Damaged waka recalled for Māori name of St Marys Bay park beside Auckland motorway

An unnamed park with a view of the Auckland Harbour Bridge is proposed to be called Ko Takere Haere-St Marys Bay Park. Photo / Google

It zips by largely unnoticed in the view of Auckland Northern Motorway commuters, and it doesn't have an official name.

But it does have a history, and now the little patch of grass at the foot of St Marys Rd which used to be a beach - before the motorway was built nearby - is proposed to be honoured with an historic name.

Ko Takere Haere-St Mary's Bay Park is the name put before next Tuesday's meeting of the Waitematā Local Board.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei put forward Ko Takere Haere as its preferred name, an Auckland Council report says, as it "reflects tangata whenua values including the culture and heritage of the area as it is the traditional Māori name for St Mary's Bay/beach at the western end of the site".

A heritage walkway sign at the site refers to the former beach's name being Ko Takere Haere or "the split canoe hull", recalling a waka being cracked as it slipped on its skids while being hauled ashore.

The area is informally known as Pt Erin Park, which confuses it with the official park of that name on the other side of Shelly Beach Rd and near the Pt Erin Pools.

Other possible names suggested by the St Mary's Bay Association included Okaa Paa, after a historic pā site at Pt Erin; Tukituki Muka, to prepare flax; Nga mahora o te wai, memories of water; the Old Bay Walk; and St Mary's Bay Beach Reserve.

A budget of $10,000 for park signage is recommended.

The report predicts only a "small risk of name confusion" with St Mary's Reserve at the top of St Marys Rd.

Waiatarau-Freemans Bay Park is the name proposed for the park at the corner of Hepburn and Wellington Sts in Freemans Bay, Auckland. Photo / Google

Waiatarau-Freemans Bay Park
A second unnamed park in a nearby suburb is up for naming too.

The site is at the corner of Wellington and Hepburn Sts in Freemans Bay and is proposed to become Waiatarau-Freemans Bay Park.

It is home to the Freemans Bay community centre/hall whose sign already carries "Waiatarau" as a sub-name.

Waiatarau was among suggestions from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the Freemans Bay Residents Association.

It translates to English as "waters reflecting shadows" or "reflecting waters". It is the traditional Māori name for the Freemans Bay area and for a stream that spilled into the bay at the foot of College Hill before the shoreline shifted north with harbour reclamation.

The report says there is minimal risk of confusion with the locality in the Waitākere Ranges called Waiatarau and the reserve of the same name in the Ōrākei Local Board area.

Board approval is sought for $20,000 for three signs.