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- Te Whanganui-a-Tara is the Māori name for Wellington Harbour. 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 , whose descendants lived in the area. In Māori tradition, Te Whanganui-a-Tara is said to have been first discovered by Kupe, 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). Kupe also named two islands in the harbour, Mākaro (Ward Island) and Matiu (Somes Island). 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. Another name for the region is "Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui", which means "the head of Māui’s fish". 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. The older name is still used in some circumstances for the city or the region, such as in the official Māori name of Victoria University of Wellington, which is Te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui. 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", which has become a common translation. However, its original meaning comes from a shortening of Pō Nekeneke, meaning "the journey outwards into the night". This refers to the exodus of Te Āti Awa after they were displaced from the Wellington area by the first Europeans. (en)
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