Kirikiriroa name change scrapped
Hamilton’s mayor has backed down on a proposal to change the city council’s name.
Mayor Andrew King suggested looking into a name change to Kirikiriroa City Council in a bid to promote closer links with iwi.
What followed was a storm of public opinion – much of it against the move.
King withdrew his suggestion at yesterday’s council meeting.
Media interest and public commentary ‘‘has gone far beyond looking at an idea’’, he said.
‘‘Our community has moved into debate before this council has even got to talk about the concept.’’
He acknowledged his colleagues’ view that this had become an unfortunate distraction from the long-term plan, and said it wasn’t his intention.
He also apologised that the idea came as a surprise to some councillors, and acknowledged strong and contrasting views.
‘‘This chair’s report was intended only as a starting point for a fuller discussion that we would have later in the year.’’
Councillor Dave Macpherson had expected more speakers in the public gallery.
‘‘I’ve been waiting for all these people who have been discussing it . . . to jump up and have their piece in this meeting. I’m really disappointed,’’ he said.
He applauded King raising the issue – thought the timing could have been better – and noted ‘‘angst-type discussions’’ tend to start whenever someone wants to change an English name to a Ma¯ ori one.
Eighteen of the Waikato’s 24 towns have Ma¯ ori names, he said.
‘‘In all of those towns the sun comes up every day, people work, live, sleep, play, go to school. It doesn’t seem to make a difference. It hasn’t stopped them functioning. It hasn’t caused people to leave those towns, that I’m aware.’’
Cr Siggi Henry asked King for ‘‘at least a hint of what’s going on’’ next time, so she didn’t find out five minutes before a phone call from the press.
She said several other cities around the world have lived with a name change, like Saigon to Ho Chi Minh City, or Bombay to Mumbai.
And countries such as Ireland preserve two languages, Deputy Mayor Martin Gallagher said.
Te reo Ma¯ ori deserves to be preserved, he said, but Hamilton’s debate was academic in a sense,
‘‘The term Kirikiriroa already exists if I choose to speak my other official language.’’
Earlier, in the public forum, there were just three presentations.
One was from the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, which brought Porky the pig and a thick stack of petition papers with them to the meeting.
Their petition against the name change collected about 1500 signatures in 36 hours, they said.
The other two speakers also opposed a change, and one suggested the city could instead promote its heritage by putting ‘‘a big cow in the main street or in Garden Place, similar to what Morrinsville has done’’.
King’s full statement to the meeting: ‘‘As you know, I believe we should recognise and celebrate our shared history. As individuals, and as a council, I think we should raise awareness of our city’s cultural heritage.
‘‘I feel one way to reflect that heritage would be by emphasising the Ma¯ori name for this council.’’