Māori street name in Hamilton unveiled
For two years, Ian McMichael’s sights have been set on remedying the past and looking towards the future.
Despite having no ancestral connection to mana whenua in Hamilton, McMichael has been a quiet catalyst, lobbying to see signage commemorating colonial militia changed.
Yesterday morning, the impassioned pharmacist’s mission was accomplished.
Von Tempsky St in Hamilton East was officially gifted its ancestral Mā ori name, Puutikitiki, alongside the renaming of Dawson Park to Te Wehenga Park.
A karanga and hīkoi around the area opened the occasion before tamariki (children) from Hamilton East School sang waiata to mark the blessing ceremony.
‘‘It’s very exciting and very satisfying that we’ve got to this stage,’’ McMichael said.
Throughout his bid for change, McMichael said it had been a collaborative effort with council, the community and local Mā ori.
‘‘It’s been an interesting process, but I’d always believed that we would get to this day, when you’ve got the school involved and the community involved that makes it all worthwhile.’’
For mana whenua, Ngā ti Wairere, it was a momentous and symbolic occasion.
The signage was a physical telling of their mission to see matauranga Mā ori and ingoa Mā ori (knowledge and names, respectively) recognised. But the true vision was in the eyes of their tamariki who were present, according to kaumā tua Tame Pokaia.
It was giving them a place to stand and a sense of belonging, he said. Although the occasion was a turning of the page, for Pokaia it was merely the beginning.
‘‘It’s a start for teaching people the history of Aotearoa, the real history of Aotearoa. It’s not the end but a start because there are still names around the city that need to be looked at by council,’’ he said.
Mā ori services provider, Te Kō hao Health, also supported McMichael’s submission.
Director Lady Tureiti Moxon said a lot of Hamilton streets have been given colonial militia names such as Hamilton, Von Tempsky St, Bryce St, Grey St, Victoria St.
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate said the journey to the official unveiling had been community led.
‘‘It is a very special day for celebration,’’ Southgate said.
The recognition and redress of ingoa Mā ori was about being proud of Aotearoa’s unique names, stories and histories, she said. It was not about erasing European history but rather acknowledging the importance of indigenous history, Southgate said.
‘‘It’s happened all across New Zealand.
‘‘You can see just exactly what it means to iwi and mana whenua here, how very important this storytelling is to them.’’
Council had since made changes to its Naming of Roads,
Open Spaces and Council Facilities Policy. This was part of their He Pou Manawa Ora strategy, which seeks to support the aspirations of Mā ori and the wider community.
It would guide the process for naming streets in Hamilton going forward.
McMichael had his eyes on the road ahead, including other signage in Hamilton which he would be working on with mana whenua in the near future.
‘‘Times change . . . names change . . . we need to move with the times.’’