Te_Whanganui-a-Tara
Te Whanganui-a-Tara ([tɛ ˈfaŋanʉi a taɾa]) is the Māori name for Wellington Harbour.[1] The term is also used to refer to the city of Wellington which lies on the shores of the harbour. Te Whanganui-a-Tara translates as "the great harbour of Tara", named for Tara, a son of Polynesian explorer Whatonga, whose descendants lived in the area.[2]
In Māori tradition, Te Whanganui-a-Tara is said to have been first discovered by Kupe,[2][3] who visited in the 10th century. A number of place names in the area commemorate Kupe, such as Te Tangihanga o Kupe or Te Raranga o Kupe (Barrett Reef), and Te Aroaro o Kupe or Te Ure o Kupe (Steeple Rock).[3] Kupe also named two islands in the harbour, Mākaro (Ward Island) and Matiu (Somes Island).[3] However, it is the rangatira Tara who is remembered in the names of both the city and the first iwi (tribe) to settle there permanently, Ngāi Tara.[4]
Another name for the region is "Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui", which means "the head of Māui’s fish".[5] According to Māori legend, a giant fish was hooked and pulled to the surface by Polynesian navigator Māui and the fish turned into land which became the North Island.[5] The older name is still used in some circumstances for the city or the region, such as the former Māori name of Victoria University of Wellington, which was Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui until 2018.[6]
Another Māori name for Wellington is Pōneke. It is commonly held that Pōneke is a phonetic Māori transliteration of "Port Nick", short for "Port Nicholson".[7] A suggested alternative etymology for Pōneke states that it derives from a shortening of the phrase pō nekeneke, meaning "the journey into the night", referring to the exodus of Te Āti Awa after they were displaced from the Wellington area by the first Europeans,[8][9][10] but the name Pōneke was already in use by February 1842,[11] which is earlier than the displacement is said to have happened.