Ward name change comes under fire

MATT BOWEN

Shocked community leaders have launched a campaign against the proposed name for the new ward encompassing Howick, Pakuranga and Botany in the future supercity.

The Local Government Commission made its final decision on ward and local board boundaries last week.

While the inclusion of the three areas into one ward was widely welcomed the name Te Irirangi was not.

Botany councillor Michael Williams has already stated the case for a name change to the commission.

"I said: `Look, if we provide the evidence that there's strong opposition in the community will the commissioners go back to the Howick-Pakuranga-Botany name'?"

Mr Williams is expecting a reply this week.

He is urging residents to email feedback about the name to eastern localboard@gmail.com or post them to: Local Board Name Survey, PO Box 38-546, East Auckland 2145, by March 26.

On the other hand Howick historian Alan La Roche is pleased with the change. He says choosing an appropriate title to cover Howick, Pakuranga and Botany was a difficult ask for the three commissioners.

"The community boards have been discussing it for some time. They had come to a consensus to call it Howick because it was the first and largest European settlement in Manukau city," he says.

The commissioners have decided to recognise an historic Maori leader instead.

Tara Te Irirangi was the principal chief of the Ngai Tai tribe, the area's mana whenua, in the mid-1800s.

Te Irirangi Drive, the relatively new arterial route connecting East Manukau with the city centre, and Otara are also named after him.

Mr La Roche says he was a quiet and inoffensive hard worker who was "known and respected as a friend of Europeans and loyal supporter of the government".

Te Irirangi also spoke English and was "well prepared to communicate with the Europeans when they arrived".

"And that's pretty significant," Mr La Roche says.

"I think reverting back to Howick-Pakuranga-Botany would be cumbersome.

"I'm well aware that people in other parts of Auckland don't understand where Te Irirangi will be but I think they'll get used to it.

"It was a surprise to a lot of people but it's a good compromise," he says.

Mr Williams says that if there's a strong feeling to drop the Te Irirangi name in the survey results it could help sway the commissioners.

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