Nau Mai Town

If you say it out loud, the word Kurow sounds a lot like Te Kohurau. That's because the latter is the original name of a small South Canterbury town named after a tupuna (ancestor).

Paraparaumu is a beautiful town on the Kāpiti Coast so why would you want to call the town 'Pram'? Justine Murray finds out the story behind the name.

There was a mix-up of words when James Cook came up with the name 'Tolaga' for the small east coast town of Tolaga Bay, but the locals choose to call it Uawa.

Such was the respect that Māori explorer Ihenga had for his uncle and father-in-law Kahumatamomoe, he named two lakes in his honour. That's just part of the story behind the name Rotorua.

A once-thriving sawmilling industry on the outskirts of Tauranga would inspire the naming of the Tauranga suburb 'Tauriko'. Listen now.