Board rejects Māori name for Lower Hutt street in favour of ex-mayor
Sunday, 21 February 2021
Harry Martin Lane was named just five days ago but already its future is in doubt, with Lower Hutt mana whenua calling the decision to reject a Māori street name “disrespectful and hurtful”.
Last Wednesday, Wainuiomata Community Board narrowly voted 3-2 to name its newest street after the Lower Hutt’s suburb’s one and only mayor, Harry Martin, who passed away in 2017.
However, the decision has immediately come under fire, with mana whenua calling for cultural training for board members that rejected the Māori street name put forward.
On Friday, board chair Gabriel Tupou, who was one of two members who could not attend the vote due to alert level 2 restrictions, confirmed the vote would be revisited in a second vote on March.
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Tupou said he was unable to comment on which name he would have supported without having the opportunity to be at the meeting and listen to both sides, but said he was aware of the frustrations expressed by mana whenua
Students from a local college recently campaigned to get more Māori street names in Lower Hutt, noting that the existing names were overwhelmingly European.
The Māori name put to the board last week, Raukura, means white feather, and in Māoridom it is often associated with Te Whiti o Rongomai III, a Māori spiritual leader and founder of Parihaka.
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The vote for Martin was supported by acting chair Dawn McKinley, Jodie Winterburn and Terry Stallworth.
Keri Brown and Gary Sue Jnr voted for the Māori option.
Wainuiomata Marae manager Linda Olsen attended the meeting and said she was frustrated by the process.
“I have got the greatest of respect for Harry Martin, but it was the process that was disrespectful and hurtful.”
She believed board members needed kaupapa Māori training to avoid similar situations in the future.
A large Māori delegation presented a video from Te Āti Awa elder Kara Puketapu emphasising peaceful co-existence and the long association Māori have had with the area.
Olsen said she understood why there was support for Martin but those who had voted in support, had failed to recognise how long Māori had lived in the valley and their contribution.
In their submission to the board, Māori said Raukura represented peaceful co-existence and a “symbol of peace, uniting cultural diversity and progressiveness.”
Brown, who represents the Hutt City Council on the board, said the case for a Māori name was strong and the mana whenua had presented a compelling case.
The video sent a powerful message that Māori were united in their desire for a Māori name, she said. “Their case was extremely hard to ignore.”
Martin was well regarded locally, and she could understand the reasoning behind those who voted for Harry Martin Lane.
His name had come up several times before. “The people who voted in support of Harry felt it was his time.”
McKinley, Winterburn and Stallworth have been approached but did not provide comment before publication.
Who was Harry Martin?
Harry and Irene Martin settled in Wainuiomata in 1954 and was mayor from 1981 to 1982 before the role was disestablished due to local government reorganisation. He was a JP for 41 years and also editor of the Valley News. He received the QSM in 1984 for his service to the community.
The Māori name put forward for the new street was Raukura, not Ruakara, as previously reported.