gets iwi-gifted name change
The name of Porirua’s Calliope Park deemed culturally-offensive by local iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira has been officially changed to Matahourua Park.
Calliope referred to the 19th Century Royal Navy warship, the HMS Calliope, a 26-gun frigate which held Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rauparaha captive onboard without trial for two years after being illegally imprisoned by Governor George Grey.
Te Rauparaha was taken to Auckland in 1846 after he was arrested at his pā at Taupō in Plimmerton by government soldiers during the Wellington Wars.
The Matahourua name was gifted by mana whenua, referring to the name of famed Polynesian explorer Kupe’s ocean-going, twin-hulled waka that he used when he discovered Aotearoa New Zealand.
Link to article: Culturally-offensive Porirua park gets iwi-gifted name change | Stuff.co.nz
