Column by Geoff Hayward, Porirua City councillor
This week I voted to adopt Porirua’s new Naming Policy. And I will say it plainly: I love it when we get sh*t done.
I want to start with two women: Rose and Maureen.
One hundred years ago, Rose Matthews became Porirua’s first registered maternity nurse. In those early days, without easy access to doctors, she delivered babies in homes across the rohe and welcomed mothers into her own home on Awatea Street in Ranui. Her final recorded delivery was her own granddaughter in 1939. That is a life woven into the fabric of this city.
Maureen, who has lived in Ranui for decades, has worked hard to keep Rose’s story alive. She approached me asking that Rose be recognised with a street name. I called her yesterday to let her know the policy is finally being updated. She was relieved. The process, at last, is catching up.
It has been 20 years since this policy was last reviewed.
Over that time, our city has changed. Our understanding of history has deepened. Our pride in who we are has grown. Yet our naming themes were still anchored in Scottish rivers, English counties, racehorses and ships of empire.
We saw the tension play out with the change to Matahourua Crescent and Park in Cannons Creek, formerly Calliope, following the request from Ngāti Toa Rangatira. The original name traced back to HMS Calliope, the prison ship that detained Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha. Quite simply, that was an offensive reference.
At the time, I asked: would we tolerate a street named after Jimmy Savile? Or Andrew Mountbatten? Naming is not just administrative processing. It is cultural. It is emotional. It can empower and it can isolate.
What I value about the new policy is that it is broader and clearer. It now covers parks, reserves and council facilities, not just streets. It sets out proper criteria. It provides a transparent process, including when renaming might be appropriate.
It also reflects the voices of our community. Thank you to everyone who took part in my Puna for the People survey in 2024, and to those who engaged in Council’s consultation. The feedback was thoughtful and future focused. There was strong support for celebrating mana whenua, honouring local history, recognising Pasefika and migrant communities, and reflecting significant features of te taiao.
The report makes it clear: around three quarters of our street names come from largely Eurocentric themes. The remaining quarter reflects mana whenua and only a very small fraction represents our wider Pacific and migrant communities. That imbalance does not represent who we are in 2026.
This policy aligns with our partnership with Ngāti Toa, and with Maungaroa 2050, Ola Kamataga and our Welcoming Plan. It gives us a framework to ensure new names reflect Porirua’s shared history and diverse present.
Some might say this is not the most pressing issue we face. In one sense, that is true. We have cost of living pressures, infrastructure challenges and a rapidly changing climate.
But names endure.
Most of us remember the street we grew up on. A name on a sign becomes part of identity. It shapes how children understand their place. It signals who belongs.
This decision may seem small, but it will echo for generations.
This one is for Rose. For Maureen. And for the tamariki who will grow up on streets that tell a better story about who we are.