Mana Island Proposal Report - Land Information New Zealand

Place Name Proposal Report 

Considered by the NZGB on 3 August 2010 

Proposal #12 of 22 

Mana Island 

(recorded name) 

Locality of Porirua 

General Background 

The Proposal 

The submitter is the Porirua City Council, who is seeking to assign a place name to 

the locality/island located in Cook Strait approximately 4 kilometres from the coast 

at Titahi Bay and 22 kilometres south-west of Kapiti Island. 

The Council advises that Porirua City is a conglomeration of parts of earlier local 

authorities, and as such inherited a number of suburb and locality names. The 

Council advises that it wants to formalise 22 suburb and locality names, and 

boundaries within the city in order to meet New Zealand Post’s addressing standards 

for mail, which in turn will attract substantial reductions to bulk postal rates. 

Research/History and References 

The Council’s website 1 reports that, ‘the full name of Mana Island reflects the long 

historical association of Maori with Mana Island. Te Mana o Kupe ki te Moana Nui a 

Kiwi (the mana of Kupe in crossing the great ocean of Kiwa), or its alternate shorter 

name Te Mana o Kupe ki Aoteroa, is one of many local Porirua names that also 

relates to Kupe's visit to the Porirua’. 

The website (ibid.) also notes that originally the island was occupied by Ngāi Tara 

and Ngāti Ira, and that since European settlement the island has been used for 

1 Porirua City Council, “History of Mana Island”, http://pcc.govt.nz/ (accessed 22 June 2010). 

01a NZGB - Proposal Report - Mana Island - 2010-08-03.doc, for meeting of 3 August 2010 Page 1 of 6 

File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

various purposes including an exotic sheep quarantine and breeding station, a cattle 

farm, and since 1987 the island has been managed by the Department of 

Conservation as a Scientific Reserve. 

Reed 2 records, ‘Mana: power, Mana Island near Wellington is in full, Te Mana-o- 

Kupe-ki-Aotea-roa, the ability of Kupe to cross the ocean to Aotearoa. It was Kupe’s 

daughter who suggested that the name should be given to the island.’ 

Te Aka Māori-English, English- Māori Dictionary and Index 3 gives the essence of the 

meaning of ‘mana’ as ‘a supernatural force in a person, place or object’. 

The Northern tip of the island is the location of Matakitaki, a viewing place and burial 

ground originally named by Kupe. Mana Island contains other burial grounds such as 

the tomb of Waitohi, who was Te Rauparaha’s sister and the mother of Te 

Rangihaeata 4 . Kai Tangata, on the south-eastern side of the island, was the principal 

home of Te Rangihaeata until 1846. This was the site of his famous carved whare, 

Kai Tangata. Also on the south-eastern side of the island is Bell’s whaling station, 

which was run in conjunction with Te Korohiwa, located just south of Titahi Bay 5 . Te 

Ra Mariki is a highly tapu tauranga waka which was also located on the island. Te 

Rauparaha’s house was located on Mana Island, though the exact location is not 

known. 

The Board has previously acknowledged the full Maori name for the island feature as 

Te Mana-o-Kupe ki Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. However, Mana Island is the accepted 

shortened form. 

Location and Extent and Common/Long Term Usage of Locality 

The Council advises that the boundary lines follow land parcel boundaries and are 

based on historic records and current usage, and that where possible Statistics New 

Zealand mesh block boundaries were followed. 

The Council advises that financial implications to residents required by changes to 

their addresses were considered, and were able to be reduced by focussing on 

formalising current usage and generally accepted geographic areas, rather than 

introducing new boundaries and names. 

Mana Island Scientific Reserve has been gazetted (see below) as an administrative 

area protected for scientific research. 

The proposed extent is rural in character. The website of Porirua City Council 6 

reports that the proposed extent is zoned ‘Rural’ for planning purposes. 

NZGB Act 2008 Definition of a Locality 

Under the terms of Section 4 of the NZGB Act 2008 a locality means ‘an identifiable 

area within a local authority area, usually rural or partly rural in character’. 

Board Guidelines 

It is particularly important that locality and suburb names and extents be assigned 

with emergency and utility services in mind. Therefore, emphasis on standardisation 

and non-ambiguity are the Board’s main concerns. When considering name proposals 

for localities or suburbs, the Board will: 

seek support of the relevant territorial authority before accepting a proposal for 

a locality or suburb name and extent 

consider local community views 

2 Reed, A.W., A Dictionary of Maori Place Names. (Wellington: AH & AW Reed, 1961) 

3 “Te Aka Māori-English, English- Māori Dictionary and Index” http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/index.cfm 

(accessed 21 June 2010). 

4 Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira, Inc., Me Huri Whakamuri Ka Titiro Whakamua: A Framework for the Management of 

Sites and Places of Significance 

to Māori within the Porirua District, 1996, 94 – 97. 

5 Day, Kelvin, Mana Island, Porirua Museum and Department of Lands and Survey, Porirua, 1987, 1. 

6 Porirua City Council, “Porirua City Council District Planning Zones”, http://pcc.govt.nz/ (accessed 13 May 2010). 


File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

take into account the views of tangata whenua. 

Media 

There has been some local media interest in the Council’s place name proposals, and 

the Council advises of an article, ‘Porirua May Adopt Māori Names’, which renewed 

public interest in the proposed names, and resulted in a one month extension to the 

consultation period. Other news articles are attached. 

Place Names Database (Archived) and NZ Gazetteer of Official Geographic 

Names 

The name Mana Island has not been gazetted as official through the NZGB Act; 

however, Mana Island Scientific Reserve, which has been validated as a Crown 

Protected Area (see NZ Gazette 2009 (73) p.1699), is included within the proposed 

boundary extent. 

The name Mana Island appears in the New Zealand Place Names Database 

(Archived) as a recorded name. 

NZGB Archive Records 

There are no archive records of the Board (Canterbury National, NZGB card indices) 

featuring the place name Mana Island. 

Historical Maps/Plans 

Cadastral and Topographic maps have shown the following through the years: 

Map Edition Name Survey Control Mark 

NZMS 1, N160 1, dated 1943 Mana Island 7404: Mana 




NZMS 13, WGN74 3, dated 1959 Mana Island 7404: Mana 

NZMS 17, Porirua 1, dated 1958 Not depicted 

NZMS 17, Porirua 2, dated 1960 Not named 





NZMS 271, 1, dated 1976 Mana Island 7404: Mana 

Porirua 


Porirua 


Porirua 

NZMS 271, 

Porirua 

4, dated 1995 Mana Island 

NZMS 346, Te Ika 

a Māui 

1, dated 1995 Te Mana ō Kupe 

Ki Te Moana Nui 

a Kiwa 

Early survey plans show the following: 

Plan no. Date Name Survey Control Mark 

SO 10378 1862 Mana Island 

SO 11047 1863 Island of Mana 

SO 10659 1863 Island of Mana 

SO 28923 1880 Mana Id 

SO 28924 1883 Mana Id 

SO 21558 1946 Not named 7404: Mana 

SO 25776 1963 Not named 7404: Mana 

SO 10445 Not dated Mana or Table 

Island 


File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

Historical Miscellaneous plans/records 

Plan no. Date Name 

W(D)4 1844 Mana 

W(D)135 1860 Mana Island 

W(D)111 1871 Mana Id 

GAZ91 1875 Mana Is 

W(D)127 1878 Mana Island 

G430 1927 Mana I 

Elsdon Best reference map Not dated (circa 1914?) Mana Isld 

Duplication 

The only duplication for the name ‘Mana’ is currently a suburb in Porirua; however, 

the Council has not presented a proposal to the Board to have the suburb name 

Mana formalised, as it was resolved by the Council that the suburb of Paremata 

subsume the area currently known as Mana. 

There are a number of streets and roads throughout New Zealand with the name of 

Mana. Mana Avenue, Mana Esplanade and Mana View Road are associative names 

with the locality: 

Mana Avenue 

Titahi Bay 

Mana Esplanade 

Porirua 

Mana Heights 

Nelson 

Mana Lane 

North Shore City 

Mana Place 

Manukau City; Napier; Palmerston North 

Mana Road 

New Plymouth; Stratford 

Mana Street 

Tauranga; Wellington 

Mana View Road 

Porirua 

James Fletcher Index of Māori names: 

The index of Māori names by Henry James Fletcher at the Waikato University website 

has the following entries for Mana Island: 

MANA An island in Cook's straits. A name in a song. J.P.S. 7:38-40; 10:110, 148; 13:8; 

16:159; 18:171, 172; 20:25; 22:126, 215; 23:13; 26:148; 154-161; 27:2, 103; 32:123; 

35:74, 160, 188; 38:292; 39:9; 67:68; 79:30; 105:273, 428, 436; 103:157. A.H.M. 

5:168; 6:36, 42, 144. S.D. 191. Ika. 259, 622. M.B. 6:16; 7:273. Trans. 1E:18; 2:160; 

3:131; 5:90; 30:35; 46:56; 48:430. W.W. 2:45-47, 61, 94, 118, 124, 133. 

MANA O 

KUPE 

MANA O 

KUPE KI 

AOTEAROA 

Mana island in Cooks strait. J.P.S. 23:177. See also Mana. 

Mana Island. W.W. 2:118 See Mana o Kupe 

Consultation with Neighbouring Territorial Authorities 

The Council has not provided documentary evidence of consultation with 

neighbouring Territorial Authorities, particularly those who may be affected by 

boundary extents. The Council advises in a letter dated 13 May 2010 that while no 

formal consultation has been undertaken with neighbouring authorities, day-to-day 

informal discussion and information exchanges do occur. 

In a letter dated 21 June 2010 the Board has sought the comments and views of the 

neighbouring Territorial Authorities, Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Upper 

Hutt City Council and Kapiti Coast District Council. 

On 1 July 2010 Wellington City Council responded that it supports Porirua City 

Council’s aim to clarify the names and boundaries of the suburbs within its 

boundaries. 

Consultation (including comment from Te Puni Kōkiri) 

The Council advises that it felt it was important that the community had an input on 

their understanding and acceptance of the areas in which they live and work. The 


File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

Council advises that a consultation document, “Where do you think you live” 

requesting feedback to the Council on the suburb and locality name proposals, was 

circulated to community groups and other interested parties and publicly notified, 

including being placed on the Council’s website and made available at the Council’s 

libraries. The submission period opened on 5 June 2009 and concluded at 5pm on 3 

July 2009, ie a month’s duration. 

The Council advises that it has a Charter of Understanding with Te Rūnanga o 

Ngatitoa Rangatira which acknowledges Ngāti Toa status as tangata whenua and 

mana whenua, and that their world-view is the Māori world-view of the city. The 

Council advises that in developing that world-view, it accepts that Ngāti Toa 

incorporate and articulate to the Council the position of broader Māori interests. The 

Council advises that two hui were held with Ngāti Toa who subsequently did not 

make a submission on the ‘Colonial Knob’ proposal. 

However, in terms of Sections 81 and 82 of the Local Government Amendment Act 

2002, the Council has not provided documentary evidence of consultation with other 

iwi who also have an interest in the Council’s local authority. While the Board has its 

own process for consultation with iwi, it does not substitute the Council’s legal 

obligations under the Local Government Amendment Act 2002. 

Te Puni Kōkiri may provide further feedback at the Board meeting. 

The Council advises that while no specific submissions were received from the public 

for the Mana Island proposal, three submissions proposed that macrons should be 

placed on Māori place names where applicable. 

Views of the Public 

The Council advises that contact from the community had highlighted the ad-hoc 

way in which suburbs had been named, and that the boundaries existing between 

suburban areas had been non-existent or had become blurred as the city expanded 

geographically. No adverse response appears to have emerged from the community. 

If the Board proceeds with public notification of this locality name proposal, then an 

opportunity exists for any objections to be submitted. 

Views of the Porirua City Council 

The Council advises that historically its suburbs and localities were able to be 

relatively clearly identified, as a suburb name normally referred to one urban area, 

and was isolated from another by rural land; however, the Council advises that 

developers have tended to create new names to market new subdivisions, which 

causes confusion. 

The Council advises that as no submissions were received for the proposal to assign 

the name Mana Island during its consultation period, it was resolved by Council 

members that the original proposal stand. 

Lessons from Processing the North Shore City Council Suburb Names 

In November 2004 the Board received a proposal from North Shore City Council to 

name 44 suburbs in North Shore City; however, no documentary evidence from 

emergency services, NZ Post or neighbouring Territorial Authorities was provided to 

support the proposals, and no consultation was carried out in terms of Sections 81 

and 82 of the Local Government Amendment Act 2002. 

In the ensuing years between 2004 and 2007, when the suburbs within North Shore 

City were eventually notified as proposals, a level of frustration was felt by the Board 

because of lack of documentary evidence of consultation by the Council. 

Emergency Services and NZ Post 

The Council advises that the need to formalise suburbs and localities within its 

jurisdiction was instigated by a recent change to New Zealand Post’s addressing 

requirements for mail. To attract substantial reductions in bulk postal rates, the 


File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

addresses held in the Council’s various databases are required to meet NZ Post’s 

addressing standards, and be regularly certified to meet those standards. 

The Council has not provided documentary evidence of consultation with NZ Post; 

however, the Council advises that discussions with NZ Post have been ongoing for a 

number of years in relation to addressing and boundary issues, and once the place 

names and boundaries are formalised, they will advise NZ Post of any changes 

required to their databases. 

The Council has not provided documentary evidence of consultation with emergency 

services; however, the Council advises that a copy of the consultation document was 

provided to Police, Fire and Ambulance, but no response was received. It may be 

important for safety reasons that the suburb is officially named on maps. 

In general the comparison of names between Porirua City Council and Emergency 

Services (Police, Fire, Ambulance and Civil Defence) reveals differences. However, 

the Emergency Services names and boundary definitions are not publicly available 

and were compiled by those agencies to meet internal operational needs for 

responding to incidents. It is understood that Emergency Services consulted with 

some Territorial Authorities at the time of their compilation around mid-2005. 

For Mana Island, Emergency Services follows an identical boundary extent as that 

proposed by the Council. 

In the future the rationalisation between Emergency Services, Territorial Authorities, 

NZ Post and the Board is an outcome that is being sought for upholding consistency 

and standardisation so as to eliminate confusion and ambiguity. 

The Council advises that Civil Defence is a Council function and has been involved in 

the formalisation of the suburb and locality names from an early stage. 

Spelling/Orthography, including Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (Māori 

Language Commission) advice re Māori names 

The observer from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori has commented that ‘mana’ 

possibly means ‘shrimp’. 


File Ref: GES-N15-007-09/529

Mana Island Proposal Report - Land Information New Zealand

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?