1914: Takanini

June 14, 2024

By AHNZ

Ihaka Takanini  (1800 – 1864) was one of the titleholders of extensive land in what is now South Auckland. In 1856 Ihaka was one of 12 Maori chiefs to have his photo taken by John Crombie and sent to the London Illustrated News. Ref. Daily Southern Cross (1856,) Papers Past

This picture (left) is from the Hocken Collections copy which is supposed to be from the same series. It’s pretty patchy so I’ve tidied it up a bit for AHNZ. The thing to do would be to find a copy of the London Illustrated News c.1857 and see if we have a match.

Sometimes Ihaka spelled his name as Takanini and other times it appears as Takaanini. For example, in 1853 Ihaka placed an advertisement selling a schooner calling himself Takanini. Later that year he signed his name Takanini again on a deed selling his land around  Papakura River to the Crown. Ref. Maori Deeds of Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand: Volume One, Hanson Turton (1877,) NZETC

Later in the decade Takaanini started being used more for the family but Takanini remained in use as the Anglicised version.

A former friend and officer of the Crown Colony of New Zealand, Ihaka sided with those who defected to the Waikato nation when war came in 1863. After the exodus he ended up in Kirikiri but was brought back in custody suspected of involvement in the Meredith murders Ramarama. He died as POW on Rakino Island without either conviction or having his name cleared of the crimes. Ref. 1863: Oath of Betrayal, AHNZ

The Waikato War stomped through Takanini’s titled land thanks to the New Zealand Settlements Act (1863) which enforced Eminent Domain for the purposes of the war. For this the family was compensated financially.

His son Wilson Takaanini broke up his Pah Estate for sale and lease in November 1885. Wilson (Te Wirihana) is the source of the Auckland locality of Wiri. Ref. Manukau’s Journey timeline, Auckland Libraries

Further subdivision was made on 13 March 1914 and advertised by the proprietor as the Takanini Station Estate. This was the origin of Auckland’s suburb of Takanini.

“Proposals have been made to correct the spelling of Takanini to Takaanini for the suburb and the railway station. The proposals are endorsed by mana whenua, Te Ākitai Waiohua. The suburb and railway station are named after rangatira (chief) Īhaka Wirihana Takaanini Te Tihi (1800 – 1864). The spelling with the double aa correctly reflects that Takaanini is a compound word made up of taka and ānini, together meaning giddy or whirling. Auckland Transport installed signs at the railway station with the ‘aa’ spelling in 2018.” – Geographic Board is opening consultations today on proposals to correct and restore two Māori place names within Auckland City, linz.govt.nz (6 June, 2024)

In our past New Zealand was a far richer place. We had many dialects and spellings and didn’t feel the need to erase or standardise most of them to privilege one “correct” monoculture. By placing our culture and language in the control of The State a process that was organic and natural has now become a political game to be won by lobbyists who then inflict it on their fellows. Spelling Reform was a phenomena of the early C20th due to the money and influence of  Fabian Socialists George Bernard Shaw. Ref. Wiki

The Government process is already begging the question by referring to the supposedly undecided outcome as “correct” if it reflects the double aa rather than single.

Of course there never was a Maori written language until well into the adult lifetime of Ihaka Takanini because Christian Missionaries hadn’t created one until the 1820s.

So, the idea that something needs to be “corrected” makes no sense as the divergence (and subsequent intolerance of divergence) is a product of modern thinking. This is apparently more important than the received use of over 100 years of New Zealanders referring to their territory as Takanini. In the same way, the Franz Josef Glacier is proposed to be “corrected” to Franz Joseph Glacier because it’s a “typo” and “erroneous” despite the received use of over 100 years. Ref. NZ Geographic Board moots new spelling for Franz Josef Glacier and village, RNZ (2023)

Nor does it matter that Takanini himself or the family set the precedent for this spelling.

We really must face the dismaying conclusion that the present era we live in of Aotearoa New Zealand Culture is aimed at disrupting traditional Anglo Zelandian culture itself. In the same way that there is a community of people who war on Wikipedia changing inflections and passages there are groups whose gladiatorial arena is submitting to the Geographic Board various changes for which they gain game points. Rather than be Scrabble geeks or Rock Hounds or Petrol Heads or Political Junkies, they take their dopamine from taking our place names away. People no affected with such preoccupation (because perhaps they’re busy being productive) stand no chance against those who make colonising/decolonising/recolonising our language their full time hobby. The Geographic Board, on the other hand, delight in drawing a government paycheck for the high status of refereeing the submissions from their high thrones. Yet another part of our heritage that has been made worse because we let the government take over control.

We may well say that we’ll go on calling a school a school rather than “Kura” or retain Mt Egmont over Taranaki Maunga. However, government edict controls the police, railways, postage, maps, media, road signage. For example, it has become very streamlined to courier something to Pakaraka but involves extra steps and uncertainty to post to Maxwell. Ref. 1868: Maxwell Falls, AHNZ

Those who try to preserve their own culture against the tide of State edicts will become a Retreatist group within their own society. A new generation coming up in government schools will be taught to to disown their own families and not know their territory by their own names. They’ll think their ancestors who write Takanini are incorrect, uneducated, silly, and unkindly point out that their deaths will right their wrongs. For example, hear Marcus Lush on Newstalk ZB haranguing a local woman, his senior, for not pronouncing her birthplace and territory according to recently contrived “correct” useage. Ref. 2010s: New Zealand English Endangered?, AHNZ

I’m quite sure Aotearoa New Zealand Culture and with it the entire Woke agenda will end during the 2020s. There will certainly also be a counter-revolution. However, much of the places and names, statues and institutions, taken away while this phase winds on will never come back again. So, we need to try to hold on to what we’ve got against the rusting away of Anglo Zelandian culture because it’s easier to preserve our inheritance than to resurrect it.

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Image ref. Ihaka Takanini, Hocken Collections. AHNZ modification (2024)

Image ref. Takaanini, waateanews.com

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