (CRL) releases sketches of how some of the new stations will be designed, in line with mana whenua history.

CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum has gifted the proposed names to the rail link. They are Maungawhau (Mt Eden), Karanga a Hape (Karangahape), Te Wai Horotiu (Aotea) and Waitematā (Britomart).

Karanga a Hape station means “the call of Hape”. Hape was an ancestor of the Tainui iwi who made his own way to Tāmaki Makaurau when his waka left him in Hawaiki.

The names will go before the New Zealand Geographic Board for approval at the end of May.

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Members of the public can have their say before then.

The Te Wai Horotiu station name refers to the stream Wai Horotiu, whose path flows beneath Queen Street.

Each of the names is strongly linked to its station’s location.

Karanga a Hape station – which is a correction of the misspelled Karangahape – means “the call of Hape”. Hape was an ancestor of the Tainui iwi who made his own way to Tāmaki Makaurau when his waka left him in Hawaiki.

Te Wai Horotiu station refers to the stream Wai Horotiu, which flows beneath Queen Street. Wai Horotiu has been covered up by urbanisation but its name has also been lent to the Queen St transformation project.

CRL chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney said the names acknowledged Tāmaki Makaurau’s unique heritage.

“We are honoured to have been gifted these ngā ingoa tuku iho (traditional names) by our Mana Whenua Forum along with invaluable mātauranga (knowledge) Māori throughout the project,” he said.

”CRL's eyes are set firmly on building a world-class railway for Auckland's future, but the names anchor us to the past and the history of the people first to call the land the stations occupy their home.”

The names and designs were revealed at the proposed Te Wai Horotiu (Aotea) site on May 6.

The nearby maunga is the namesake for Maungawhau station – known otherwise as Mount Eden, Maungawhau is named for its iconic whau trees.

Also proposed is renaming Britomart station Waitematā, to honour the land around the station which was reclaimed from the Waitematā harbour.

The nearby maunga is the namesake for Maungawhau station. Otherwise known as Mount Eden, Maungawhau is named for its whau trees.

Auckland Transport (AT) chief executive Shane Ellison said te reo Māori must be present in public spaces.

“The gifted station names continue AT's commitment to ensuring te reo Māori is seen, heard, spoken and learned across our network and we're thrilled to be part of that journey.”

Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland mayor Phil Goff attended the announcement.

“The stations will be unique, emphasising Māori culture and heritage, which are our point of difference to the world,” Goff said.

“It will tell us, as Aucklanders, about what once happened on these sites and how they once looked.

“For visitors, it will help make their experience in Tāmaki Makaurau memorable and different from other places in the world which they have visited.”

“The process is about reinstating the traditional names of the areas the stations will serve - looking back to a time before concrete and skyscrapers when people lived off the land,” a spokesperson for the CRL Mana Whenua Forum said.

“When we re-establish a traditional name, for example Maungawhau, it offers a sense of place.”