Place names are a window into the past, and an important part of how the history of a landscape and community is preserved. In a place like Waipori place names capture stories about the people who lived there, events that shaped the area and the physical features that define the landscape.
In the early days of their exploration of Waipori, David Still and Euan and Kathleen Warburton drew maps and marked in key features of the Waipori area such as water races and place names. Many of these place names are not known widely and are not on current maps.
Thanks to diligent record-keeping by David Still we have a directory of more than 400 names recorded in the area, which we have published here. We have also published maps that David, Euan and Kathleen drew based on their exploration.
Many place names describe natural characteristics of the land. Words referring to rivers, hills, valleys or rocky ground often reflect what early explorers, miners or settlers first noticed about the environment. These descriptive names help later generations understand how people experienced the landscape when they first arrived. It was difficult terrain, and there are many gullies, creeks and spurs in the list.
Place names also commemorate individuals such as prospectors, miners and farmers. So we have Butterworth’s Paddock, Mullholland’s Gully and O’Brien’s Flat. David’s book Gold beneath dark waters records the stories of many of the people whose names remain on the landscape.
Other names are recorded in only general terms or in ways we wouldn’t today: Welshman’s Gully, Chinaman’s Gully and Maori Ned’s Point.
Some names are simply descriptive and quite banal: School Hill, Rocky Ridge and Top Rocks. Others are colourful and hint at daily life on the goldfield: Bread and Butter Creek, Mutton Point and Poverty Gully.
From Abes Gully to Yankee Gully, these place names connect us to Waipori’s landscape and the stories of its people.