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Aaron Kirk's Profile
Aaron lives in Manukau City, Auckland. His first job included writing a review for the Franklin local newspaper, of a marae initiative promoting health and well being for kaumatua (the elderly). Brought up on his marae Tauranganui in Port Waikato, Tainui with his grand-parents, Aaron truly grasped the country lifestyle and embellished his cultural upbringing. With 10 siblings to nag at, Aaron learned respect and kotahitanga (together as one) from a very young age. Moving to the city at the age of 16 was a big step for Aaron and recalls "finding it considerably difficult to adapt to the fast paced lifestyle of a towney". His whanau ties include Tainui and Ngati Porou, East Coast. The majority of his family are spread out across New Zealand which gives him the opportunity to travel and experience life in other necks of the woods. Mr Kirk loves the outdoors and is considered snap-happy when confronted with a beautiful landscape. Don't be surprised if you see me in your town taking pictures. With a bachelor in communication studies, diploma in digital media and certificate in radio under his belt, Aaron hopes to secure a "dream job" in an industry he has from his first word, been passionate about. If you would like to get in touch, please email aaron.kirk [at] gmail.com.
Discussions Aaron Kirk is involved in
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Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage.
I've had alot of fun trying this myself! These guys do this so much better!
Should've been in the list!
[video]tBb4cjjj1gI[/video] More about Top 20 YouTube Videos of 2009 -
Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage.
I've had alot of fun trying this myself! These guys do this so much better!
Should've been in the list!
[video]tBb4cjjj1gI[/video] More about Top 20 YouTube Videos of 2009 -
Re-naming the North and South Islands, why?
For me, providing alternative names for the generically called North and South Island of New Zealand/Aotearoa is not an attempt to abridge anyone's right to be who they are or to call it what ever they want but, they simply give expression to our dual heritage - which as New Zealanders, we aren't afraid to acknowledge. Graham Bond (above) noted a concern over the cost of rebranding maps to include the two names and also the affect it would have on tourists.
On conversing with a few tourists, the consensus is that in fact they wouldn't mind what the Islands were called. Of course it's easier to label them North and the South, but when a name has significant cultural meaning and value to tangata whenua and the people of the land, then that in itself only encourages them (the tourists) to find out more about the history of the name, this country and its indigenous people and cultures.
Purportedly, the North and South Island has never been its official titles. The alternative names suggested aren't merely "perceived" Maori names – but are historically recorded as alternative names among several others including; Te Ika a Maui (The Great Fish of Maui) and Te Wai Pounamu (The Place of Greenstone) which are the two commonly heard, Te Waka a Maui (Maui's Canoe) which has been applied to the Mainland and Te Tumuki is the oldest name recorded for that island, which was known at times by Pakeha as Middle Island.
The fact that "only a tiny proportion of this country speaks Maori" is a great achievement and to those (even tourists) who make an effort to pronounce a Maori place names or words is commendable. As Mr Bond pointed out after his moan, you have a choice.
Scorpion Stinger: I don't think an introduction of alternative Maori names for the North and South Island is intended to be a backward looking act. But from a cultural perspective, it is a forward thinking issue. I do respect that it may appear as though Maori are "trying" to put one over everybody else but wouldn't we do better as a unitary tribe or country to celebrate our dual languages and heritage rather than resist it.
Lastly Graham you said; "and not even the most radical Maori would want to do away with Coke, McD's, colour TV, good fast travel, massively improved health, the opportunity for world class education for those who want to put in the effort. A justice system which gives pretty good protection and can be called on 24/7". I couldn't totally disagree with you more. I have a lot of Maori, family, friends and other people who I have met which would absolutely prefer to do without Coke, McD's, TV, and if not all of those Westernised introduced practices, education and so on. Maori were a thriving people by way of having their own education, food supplies, pharmacies (if you like), justice systems, import and export arrangements and technology for that matter. As for the cannibalism reference: this only happened at certain times and in only a few tribes or iwi. Not all iwi condoned eating flesh. Professor Paul Moon, who started writing a book on cannibalism (in 2007), believes the practice had more to do with what he calls "post-battle rage". In his inaugural address as a professor at Auckland University of Technology he said some believe cannibalism never took place in New Zealand. They put the eye-witness accounts by early Europeans down to an attempt to justify atrocities carried out. So they didn't practice cannibalism because they wanted to or because they were hungry.
I know that if we (Maori and Pakeha included) were to go back in time, or do away with all of those things fore mentioned - we would be more of a united country and people than we are today.
More info:
New Zealand Herald - Name quest unveils historic titles
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/maori/news/article.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=10568595
More about Re-naming the North and South Islands, why?
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