Renaming NZ Kiwiland gets around all manner of sensitivities
THE confidential report of the Commission on Names (CON) regarding the name “New Zealand” has been sent to this column and an extract follows.
“We reject ‘Paradise’, ‘Utopia’, and ‘Heaven’ as we believe the proposers are living in fairyland, another name we have rejected.
We have examined the records and found that the Dutch origins of ‘New Zealand’ make it an unsuitable name when Abel Tasman spent only a few days here and never set foot on New Zealand soil. That only 30,000 New Zealanders claim Dutch ancestry is also a factor.
‘Aotearoa’ has caused much handwringing and emotional tearshedding, as can be understood. Records of its use leave us unconvinced as the 30page Appendix II explains. It is also a word which only about 9% of the population can pronounce correctly which is a good reason to cast it aside. It will undoubtedly continue to be used by those sections of the media and susceptible politicians keen to score brownie points, but that choice is theirs.
Our recommendation for a new name for New Zealand is ‘‘Kiwiland’’ and a summary of our research follows.
As early as 1927, the highly optimistic Western Star of Riverton wrote, “our country is variously called Maoriland and Kiwiland, but it will always remain good old New Zealand” . That item confirms that Kiwiland was widely used about a hundred years ago. In 1944, when the kea were banned from Australian aviaries, the term “Kiwiland kea” was frequently heard but the present Australian Government has kindly suggested “Pig Island” and “Shaky Isles”. However, as might be expected from Australia, these names smack of disrespect for this country.
We note that “Maoriland” has always had supporters, never more so than in recent times when all things Maori have become sacrosanct, but we believe it could upset the unfortunate 70% of New Zealanders who can claim only European ancestry.
‘‘Kiwiland’’ became even more acceptable when Dan Davin used it in 1947 in his novel For the Rest of Our Lives.
In order to assign some sense of priority to the use of the word ‘‘kiwi’’ we confirmed that the kiwi has precedence in the first settler stakes. The bird was wellestablished when Maori arrived and, of course, Maori were widely settled here before the first Europeans sailed to these islands. ‘‘Kiwi’’ is generally accepted to be a Maori word imitating the bird’s call, but the waters are muddied by the suggestion from some linguists that the word is derived from the protonuclear Polynesian word ‘‘kiwi’’ which referred to the bristlethighed curlew, a migratory bird which winters in the tropical Pacific Islands.
At this point the commission had an aspirin and a short liedown. However, confusion about the origins of the word may be helpful when Maori feel aggrieved when an ‘s’ is added to the word when we talk of New Zealanders as ‘‘Kiwis’’.
Nevertheless, and of more importance, is the fact that kiwi are a significant national icon, cherished by all groups in the community.
As such, the bird’s name as part of the country’s name seems to us a reasonable move.
Naturally, the use of ‘‘Kiwiland’’ will engender wide debate and, perhaps, some opposition.
Happily, ‘‘land’’ is not controversial. Although an English word, it has been accepted even by those countries for whom English is not the native tongue. We could instance Finland, where the
Finnish name for the country is ‘‘Suomi’’ but where ‘‘Finland’’ has ready acceptance from the local population when the country is being mentioned in international forums.
‘‘Kiwi’’ is already wellestablished as a synonym for ‘‘New Zealander’’ and while the word is widely used for the fruit once called Chinese gooseberry, there is unlikely to be confusion in a phrase like, ‘‘We had kiwis for dessert’’. The lower case ‘‘k’’ clearly indicates that fruit rather than people was eaten. ‘‘Kiwi fruit’’ has been used by an unsavoury element to describe a New Zealander of a certain sexual orientation, but that use need not detain us here.
In historical contexts ‘‘New Zealand’’ should be retained, thus avoiding AKAC instead of ANZAC or AKUS for ANZUS. The Bank of New Zealand should retain its name, as Bank of Kiwiland could cause confusion with Kiwibank, although Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) could be WIK without causing misunderstanding.
Of great importance is the effect this change will have on the present national anthem, but has the same number of syllables as God Defend New Zealand so the transition should be smooth. (Choosing a replacement for God Defend
New Zealand is, we understand, the task of another commission).
Naturally, ‘‘Kiwiland’’ would solve the fiasco of the flag referendums of 201516.”
So, there it is. A damn sight easier than changing the name “All Blacks” which will no doubt eventually get the chop.
Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.