Stewart Island/Rakiura

History and naming

Captain Cook was the first European to sight the island, but he thought it was attached to the South Island so he named it South Cape in 1770. The Stewart component of the current name recalls Captain William Stewart, a sealer/whaler who in 1809 was the first to accurately chart the island.

Related Topics:
Captain Cook - 1770 - William Stewart - 1809

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The original Maori name, Te Punga o Te Waka a Maui, positions Stewart Island/Rakiura firmly at the heart of Maori mythology. Translated as The Anchor Stone of Maui?s Canoe, it refers to the part played by this Island in the legend of Maui and his crew, who from their canoe, the South Island, caught and raised the great fish, the North Island.

Related Topics:
Maori - Maui

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Rakiura is, however, the more commonly known and used Maori name. It is usually translated as Glowing Skies, possibly a reference to the sunsets for which Stewart Island/Rakiura is famous or for the Aurora Australis, the southern lights that are a phenomenon of southern latitudes.

Related Topics:
Maori - Aurora Australis

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For some, Rakiura is the abbreviated version of Te Rakiura a Te Rakitamau, translated as "great blush of Rakitamau", in reference to the latter's embarrassment when refused the hand in marriage of not one, but two daughters, of an Island chief. According to Maori legend, a chief on the island named Te Rakitamau was married to a young woman who became terminally ill and implored him to marry her cousin after she died. Te Rakitamau paddled across Te Moana Tapokopoko a Tawhiki (Foveaux Strait) to the South Island where the cousin lived, only to discover she was recently married. He blushed with embarrassment so the island was called Te Ura o Te Rakitamau.

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