This is despite widespread opposition. Of the 651 submissions made to the Board, 535 were opposed (82%). Just 116 (18%) supported the name change. Clearly, the co-governed Geographic Board had little or no regard for the views of the community, including those who actually live in Kamo.
Ngāti Kahu-o-Torongare said the name change was required because:
“Discussions among the hapū confirm Te Kamo was a resident rangatira/tupuna in the Te Kamo region. He was not a rangatira of extrovert proportions, rather he was an introvert who worked behind the scenes guiding the hapū with other rangatira. It is understood he worked to ensure Te Kamo (village) and its people were safe and lived comfortably on land that provided for their wellbeing. The whole area was considered by the hapū, Ngāti Kahu O Torongare, to be a pātaka (lit. pantry) with the ngahere (lit. forest) (Pukenui), the repo (lit. swamp) (Hikurangai) and the large māra kai (lit. food garden) areas providing all the provisions required. Te Kamo ensured the land was productive and also traded with the coastal hapū. (Confirmed by Warahi Heteraka of Ngāti Wai and acknowledged as a tupuna). The historical narratives have been eroded by colonisation and it is only recently that wananga are beginning to reveal historical and traditional knowledge from the past.”
It seems the recollections of the historical narratives may have overlooked the entry on the nzhistory.govt.nz page (see here >>>).
That page says the name "Te Kamo" was an alias for Reihana Rēweti who, they say, also went by the names of Te Karoro and Richard Davis. The latter was presumably the name he used as an entrepreneur trading with the European settlers. The Richard Davis Reihana Rēweti did very for himself and he did indeed make a significant contribution - to Wellington. Davis Street in downtown Wellington is named in his honour.
The historical archives also show that the village of Kamo did not become established until the "Te Kamo" block of land was sold by local Maori to the government in 1858, for fifty pounds. That land was presumably of little potential benefit to local Maori at the time, hence the sale. There is nothing to suggest Maori were unwilling sellers.
It was only after that block of land was subdivided and re-sold by the government in 1859 that the area developed. William Carruth purchased the western block and Alexander Meldrum the eastern block. Those blocks are recognisable today as Kamo East and Kamo West. By now Richard Davis was doing very well for himself 500 miles away in Wellington.
It was the discovery of large coal reserves on the eastern block in 1875 that brought significant growth to Kamo, and in 1884 Kamo became a Town District. At the time it had a population not much less than Whangarei itself. It continued to prosper throughout this time and attracted significant industry – such as the Kamo Brickworks.
The area continued to prosper until the 1970s when, for various reasons, its importance as a service centre and shopping destination diminished, although its importance as a residential community has not.
The history of the area is largely one of industry and settlement post-1858. Throughout that time the area has been known as “Kamo” and is what it is today due to the presence of those who have resided there. There is no question that residents have identified their location as “Kamo” since that time. There is nothing in the literature or press to indicate any use of the name “Te Kamo” by central government, local authorities or businesses.
Furthermore, there remains significant doubt about the origins of the name “Te Kamo” and whether it refers to a person at all.
The Kamo Primary School website (see here >>>) says this,
“The name Kamo is a Maori word meaning "to bubble up" - descriptive of the hot springs in the area. Kamo's first school opened in a Mr Rouse's house in July 1873 with a roll of 40 pupils. In 1881, a permanent building was erected on the site in Hall Street (now Boswell Street). Additions were made to this as the district grew and the roll slowly increased over the next 60 years.”
Whangarei online (see here >>>) describes the history of the area as follows:
Kamo is a Maori word meaning ‘eyelash’, or meanings associated with the eye such as ‘eyelid’, ‘wink’ or ‘blink’, but it has also been said to mean ‘to bubble up’, referring to the numerous springs that are scattered throughout the district.
According to Diana Menefy’s book, Kamo, the Story of a Village, there are several versions of the story about the naming of Kamo. “Some people say the main character was a man… but agree it was the puriri tree in Grant Street that still stands today.
A local chief, accompanied by some of his people, went away for a distant visit, leaving his wife at home. When the visit was over and they were travelling back he was overcome with the feeling that his wife wasn’t being true to him. When they stopped at a watering place he gazed into the water. There he saw reflected his wife’s image. She was naked under her cloak. Angry, he rushed on ahead of the party and on arriving home dealt with his wife’s family. He took her and hung her from the puriri tree. By the time the rest of the party came through she was almost dead, but she blinked. And that is how Kamo got its name. That puriri tree still stands in Grant Street today.
Newspaper archives support the view that the origins of “Kamo” are likely related to the therapeutic springs that occur in the area.
It is fair to say there is a lot of uncertainty about the origins of the name Te Kamo. If it does refer to the name of a person as claimed by Ngāti Kahu-o-Torongare in its application to the Board, it is likely to be one of a number of alias names used by Reihana Rēweti as a convenience to suit his circumstances of the day (as is likely to have been commonplace at the time).
What we can be certain of is the use of “Kamo” to identify the local community. Kamo has a very rich history built on the enterprise and labour of the people that have lived there since 1858.
Throughout its history it has been referred to as “Kamo”, never as “Te Kamo”.
But none of that 165-year history appears to be of any consequence to the members of the Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board. What is of more consequence to them is a commitment to address issues of "equity". Their 2022 report (see here >>>) states:
"Place names provide both tangible and intangible means of addressing inequities. The Board is responding to the community’s increasing interest and expectation that place names reflect the equity that exists in our communities. This fulfils not only our statutory function to encourage the use of original Māori place names, but also meets our global responsibilities."
The community did not want the name change: 82% said no. That did not seem to matter. What mattered more was its "statutory function to encourage the use of original Maori place names" and their apparent, but unspecified, "global responsibilities".
The question is, why did it even bother calling for public comment about the name change when it has so little regard for public opinion?
