New Zealand Place Names
Common, Contested and Curious Names from Aotearoa to Zalatown
Peter Dowling & A.W. Reed
Whether you call it New Zealand or Aotearoa, this country carries a unique history — one of very few land masses where we know mostly who named places and what those names mean.
Our recent human settlement makes for a wealth of recorded information, but also much change in our names as competing claims play out today — just ask residents of Russell or Waimarino.
New Zealand Place Names represents the most up-to-date and authoritative guide to this field, providing fascinating definitions for over 850 names with history, origin, meanings, curiosities and more.
Working with the assistance of the New Zealand Geographic Board, editor and publisher Peter Dowling has provided new definitions to build upon the lifetime’s research of the late A.W. Reed. A grant from Copyright Licensing New Zealand assisted the project.
This general work includes a map, glossaries, and new appendices on prolific namers, controversies and how to name a place.
The Authors
Peter Dowling has edited and extended various of A.W. Reed’s classic works including Māori Place Names (2017) and Place Names of New Zealand (2010). Brought up in Christchurch and resident in Auckland, Peter is the founder and publisher of Oratia Books.
A.W. Reed (1908–1979) was one of New Zealand’s most influential writers and publishers. He helped build A.H. & A.W. Reed into the country’s leading publisher and authored more than 200 books, including seminal books on place names, dictionaries and collections of traditional stories and legends.
