31 Jul 2013

Mayor questions why iwi didn't seek name change

7:05 am on 31 July 2013

A campaign calling for Poverty Bay to be reverted to its original Maori name has prompted the local council to query why iwi didn't seek a change during Treaty negotiations.

Kaiti Primary School in Gisborne has been pushing for Poverty Bay to be called Turanganui a Kiwa, after the students discovered the name was amended by Captain Cook more than 240 years ago.

Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon admires the children's efforts, but says he's keen to know why it wasn't addressed during Treaty talks between the iwi and Crown.

Mr Foon says he wonders, looking back, why Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki, Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri did not seek a name change.

Te Aitanga a Mahaki says it is addressing the matter of changing the name from Poverty Bay to Turanganui a Kiwi as part of its Treaty claim.