Tāmati Coffey and husband Tim Smith have named their son. Photo / Supplied
Tāmati Coffey and husband Tim Smith have named their son. Photo / Supplied
Labour MP Tāmati Coffey and his husband Tim Smith have announced the name of their first-born child.
Coffey announced on his Facebook and Twitter pages last night.the couple's son would be named Tūtānekai Smith-Coffey.
"Hey Son. We toiled over your name. We've told the tribe, we've done your numbers and we've come up with ten good reasons why your name should be so," Coffey wrote.
"Kia kaha. Kia ū. Kia manawanui," meaning be strong, be firm, be steadfast.
Coffey didn't explain the 10 reasons they had chosen the name but Tūtānekai is the subject of a Te Arawa legend.
👶🏻🌈 Hey Son. We toiled over your name. We’ve told the tribe, we’ve done your numbers and we’ve come up with ten good reasons why your name should be so.
The story of Tūtānekai and Hinemoa, according to Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, is that the pair married against the wishes of Hinemoa's people.
Hinemoa lived on the mainland of Rotorua while Tūtānekai lived on Mokoia Island in the middle of Lake Rotorua.
Tāmati Coffey and husband Tim Smith welcomed their son into the world this week. Photo / Facebook
Tūtānekai and his three older half-brothers had fallen in love with Hinemoa but she married Tūtānekai after swimming to Mokoia Island guided by the music of the flute he played.
He is described as a handsome young man, a fine dancer and athlete.
Coffey and Smith announced the birth of Tūtānekai on Tuesday. "He's here, and he came into this world surrounded by his village," Coffey wrote at the time.
"#modern families Mum doing awesome. Dads overwhelmed at the miracle of life."
🌈👶🏻 He’s here. and he came into this world surrounded by his village. #modernfamilies 👬Mum doing awesome. Dads overwhelmed at the miracle of life.
Labour MP and former TV weatherman Coffey made the announcement the pair were expecting at the Big Gay Out in Auckland in February and it was met with applause and screams of excitement.
At the time, he said the pair hoped to raise more than one child if they "work out how to do it the first time".
He told the Rotorua Daily Post that Smith was the biological father of the baby and their surrogate mother was "a friend of a friend".
Coffey was an award-winning presenter who left full-time television in 2013 to pursue a career in politics.
Tim Smith (left) and Tāmati Coffey outside their bar Our House on Eat Streat. Photo / File
In 2014, he was named the Labour Party candidate for the Rotorua electorate at the general election but missed out to National's Todd McClay.
He stood again for the party in the 2017 election and won the Waiariki Māori electorate, defeating incumbent Māori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell by 1321 votes.
Smith and Coffey announced their engagement in February 2011 and wed in a civil union in December that year.
