Rotten Row is a humble street in the tiny Hawke’s Bay community of Tuai.
Its residents live a close-knit lakeside life that couldn’t be further from the image the street name evokes.
Some are fine with the name, but others see it as a stamp of colonialism that has lingered far too long. James Pocock reports.
On the shore of Lake Whakamarino in Tuai, where serene ducks, swans and fat fish play, is a lovingly cared for maara kai (community garden) and a row of colourful homes.
A lichen-covered sign with the words ‘Rotten Row’ points to a street that is anything but rotten for the people living there.
The original Rotten Row in London’s Hyde Park was historically a place for the upper class to enjoy a horse ride and is still maintained for horseriding today.
According to The Royal Parks, a United Kingdom charity that cares for urban parks, the name ‘Rotten Row’ is a corruption of the French ‘Route de Roi’ or King’s Road.
But for mana whenua in Tuai, population 240 in 2023, the name carries with it a painful reminder of the generational trauma of colonialism.
Robyn Winiata (Ngai Tūhoe, Ngāti Ruapanu and Ngāti Kahungunu) moved back to Rotten Row with her mother in 2008, but her whānau have resided there for generations.
“I didn’t grow up here and nor did mum, but her father and his mother had roots here,” Winiata said.
“[My mother’s] father is Sonny White, the founder of the Tūhoe trust board.”
She understood the name Rotten Row came about after a crew from England worked on the Tuai power station when it was built in 1929 and were placed in housing on the street, pushing out Māori who lived there.
“I’d love to see this name changed. Get rid of Rotten Row.”
She hadn’t thought of an alternative name yet but was eager for a change.
“If they ever got a petition going to change the name, I’m signing it.”
Where she and her mum lived was: “Our playground, the Garden of Eden and the centre of the universe”.
“We have everything here. We have got water, we have got the bush, we have got pig and deer, you’ve got fruit, you’ve got everything here. Fish, eel, trout.”
Winiata wanted to recognise Tūhoe iwi leaders, including Tamati Kruger and Kirsti Luke, for everything they had done to support the community through initiatives like the maara kai.
“[Since] the deed of settlement in 2014 we’ve come a long way.”
Roha Lake has lived at 10 Rotten Row for about 35 years, and has more neutral feelings about the name, although he said it often came up in conversation with his colleagues at Genesis.
“It doesn’t really worry me, we’ve lived with it so long and it is fine. Everyone at the shops, the younger ones, they are like ‘Rotten Row?’,” Lake laughed.
“But we are used to it, there is nothing wrong with it, I don’t believe there are any issues really.”
He felt lucky to live where he was and said it was an “awesome” close-knit community that looked out for one another.
“Not much bad stuff happens here and there are a lot of families, so we are lucky,” he said.
“There are nephews,” he pointed at a house near his.
“There is another nephew and sister-in-law over there. Some good friends down the end there. Everyone knows each other.”
Michelle Paki is from England originally and moved to Rotten Row with her Tūhoe husband Te Ori and their children to live in his hometown.
She was hesitant about living there at first, because although beautiful, the rural community was also very isolated.
However, she eventually decided there was nothing to worry about, and to do it for her children.
“[We decided to] live here and raise our children here so we can plug into their heritage and they could be raised on the land surrounded by whānau, going to the local school with only 22 kids.
“That was really important for us, so they knew who they were.”
It was a decision she did not regret.
“They have so much freedom and safety here. They know which nanny will give them the best lollies, who has got the best peach tree, where to find the plums and we’ve got the community garden that the uncles have built as part of the local tribal project.
“It is a wonderful place to raise your kids.”
She had mixed feelings about the name of their street, recognising its painful colonial roots but also the fact that it originated from what is widely considered a desirable location in England.
“We left England and we brought everything we love to place it here to create this space for ourselves that was like a little England whereas, for Māori, that is obviously still painful.
“There is a lot of work to be done and a lot of healing to take place.”
Paki understood that Māori had been forcibly removed from the land to accommodate the power station workers, when the street got its name.
In an address to Tūhoe, when the Crown apologised in 2014, former MP Christopher Finlayson said the Crown engaged in land seizure and illegal purchases of land around Te Urewera and Waikaremoana.
If the name stays or goes was for mana whenua to decide, she said.
“If they wish to change the name to something more meaningful for them, then that is up for them to decide.
“They may decide to even keep it, if it is part of the story for them.”
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
'The last two days have been pretty emotional. I’m just crushed by the whole experience.'