Thorough research and persistence has paid off for a Taranaki man, who has got his local council to change the name of a road that meant nothing in Māori.
For 110 years, there's been a Matangara Road in Hāwera, but local man Henare Ngaia knew the spelling was wrong.
Mr Ngaia has successfully worked to convince the South Taranaki District Council to add two letters to the name which becomes Matangārara Road.
He says in the process, he found an ugly story of arranged marriage.
Mr Ngaia says according to a local legend, two young people from two separate communities were betrothed to marry each other.
But he says when the young lady saw the young gentleman she was to marry, she called him a "mata ngārara!", "mata" meaning face, and "ngārara" meaning lizard.
