Turangi street names to change
MEDIA RELEASE
28 August 2012
The Turangi Tongariro Community Board is recommending Council change a number of street names in Turangi after
discussions with local hapu.
Fourteen street names and three park names will be changed to incorporate Ngati Turangitukua whakapapa as part of a
board agreement following the 1998 Treaty of Waitangi Settlement. The changes will also correct spelling errors made in
the past.
The board was approached in 2010 by Ngati Turangitukua to follow through on previous board discussions to change the
names.
In 1963, the Ministry of Works approached the Turangitukua Marae Committee, asking them to put forward street names for
Turangi. The hapu’s wishes were granted in part, however, the Ministry of Works removed the ‘Te’ off the front of
several street names and did not use some proposed names. They replaced them with the names of engineers who worked on
the Tongariro power development.
Local hapu say the dropping of the ‘Te’ from some street names and shortening others degrades the value placed on the
names and what they mean to the community.
Turangitukua Maori Committee Chairman Jeffrey Bennett says they are keen to see the errors made in the past rectified.
“It’s not about the amount of work the engineers have done,” he says. “It’s to rectify some of the spelling mistakes on
the names of some of our tupuna.”
The engineers who were named on the street signs previously are likely to be honoured in Turangi in another way.
The board has been working collaboratively with the hapu and believes it is a good thing for the community as it fulfils
a promise made several years ago. “I think we’re a happier community for it. I’m just so pleased that we’re able to
co-operate with each other,” Mr Bennett says. “We’ve put our relationship on a new footing really, and I think it’s
going to be positive for all of us.”
Board Chairman Gary Keepa says he expects the town will cope with the changes. “A lot of them don’t mind what the names
of the streets are,” he says. He says it is good the board and hapu are able to work together.
It is estimated that replacing the signs will cost $2,500, which will be partly funded from this year’s Council budget
with the rest planned into next year’s.
The new signs will go up alongside the original signs for a six-month period shortly after the changes are approved,
before the old signs are taken down. While there is dual signage in place, Council will work with affected businesses to
assess the potential impact of the changes.
The street names that will be changed are as follows:
Current name/spelling New name/spelling
Awamate RdTe Awamate RdAonini RdTe Aonini RdArahori StTe Arahori StDekker Dr Kahurau DrGibson St Hangarito StHerekiekie St Te Herekiekie StKaheke Pl Te Rangikahekeiwaho PlLink Rd Piri RdMitiotu GrTe Mitiotu GrState Highway 41Tokaanu RdTakinga St Te Takinga StTautahanga Rd Te Rangitautahanga RdTod Cl Wharepapa ClTukehu St Te Rangitukehu StMcLaren ParkTe Kapua ParkCherry Tree Reserve Te Koko ReserveCrescent Reserve Kohineheke ReserveOhuanga Rd To start from the roundabout alongside the police station on the Club Habitat side to the T junction at SH41.
ENDS