Ever wondered about the stories behind some of our place names? Justine Murray finds out more from those who live in heartland Aotearoa.

What is the story behind the name Kurow? What does eating scraps from a food oven have to do with a name on the Kāpiti Coast? From misinterpretations to transliterations, find out more about Aotearoa place names in this new podcast series.

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If you say it out loud, the word Kurow sounds a lot like Te Kohurau. That's because the latter is the original name of a small South Canterbury town named after a tupuna (ancestor).

Kurow is a small rural town in the Waitaki District of South Canterbury.

It's popular for its cycle trails, good fishing spots and is the hometown of former All Black captain and 110-test veteran Richie McCaw.

What is perhaps less known about the town is that the name 'Kurow' is the anglicised version of 'Te Kohurau' - an ancestor who arrived in the South Island on the Āraiteuru waka.

So how did Te Kohurau become Kurow?

This kind of transition was mostly to do with how place names were interpreted, says Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZ Geographic Board) Secretariat Wendy Shaw.

"The way it was transcribed from the original Māori names were usually done by a surveyor, a settler, a crown official or a missionary and sometimes they were not that well educated, and then the other way to look at it is that they would write down what they heard according to their ear of origin."

So in all likelihood, Te Kohurau was written down as 'Kurow'.

Māori language teacher Justin Tipa (Kai Tahu and Kāti Momoe) was raised in the Waitaki Valley and recalls his family being particular about the history and the name 'Te Kohurau' - even though Kurow was what everyone called the town.

"I had a couple of uncles and aunties that were very deliberate in using the name Te Kohurau... I think most of the family just conformed to the rest of the society and I certainly grew up calling the place Kurow"

Today Justin is a cultural advisor at Fonterra and by night teaches Te Reo Māori classes in Moeraki.

It's his mission to teach local Māori about ancestral names and local stories.

"We've started having community discussions and community talks where we talk about our local place names...we're getting good engagement and largely from non-Māori, people want to know this history."

Kate White runs Waitaki Braids - a café, restaurant and lodge in Kurow - and is originally from Banks Peninsula.

Previously, she worked for Environment Canterbury aiding the organisation's shift towards working with local iwi to cement a treaty partnership and better support the Māori language.

Over time, Kate formed good work relationships with three rūnaka (iwi authorities) and became aware of Māori names and the stories in the Waitaki district.

Her interest in the history of the area's name was first sparked when she started hearing the word 'Hacker'…

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Paraparaumu is a beautiful town on the Kāpiti Coast so why would you want to call the town 'Pram'? Justine Murray finds out the story behind the name.

'Pram' and 'Paraparam' are two abbreviations of a Kāpiti coast that have stuck.

The proper name of the town - Paraparaumu - refers to an event that happened over 200 years ago.

As significant as the official name is, cultural advisor Kahu Ropata says the town's nicknames were just what everyone used when he was younger.

"Oh yeah, we're off to Pram' or 'we're off to Pram-Pram for the day'. It wasn't until later on in life when I realised the significance of the name and how it recalls some major events in New Zealand's history."

It's a similar story for Kapiti Island Nature Tours operator John Barrett who has lived in and around the Kāpiti Coast for 70 years.

He says names like 'Paraparam' are from a "bygone" era.

"I don't hear it quite so much now as we used to...it was a bit more of a colonial-era sound, I'm just hearing less and less of it... my old people it always came out Paraparaumu."

The name 'Paraparaumu' references an event that took place during 1819 - 1820 when the Northland-based iwi Nga Puhi and Ngāti Toa from Kāwhia, travelled down from the west coast of the North Island to the Cook Strait known as Te amiowhenua tuatahi (the first expedition).

It was an early foray of the Musket Wars, and Ngati Toa Rangatira Te Rauparaha and his nephew Te Rangihaeata were part of the taua (war party).

During their travels, alliances were made but blood was spilt along the way.

When the war parties arrived at the Kāpiti Coast, famished, they found nothing of substance. According to Kahu Ropata, this inspired the town's name.

"It is a name that is quite synonymous for our area...'parapara' is a word we use to describe waste or food waste...and 'umu' are the earth ovens they were cooked in... It reminds us of that event."

Kahu, who is a former Māori language teacher, encourages people to learn the significance of the name and its story and pronunciation.

"I don't really mind it they can't pronounce, at least they're trying especially our non-Māori, so I have a lot of time for that. It's when they carry on using the barbarisms like Pram -Pram... I've been a teacher of te reo Māori for a long time so I understand that language learning isn't that easy even for our own people... as long as they try and say Paraparaumu."

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details