The newly updated Te Reo Māori Place Names map!

The interactive Te Reo Māori Place Names map has been one of the most popular pages on my site since it was initially launched in 2018. Initially created as a useful but basic companion to the printed wall maps, it became clear that it was a valuable resource for a wide range of people – students, educators, and people wanting to understand their places and landscapes through a (until recently) often forgotten Te Ao Māori perspective.

Given the popularity of the project (and how basic the original map was), I decided it was time for a proper revamp of the interactive map. Version 2 adds even more place names and new detail. The viewer has been rebuilt from the ground up, and now allows for searching and querying of names in your area as well as a handy dictionary and meanings guide.

I hope you enjoy the new updates! You can dive into the new map viewer below, or read on to learn more about the changes:

Open the Te Reo Place Names Viewer!

You can also share the map using this short link:
https://tereo.themap.kiwi/

What's New

For those interested, here’s what has been added:

Place Name Updates

  • A new automated process has helped me check and verify the correct macron use on all the names in the database, which was previously a manual process. This has helped to improve the overall accuracy, and also helped to record more sources against more names.
  • New sources such as the LINZ Tangata Whena names and updates to existing sources have been incorporated, as well as the latest additions from OpenStreetMap.
  • Overseas, a number of transliterated names have been added for cities, states and territories, where these have been documented online.
 

Map and Features
The basemap has been rebuilt in ArcGIS in a new visual style and the labelling logic has been greatly improved. The map now contains more features in Te Reo, including:

  • National Parks, Marine Reserves and city parks
  • Expanded natural features (headlands, saddles, wetlands, springs etc.)
  • Large scale labels, such as mountain ranges and regions
  • Schools and other educational institutions
  • Airports, Railway Stations, Buildings, Pedestrian areas
  • Marae are updated and now shown by tribal / urban or community marae type
 
Tools and Functionality
Through a rebuild of the viewer in ArcGIS Experience Builder, the interface has been improved and the following tools introduced to help users explore names:
 
  • Search box: this can be used to look up and locate English or Reo Māori place names on the map. You can search settlements, rivers, lakes and mountain peaks anywhere in Aotearoa New Zealand. This can be found at the top right of the map.
  •  Meanings: provides a handy reference for common words, based on the guide from the print map. This can be found in the bottom left corner of the map.
  • Dictionary: a popup version of Māori Dictionary to help look up meanings.
  • Nearby: This scans the current map area for Māori place names and lists them by type and source (if recorded) – useful pieces of information for compiling a personal pepeha. Note this feature only works for Aotearoa New Zealand. 
 
Database
It is now easier for me to collate the database from the OpenStreetMap source behind the scenes, so updates to both the interactive basemap and the ArcGIS Living Atlas layer are now more streamlined in future updates. The Living Atlas layer now also includes additional layers, including waterways, mountain peaks and water bodies – this data is available for use in your own maps with the required attribution included.

3 Responses

  1. This map is awesome thank you! I’m keen to use this map to link to my New Zealand family history on genealogy websites such as Ancestry and WikiTree. Are you happy for me to share screenshots credited back to your site?

    Reply

  2. Apologies, but the names on the map, e.g. waterways, and almost inaccessible for my older eyes, how about reverting to high contrast (e.g. black) for the names

    Reply

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