Stations South of Auckland.

Orakei:

The place of adorning, beautifying.

Pūrewa:

To float, be buoyant. Tokapurewha, the eastern head of Okahu Bay, Orakei, means mussel rock.

Tamaki:

Ancient Polynesian word for battle. Also a sudden nervous start or twitch, regarded as an omen. Tamaki-makaurau is the classic name of the Auckland isthmus, the land over which the city and suburbs extend, and the country generally known as the Tamaki Plains. It means “Tamaki of a hundred lovers,” referring figuratively to the many battles of tribes on north and south for the possession of this desirable region.

Remuera:

Properly Remu-wera, the burnt hem or edge of a flax garment. Named after an incident of ancient times.

Te Pāpapa:

A small plant, the soft leaf of which was used as a dressing for wounds and sores.

Onehunga:

A term applied to the soil, signifying rich arable land; alluvial and volcanic soil.

Otāhuhu:

The home of Tahuhu, a chief of olden times, whose pa was on the volcanic hill on the north of the present town.

Māngere:

Lazy.

Papatoetoe:

Level area of land covered with the toetoe swamp-rush, with its tall feathery-topped stalks (Arundo conspicua), much used in house thatching. (Often incorrectly spelled toitoi.)

Puhinui:

A word with many meanings. One is a very large variety of eel; another, a large bunch of feathers, as an ornament—in particular, the plumes decorating a canoe.

Wiri:

To shiver, tremble; also to bore or twist; and a lock in wrestling. But this “wiri” is, I believe, a contraction of the pakeha-Maori name “Wirihana,” or Wilson; named after a chief, known as Takanini Wilson, who lived in this district. (See Takanini.)

Homai:

Give to the person speaking.

Manurewa:

The soaring bird.

Mahia:

Sound, resound; also the passive and imperative forms of the verb mahi, to work.

Takanini:

Named after the Takanini family. The old chief Ihaka Takanini, a great friend of the early colonists, lived near Papakura. In 1863, he was made prisoner by the Government under the impression that he was an enemy. It was shown that this was a mistake, nevertheless he was kept a prisoner of war on one of the small islands in the Hauraki until he died in 1864. His tribe was the Akitai.

Tironui:

Great view, or long view.

Papakura:

Level land of red soil.

Pukekohe:

Hill of the tree kohekohe, which grew abundantly here.

Paerata:

Rata ridge or hill. On this conspicuous hill, which descends steeply to the plain, a very large and lofty rata tree grew, towering above the other timber. The historic Burt's Farm homestead, the scene of an attack by Maoris in 1863, stands on this long hill, about half a mile from the celebrated tree. The timber here is chiefly puriri.

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