New Zealand’s City Rail Link, in partnership with Auckland Transport, has announced details of the proposed te reo Māori names for CRL stations.
The station names are Maungawhau (Mt Eden), Karanga a Hape (Karangahape), Te Wai Horotiu (Aotea) and Waitematā (Britomart).
Details of the names coincides with the release by CRL of the striking final design renders for the Maungawhau, Karanga a Hape and Te Wai Horotiu Stations. The names and renders together celebrate the project’s strong links to mana whenua history and storytelling and more accurately reflect the stations’ geographic locations.
CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney said the names and the designs were important developments for the city and acknowledged the unique cultural and historic heritage of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland.
The names were gifted by CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum and honour the long-standing partnership the Forum’s eight iwi have had with CRL since day one of the project in 2012.
“We are honoured to have been gifted these ngā ingoa tuku iho (traditional names) by our Mana Whenua Forum along with invaluable mātauranga (knowledge) Māori throughout the project,” Sweeney said.
“CRL’s eyes are set firmly on building a world class railway for Auckland’s future, but the names anchor us to the past and the history of the people first to call the land the stations occupy their home.”
CRL Ltd and AT – which will run CRL when it opens – will submit a joint proposal to the New Zealand Geographic Board, the country’s place naming authority, asking it to adopt the names.
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