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."

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There was a mix-up of words when James Cook came up with the name 'Tolaga' for the small east coast town of Tolaga Bay, but the locals choose to call it Uawa.

'Tolaga Bay' - the name given to a small town on the east coast of the North Island - came about due to a misinterpretation.

In mid-October 1769, Captain James Cook sailed into the harbour and ask questions of local Māori.

Wayne Ngata (Nō Te Aitanga a Hauiti) lives in Tolaga Bay and is a leading figure in the local history of his hometown.

"When Jim Cook rocked up to Uawa... in that process he had been asking directions. Their response was to the effect of saying 'Te Raki' or to the north. He took that as being a placename."

The words 'Te Raki' were apparently heard as 'Te Raka' and wound up as 'Tolaga', Ngata says.

"The difficulty in communicating in languages that are different... We can surmise on these things, having said that, there were still references in Cooks' head about the name of the place and that was a mistake."

It wasn't the first time James Cook had gotten a name wrong.

It also occurred in other parts of Aotearoa, says the secretariat of the New Zealand Geographic Board Wendy Shaw.

"Captain Cook's North Umbrian ear wrote...Tovy - Poe - Nammu. So that's what he heard and so in his English, that's how he wrote Te Wai Pounamu."

But according to Wayne Ngata, the locals call their home 'Uawa' after the local river and an ancestor from Hawaiiki. The full name is 'Uawa Nui a Ruamatua' or 'The Great River of Ruamatua'.

While Tolaga Bay is still commonplace, local kaiako Hinauri Donald says the name 'Uawa' is still new to others outside of the town.

"When I would meet new people and you'd say Uawa...they wouldn't really know where Uawa was and so I would say Tolaga Bay... I mean, I've just always tried to use the Māori name because that's what we use here."

Te Rangirangi, who has lived in Tolaga Bay her whole life, remembers another iteration of the name.

"It was Tabago, not Tolaga... When Captain Cook first came here he landed at Cooks Cove. That was the original name for this place."

In 1894, the town was given the name 'Buckley' after colonial secretary Patrick Buckley but it never stuck and reverted back to being Tolaga Bay.

That name is similar to those of other towns named after men who lived overseas and never set foot in this country, Wayne Ngata says…

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Such was the respect that Māori explorer Ihenga had for his uncle and father-in-law Kahumatamomoe, he named two lakes in his honour. That's just part of the story behind the name Rotorua.

Such was the respect that Māori explorer Ihenga had for his uncle and father-in-law Kahumatamomoe, he named two lakes in his honour.

That's just part of the story behind the name Rotorua.

The first is Lake Rotoiti - an abbreviation of Te Rotoiti i kite ai a Ihenga i ariki ai a Kahumatamomoe or The small lake discovered by Ihenga in honour of Kahumatamoemoe.

The second lake he named Te Rotorua Nui a Kahumatemomoe, or The great second lake in honour of Kahumatamomoe" - abbreviated as 'Rotorua'.

Rangitihi Pene (Nō Tuhourangi, Ngati Tarāwhai) works in iwi engagement at Rotorua Library and is an orator well-versed in the history of his hometown.

"Kahumatamomoe initially lived on the coast of Maketu ... he's one of the sons of the captain of the Te Arawa waka, Tamatekapua. He is more or less our main ancestor in Rotorua ... Ihenga conquered Rotorua by re-naming it," he says.

According to Pene, before Ihenga founded and named Rotorua, it had already been given the name Nga Wai karekare o Maru Punga Nui or "the great rippling waters of Maru Punga Nui", (Maru Punga Nui was an ancestor who had been on the Te Arawa waka. )

There was deception on Ihenga's part, Pene says.

"Ihenga tricked him into believing that he had been there longer by antiquating an alter or a tuahu. He burnt it to make it look like it was older to prove that he had been there longer."

Maru Punga Nui couldn't disprove Ihenga's story so he left and shifted his people to Mokoia Island, which, perhaps ironically, Ihenga bestowed with the name Te Motutapu a Tinirau.

According to the 2018 Census, Rotorua has a population of just over 71,000 people, it's known for tourism, geothermal activity and as the hub of Māori arts, crafts and whakairo.

Marty and Jo Anstiss live in Denmark, Western Australia and travelled around New Zealand for five months.

While Marty knew about the geothermal activity that makes Rotorua an interesting place, he had no idea it was an abbreviated name.

Rotorua is home to former radio and TV host Kingi Biddle who agrees that the stories of place names are important. She is disappointed by the use of nicknames such as 'Rotos' and 'Rotovegas'.

"I hate that 'Rotovegas' ... I did an interview once and somebody said to me 'how's Vegas?' and I said to that person 'I've only been there once but if you want to know how Rotorua is - yeah it's awesome'."…

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A once-thriving sawmilling industry on the outskirts of Tauranga would inspire the naming of the Tauranga suburb 'Tauriko'. Listen now.

A once-thriving local sawmilling industry inspired the naming of the Tauranga suburb 'Tauriko'.

The business name 'Tauranga Rimu Timber Company' seemed a bit long-winded so sawmill operators, the Gamman brothers shortened the name to Tau-Ri-Co.

The letter 'C' is not a consonant in the Māori language so it was replaced with the letter 'K' which formed the contracted name 'Tauriko' a suburb on the outskirts of Tauranga.

Tauriko is now home to the new housing development area 'The Lakes' and the retail and industrial hub 'Tauranga Crossing'.

The history of sawmilling begins with Samuel John Gamman who arrived in the country on board the Cameo in 1859.

Samuel and his wife Eliza lived at Akaroa in Canterbury before moving north to the Manawatu and the Tararua districts. Together they had 10 children, two of which died young, but his surviving sons would follow their father into the dangerous industry of sawmilling.

In 1908 Henry, Ernest, Arthur and George opened new mills in the Bay of Plenty.

Debbie McCauley is an author of narrative non-fiction children's books and has written extensively on the sawmilling industry in the region.

"They're big names in sawmilling in New Zealand, they start a sawmill at Oropi and George Gamman buys some bush at Omanawa falls and from there they put a tramline through from the Wairoa river and transport massive timber logs."

During this time, New Zealand timber was in high demand, and the Gammans exported it to Australia. As business thrived Debbie says the brothers went to register their business name but decided on a simpler version.

"The story is because 'Co' wasn't in the Māori language it was changed to 'Ko' and the name was Tauriko...that's why a lot of people think it's a Māori word," she says.

Charlie Rāhiri lives in Tauranga and has whakapapa to Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Kahu and Ngai Tamarāwaho, he says while the history of the name 'Tauriko' is based on a major industry set up by a migrant family, the history of the land is one of historical significance to tangata whenua.

"Ngai Tamarāwaho they have a large presence in The Lakes area, Ngāti Hangarau do aswell...their significant pa was called Tupenga and then Wairoa while we had no pa we had a number of kainga" …

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Nau Mai Town is back with host Justine Murray to find out the stories and meaning of place names around Aotearoa.

Rino Wilkinson remembers filling up glass bottles at the mineral water pump in and on school trips watching the factory in full swing at the Innes Tartan factory in Paeroa. But he never knew that the long name of his hometown is Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi, find out more on Nau Mai Town with host Justine Murray.

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Paeroa is world-famous in Aotearoa for its mineral water, but do you know the Coromandel town's longer name?

Walking around the Coromandel town of Paeroa, history lies at your feet.

Downtown, you'll see cast-iron pumps that once sucked Paeroa's prized spring water from the ground.

Not far away is the vacant Innes tartan factory where the classic Kiwiana drink Lemon & Paeroa was produced after 1963.

Rino Wilkinson (Ngāti Tamatera) grew up in Paeroa. He worked as a broadcaster at Nga Iwi FM for 33 years and in 2019 was the first Māori elected to the Hauraki District Council.

Rino used to take his glass bottles and fill them up at the water pumps, back before the well was closed off.

He remembers being a teenager in the floods of 1981 when the Ohinemuri River burst its banks and his family had to be evacuated from their home.

What Rino didn't hear much about growing up were stories about the longer name of Paeroa - Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi - and how that relates to a waka race and a Māori ancestor.

In this episode, Te Kehukehu Patara shares the story behind the name ' Te Paeroa a Toitehuatahi'.

You'll also meet Laurie Smith, who's worked for the Paeroa District Museum for eight years and spent his whole life in the town. From gold mining to mineral water, local prohibition and the impact of the railway, Laurie knows all the local stories.

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