Nau Mai Town

A moment of anxiousness and the abundance of bird life, two similar names but two very different stories. There are two names associated with the Manukau harbour. One name has to do with a waka trying to launch into the dangerous Manukau heads, the other name is about the abundance of bird life wading in the water.Justine Murray is in Waiuku with Roimata Minhinnick (Ngāti Te Ata Waikohua) and Robbie Paora (Ngāti Whatua ki Orākei) to find out the stories of the name Manukau, the second largest harbour in Aotearoa. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

There's the main trunk line, a thriving timber industry and friendly folk. But is the story behind the name Taumarunui about a shelter or a fallen warrior?One story about the name Taumarunui is that it was the last words of Te Peehi Turoa, a dying chief who wished to be shelterd by the sun. But according to local hapū Ngāti Rangatahi, Taumarunui was also the name of a warrior killed by a chief, Tama-aio. Justine Murray is in the King Country to hear both sides of this story. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On a return trip from the beach Nukutawhiti's daughter Rewa decided to have a nap, and the name Moerewa was born. Josie Kemp-Baker shares the story about the never-say-die Northland town.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Have you assumed Paihia was a te reo word? It's actually a mash-up of Māori & English. But who said it and why?Every year hundreds of people make the annual hikoi to Waitangi to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, and the man who translated the Treaty has a bit to do with the naming of the town of Paihia.This story begins seventeen years before the treaty was signed, when Henry Williams was scouting for a place to set up a mission house.According to Ngati Kawa Taituha, Chair of Te Tii Marae in Waitangi, the name likely stems from a conversation between Williams and the scouting party from the tribes from Ngāti Kawa or Ngāti Rahiri, who were helping him find a good site.We talk to Taituha and some Williams’ descendants about the history of the sunny Northland settlement. And we also learn from Taituha about another, original name that pre-dates Paihia.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details