Plankton form an essential link in the production of living material, and ultimately of human food in the sea. In general, marine plankton are world-wide in distribution, so that New Zealand species are often identical with those from, say, the English Channel. Some, however, when they are examined more closely, prove to be slightly different from their northern counterparts. For example, the New Zealand Calanus helgolandicus, the best known of all the copepods, has now been given a new name, Calanus australis, by a Russian scientist who recently visited our waters.

by Richard Morrison Cassie, M.SC.(N.Z.), D.SC.(AUCK.), Senior Lecturer in Zoology, University of Auckland.

The name “plankton” comes from a Greek word meaning “drifting”. It refers to the many kinds of living organisms which float at all depths in almost any natural body of water, whether pond, river, lake, or sea, and which are either very small or very weak so that they cannot travel any distance without the aid of water currents. Stronger swimmers such as fish and squids are known as “nekton”, while plankton and nekton together are “pelagic”, as compared with the “benthic” organisms living on the bottom.

As many, but not all, of the plankton are small or even microscopic, only a few of the larger forms are well known and have common names. They may be either plants (phytoplankton), animals (zoo-plankton), or bacteria. The plants are all microscopic and single celled, although in many species the cells, as they reproduce by dividing in two, remain connected in chains. The best known are the diatoms and dinoflagellates, which have hard cases and can be easily seen under a low-powered microscope; but perhaps the greatest bulk of plant life is composed of even smaller and more fragile cells, known collectively as nannoplankton. The zooplankton are extremely varied, and represent nearly every major group of the animal kingdom. Many belong to the crustacea and are thus related to the crabs and fish. The commonest of all plankton are tiny crustacea, the copepods, which may well be called the “insects” of the sea because they are just as ubiquitous and as numerous in species as the insects on land. Other crustacea may be up to several inches long, some of them closely resembling the common tide-pool shrimp, and they include many of the species known as “whale-feed”.

Among the most familiar, because of their larger size, are the various forms of jellyfish, which really include two entirely distinct kinds of animals: the jellyfish proper, or coelenterates, a primitive group related to the sea anemones and corals; and the tunicates which are related to the “sea-squirts” found under rocks around the shore, a group very much higher in the evolutionary scale. Examples of the coelenterates are the common jellyfish, the Portuguese man-of-war, and the sea gooseberry, while the tunicates include the chain-jelly and the fire salp.

Less often seen, though visible to the naked eye, are various bizarre kinds of worm, some related to the common earthworm, while others, such as the arrow worms, are an obscure group on their own, quite unrelated to any other kind of worm. Even some shellfish are found in the plankton, including a group related to the sea slugs, the pteropods (literally “winged-feet”) or “sea butterflies” which appear to fly in the water like a butterfly in slow motion. Less active planktonic forms are the violet snails, which float at the surface on little rafts of bubbles, and sometimes attach themselves to the “by-the-wind sailors” on which they feed.

The temporary plankton, which spend only their young stages as plankton, represent a number of other groups in the animal kingdom. The bony fish, such as the snapper and tarakihi, release thousands of transparent spherical eggs about 1 mm in diameter into the water. These are fertilised and hatch, sometimes in as little as two days, into tiny larvae recognisable as fish but quite unlike their parents. Most of these will be eaten by larger animals, but a few survive to adulthood. Many of the invertebrate larvae are so totally unlike their parents that they were once thought to be separate species, and were given their own names, such as phyllosoma (crayfish), zoaea and megalopa (crabs), and pluteus (sea urchin). Sometimes very different kinds of parents produce almost identical larvae. It is difficult, for example, to tell the difference between the nauplius larva of a copepod and that of the common barnacle.

In addition to the more complex zooplankton, there are many single-celled forms such as the protozoa and the bacteria. Protozoa include the foraminifera, the radiolaria, and the tintinids, all of which often have beautiful and complex shells. The foraminifera are particularly interesting in the fossil form and play an important part in oil geology. One species, Globigerina, is so abundant in warmer waters that it forms huge deposits of “Globigerina ooze” on the bottom. The least obvious of all are the bacteria, most of which are known more from their behaviour than their appearance. They play a very similar role to that of soil bacteria in the regeneration of inorganic materials such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur, after they have been utilised by other organisms. Possibly they also play an important part in the building up of organic material, and in producing special organic compounds such as vitamins which are necessary for the growth of other organisms.

Plankton are very easily collected from the water by means of a cone-shaped net made of fine-meshed cloth. The base of the cone is left open, and is attached to a metal ring with three rope bridles spaced around its circumference, while the apex of the cone opens into a wide-necked jar. If the net is towed slowly through the water by a rope attached to the bridles, it will often take a surprising number of organisms, many visible to the unaided eye, though a microscope is usually necessary to examine the details. The best plankton catches are taken at night, because many of the animals are repelled by the light and sink to greater depths in the daytime. For some reason, not yet fully understood, they seem to “know” at what time to start their vertical migration; for example, about midnight they start moving downward, even though there is no vestige of light in the sky. Some people think they have interval “clocks” which tell them what to do regardless of the light, but this is unlikely because in the perpetual daylight of the Arctic or Antarctic summer, there is no vertical migration at all.

The New Zealand Geographic Board, which was constituted under the New Zealand Geographic Board Act of 1946, is the body responsible for nomenclature in New Zealand. Its decisions are guided by the following rules:

1. Original names are given preference where duplication occurs.

2. Names established by long usage may be retained in their incorrect form.

3. Publication of a new name in any work does not necessarily establish such name.

4. The possessive form is avoided.

5. The use of hyphens in a name is avoided where-ever possible. This relates particularly to Maori place names where separate parts of a name are written as one name.

6. Names in a foreign language are, wherever possible, rendered in the form adopted by the country concerned.

7. The use of alternative names, except where both English and Maori names are in general use, is avoided.

8. Only persons who have climbed or traversed alpine features have the right to submit names for such features.

by Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington and Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• The Great Harbour of Tara, Adkin, G. L. (1959)
• Horowhenua – Its Maori Place Names and Their Background, Adkin, G. L. (1948)
• Place Names of Banks Peninsula, Andersen, J. C. (1927)
• Maori Place Names …, Andersen, J. C. (1942)
• Place Names of Rotorua, Cowan, J. (1949)
• The New Zealand Guide, Dollimore, E. S. (1962)
• Place Names of Marlborough, Insull, H. A. H. (1952)
• Taupo-nui-a-Tia, Bell, R. M. (1958) (a map)
• The Taupo Road, Bell, R. M. (1959) (a map)
• A Dictionary of Maori Place Names, Reed, A. W. (1961).

Until the New Zealand Geographic Board Act was passed in 1946, there was little uniformity in New Zealand's nomenclature. Place names, particularly those dating from European times, had been bestowed haphazardly and were often duplicated. In general, these names may be classified broadly as follows: (a) Names bestowed by the early navigators and explorers; (b) names associated with or commemorating the work of the early missionaries, whalers, and traders; (c) a large group arising out of organised settlement; (d) a number commemorating people or events in more recent New Zealand history; and (e) names associated with gold mining, or bestowed by the early surveyors.

(a) Names Bestowed by Early Navigators and Explorers

The early navigators gave names to many coastal features when they charted the New Zealand coasts. No fixed pattern was followed in bestowing these and, in some cases, their survival appears to be accidental. Two names which Tasman gave have survived – Cape Maria Van Diemen and Three Kings Islands. Cook left many names on these coasts. Among these are names of his contemporaries, Cape Saunders, Mount Egmont, Palliser Bay; experiences of the voyage, Cape Foulwind, Cape Kidnappers, Poverty Bay, Bay of Plenty, and Cape Farewell; and names of members of his crew, Hicks Bay, Solander Island, and Young Nicks Head. In later times several notable foreign navigators visited these parts. In 1793 Malaspina, the Spanish navigator, named Bauza Island, Point Febrero, and Nea Islands. D'Urville, the French navigator, has left us such names as D'Urville Island, French Pass, Astrolabe Roads, Sauvage Point, and Croisilles Harbour.

(b) Whalers, Traders, and Missionaries

In the early 1800s many coastal features were named by the whalers and sealers who visited these shores. Among these are the Bluff (1803), Dagg Sound (1809), Stewart Island (1809), and Charles Sound (1810). Later, in the 1820s, when they established shore stations, the whalers gave names to many land features. Some of these which survive are Shag River (1829), McDonnell's Cove (1830), and Cornish Head (1839). Guard's Bay is connected with this period. Lambert, in HMS Alligator, named Alligator Head, Port Hardy, Port Gore, and Cape Lambert; while HMS Pelorus (1838) has left its name in the Sound and river of that name. Among the missionaries, Marsden named the Gambier River (now Hokianga Harbour) and Coromandel Harbour, while Leigh named Wesley Dale near Kaeo. Mount Watkin in Otago was named by Johnny Jones after Watkin, the pioneer Methodist missionary. In more recent times the names of some of the early missionaries have been perpetuated in various forms, Marsden and Selwyn as counties, and Taylor as Taylorville, a suburb of Wanganui.

(c) Names Arising from Organised Settlement

Many place names date from early settlement companies and groups. The New Zealand Company preserved a certain uniformity among those names they bestowed in their settlements. In the Port Nicholson district, for instance, the names of the Company's directors, servants, or ships associated with the Company were used, Wellington, Hutt, Somes Island, Lowry Bay, and Oriental Bay being cases in point. At Nelson, where Arthur Wakefield's influence was felt, naval names predominate; for example, Nelson, Collingwood, Stoke, and Bronté (now Mapua). In neighbouring Marlborough the influence was military, and names such as Blenheim, Picton, and Havelock were favoured. The south of England origin of the Taranaki settlement is perpetuated in New Plymouth and Devon Street. As Otago was a Scottish settlement, many Scottish names were given: Dunedin, Clutha, Roxburgh, Teviot, and the Lammerlaws are ready examples. In Canterbury, which was the Company's Church of England settlement, many easily identifiable English place names may be found. Among these are Christchurch, Ashburton, Sheffield, and Winchester. Hawke's Bay, which was settled in the 1850s, preserves many names associated with India and the Mutiny. Examples of these are Napier, Clive, Meeanee, Hastings (after Lord Hastings, the Viceroy), and numerous street names – Simla Avenue, Warren Street, and Outram Road.

Another group of names commemorate special companies of settlers. Among these may be cited Albertland, Cornwallis, Dannevirke, and Norsewood, while the French origin is preserved in many street names of Akaroa. Many individual settlers gave names associated with their homeland to their colonial estates and some of these have passed into official use, such as Miramar and Seatoun (in Wellington), Riccarton, the Avon (Christchurch), St. Kilda, Forbury (Dunedin), and Twyford (Hastings).

(d) Names Commemorating People and Events in New Zealand History

Some of this group are purely descriptive and may have originated by chance. Examples of these are Mill Town (now Milton), Woodville, Inglewood, North Shore, and Mons Sex Millia. Others commemorate early colonists or people who have become famous in the country's history. Cook County, Arthur's Pass, Cass, Mount Hector, Haast, Brunner and Buller commemorate the names of early explorers, while settlers and others are represented by Plimmerton, Martinborough, Petre (now Wanganui), Mairtown (in Whangarei), Carterton, and the Mackenzie Country. The early Governors are well represented by Hobson County, Grey River, Normanby, Ranfurly, Gore, Onslow, and the Bowen Falls. In this connection Mount Bledisloe and Cobham Drive commemorate recent vice-regal representatives. Political figures are also to the fore in such names as Dargaville, Gisborne, Ormond, Seddon, Foxton, Featherston, Rolleston, Herriesville (in Te Aroha), Vogeltown, Greytown, (Wellington and New Plymouth), Ballance, and Glen Massey. Historical incidents, especially those connected with recent wars, are well represented among street names. In general, however, people or incidents who would once have given their names to towns must now be content to be commemorated by streets, parks, buildings, or physical features.

(e) Names Associated with Gold Mining, Surveyors, and Explorers

Many names surviving from the gold-mining era are associated with scenes of the principal rushes. Some commemorate the diggers who made strikes (Gabriel's Gully, Arthur's Point, Ross, Addison's Flat); some are the miner's descriptions of localities, such as Canvastown, Ophir, and Reefton; while others are quaint names bestowed by the diggers, Napoleon's Hill, Dry Bread, Roaring Meg, Gentle Annie, and Vinegar Hill.

The early surveyors followed no fixed pattern when giving names to districts and geographical features and often depended upon the whim of the moment for their inspiration. A surveyor who was hard put to find names might use those from classical mythology, or of the members of his survey team, or the characters of a book he was reading. Alfred Domett's penchant was for poets, hence the street names of Napier. W. T. L. Travers favoured the Crimean War, thus Raglan and St. Arnaud. Haast recorded many names from Austria (Franz Josef Glacier), and so forth. In general, the surveyors were responsible for naming the land blocks or early subdivisions, and many of the names they gave have since passed into common use, Lake McKerrow, Eglinton River.

As many Maori place names possess either historical or mythological significance, it is usually misleading to guess at their meanings merely by translating the component parts. Notwithstanding this limitation, Maori place names fall into seven broad groupings: (a) Names bestowed by the early Polynesian voyagers to New Zealand or commemorating incidents in their visits; (b) traditional names deriving from Hawaiki – the legendary Maori homeland – or commemorating mythical personages; (c) names commemorating places or incidents during the migration or historical incidents since; (d) names that are descriptive of the places or features they represent; (e) names that are Maori versions of European names or words; (f) names bestowed, officially or unofficially, in European times to commemorate some Maori chief or an incident in the locality; and (g) careless European contractions of original Maori names. In this connection it may be noted that the Maoris themselves often contracted their place names.

(a) Names Deriving from the Early Voyagers

According to tradition, the early Maori voyagers, Kupe, Ngahue, and Toi, named many of New Zealand's coastal features. Examples of such names are Taonui-o-Kupe (now Cape Jackson) and Te Mana-o-Kupe-ki-Aotearoa, which has been contracted to Mana. Motu-Kairangi, the old Maori name for Miramar, and Whanga-nui-a-Tara both date from the Toi migration.

(b) Names from Hawaiki and Polynesian Mythology

A few Maori names of places in Hawaiki have survived. Two of these are Maketu, in the Bay of Plenty, and Mount Moehau, a small peak in the Coromandel Range. Names connected with Polynesian mythology are more plentiful. Among these may be cited Aorangi (Mount Cook) and the various versions and attributes of Tane, the forest god; for instance, Otane and Taneatua. Mythical persons are represented by Maui in Te Ika-a-Maui, the Maori name for the North Island.

(c) Places and Incidents During the Migration and Historical Incidents

The ports of call of the canoes of the so-called Great Migration have often been commemorated in New Zealand landmarks. Examples of these are Raratoka (Rarotonga) and Tawhiti (Tahiti), while Taiporohenui, near Hawera, is the name of a place in Tahiti. The name Whakatane commemorates an incident during the landing of the Mataatua canoe, and Nga Rangi-e-toto-ia-a-Tamate Kapua, “the days that Tamate Kapua bled”, is now shortened to Rangitoto. Maori names commemorating historical incidents are quite common, although their significance has often been forgotten. Some of these incidents were extremely mundane and it is unwise to probe too deeply into meanings. Examples of these are Taupo-nui-a-Tia (now shortened to Taupo), Rukumoana, Urewera, Ngongotaha, and Tikitapu.

(d) Descriptive Names

These are often extremely fanciful allusions to the place or feature described. Certain components appear in many names of this class, and those recurring most frequently are set out as follows:

In addition to these, the prefix “O” usually indicates that the name is an attribute of, or “belongs” to a person, while “Te” usually indicates that the word following is descriptive; for example, Te Akau and Te Iwituaroa.

(e) Maori Versions of European Names

Names of this group often appear quaint to Europeans' ears. Hiruharama (Jerusalem), Petane (Bethany), and Hamaria (Samaria) are of Biblical origin, while Ranana (London), Atene (Athens), and Karaponia (California) represent foreign places. The Apitihama (Opposition) block and Winiata (Wynyard) are Maori adaptations of other European words. Poneke is the Maori corruption of Port Nicholson.

(f) Recent Maori Names

These have been bestowed in recent years to commemorate some Maori chief associated with a district, or some historical incident. Waharoa is named after the celebrated Ngati Haua chief, Te Waharoa, while Hongi's Track commemorates Hongi Hika's Rotorua expedition. Unofficial examples of this type are: Te turu-o-te-Maki, “Mackay's stool”, in Marlborough, and Te Kooti's Clearing, near Te Wera, in the Urewera Country. More recently, Maori words, especially the names of native flora, have proved popular as street names.

(g) Careless European Usage

Early colonists often experienced difficulty in mastering the intricacies of spoken Maori. As a result of this and careless pronunciations, many Maori place names have passed into current usage in corrupt forms, such as Amuri (Haumuri), Petone (Pito-one), Mangahao (Mangahou), and “The Nunneries” (Te Nganaire).

New Zealand place names fall into two general groups which depend, primarily, upon whether they are of Maori or European origin.

This is a genus in the Southern Hemisphere containing about 160 species, mainly tropical and subtropical. In New Zealand over 20 species, ranging from shrubs to small trees and from ground plants to epiphytes, occur in many types of vegetation and in many localities.

The two most common species are P. crassifolium, karo, and P. tenuifolium, kohuhu. These two and some others are cultivated widely. Many cultivars of kohuhu have been separated out including ones with dark coloured and with variegated leaves. Karo grows along forest margins and streamsides from North Cape to Poverty Bay and in the Kermadec Islands, while kohuhu is found in coastal and lower montane forest in both islands except that to the west of the Main Divide. This species is particularly variable and some forms come close to P. colensoi which occurs in forest and scrub mainly at higher elevations. Some species are of local occurrence only. Thus P. dallii is only found in north-west Nelson, P. turneri only on the Waimarino Plateau and the mountains adjacent, and P. rigidum in the Tararua Range. There is a group of six species, all divaricating shrubs, some of which are common in subalpine vegetation. Generally an epiphyte of more northern forests, P. kirkii also occurs as a ground plant. The seed of most species is contained in a sticky fluid inside a capsule. Distinctive juvenile leaf forms are present in some species.

by Alec Lindsay Poole, M.SC., B.FOR.SC., F.R.S.N.Z., Director-General of Forests, Wellington.

Pirongia (3,156 ft) is a prominent, rugged mountain standing high above the surrounding hill country west of Waipa River. It is the highest and most extensive of a series of ancient volcanic vents that erupted along a line that runs south-east from Karioi Mountain to Tokanui Hill. The precipitous bush-clad slopes of Pirongia are deeply eroded remnants of a much larger volcano that spread its basalt and olivine-andesite lava flows as far as Kawhia Harbour. King Tawhiao's Maori supporters used the eastern foothills of the mountain as a retreat between skirmishes during the Waikato Wars. Pirongia (the name means “like a bad smell”) and the neighbouring, distinctively shaped, lesser peak of Kakepuku (1,478 ft) figure in Maori folklore.

Pirongia is one of the mountains associated in Maori lore with the patupairehe who were white-skinned “little people” (fairies), usually feared, for they were dangerous to mortals. The patupairehe were supposed to inhabit large fortified villages in the cloudy summits of the hills, and frequented certain localities throughout New Zealand, even as far south as Foveaux Strait. At times their presence was revealed in the ghostly piping of flutes and the sound of fairy songs heard in the misty forest heights.

by Leslie Owen Kermode, B.A., Geological Survey Station, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Otahuhu.

• Treasury of Maori Folklore, Reed, A. W. (1963).

The New Zealand pipit, sometimes inaccurately called ground lark or native lark, is a local race (Anthus novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae) of a very widely distributed species that occurs in Australia, the East Indies, North Africa, and Europe. It breeds on almost all the islands in the New Zealand area except the Kermadecs, the Snares, and Macquarie Island. Within its range the bird is found in a variety of open-country habitats from sea level to above the snow line, and is generally to be seen in such places as sand dunes, shingly river beds, and tussock grasslands. It is one of those birds that has benefited, both in numbers and in distribution, from the progress of settlement.

Males and females look alike. The upper parts are brown, streaked with darker brown; the breast is buff and mottled with brown, and the belly is white. A dark line runs through the eye and the two outermost tail feathers are mainly white and show up clearly when the bird is in flight. Though superficially rather like the introduced skylark, the pipit is more slender in body, has a longer, finer bill, lacks any head crest, and is much paler in plumage. Behaviour is different from that of the skylark – the tail is flicked while the bird is on the ground, and the flight is usually undulating instead of the soaring and singing so characteristic of the skylark.

Breeding takes place from September to March and up to three broods may be raised by a pair in a season. About four eggs freckled with light brown and grey are laid in a well-concealed cup-shaped nest made of grass. This is placed on the ground and usually beneath growing vegetation. Incubation takes about two weeks. Small flocks may form in autumn. The pipit is mainly insectivorous, but also eats worms and small seeds. In spite of its small size the species was eaten by the old-time Maori.

In spring the male will soar and sing a short trill as he descends, but this song cannot be confused with that of the skylark. The common call is a high, slurred “tirr-eep” or “peepit” and it is from this that the species gets its common name.

by Gordon Roy Williams, B.SC.(HONS.)(SYDNEY), Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

(Paphies australe).

This fish has the common, white, elongated shell with the apex at the middle. It is abundant in sandy and silty mud in estuaries and harbours. It was a favourite food of the old-time Maoris.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.