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Otago Daily Times
16 hours ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Perhaps we should wait a bit before changing road signs
"Kia ora" — and that's about it when I chance my arm with a bit of Māori. I grew up in a small South Island city with little Māori presence, although one house was called "the Māori house" simply because of the family who lived there. In 11 years of schooling, only one Māori boy featured at roll call and the only word we heard much of was "haka". I now realise that at least one other Māori word had enriched my vocabulary although at the time I assumed it was just another old English saying. It was often use by older blokes seeking a break from work and it sounded something like "tie ho". The recent brouhaha (yes, my French is OK) over road signs in Māori in Hawke's Bay reminded me that the word I remembered from boyhood was actually taihoa, a Māori word meaning something like "wait" or "by and by". Without waiting, I dived into the word's history and found it was one of the earliest Māori words to find general acceptance among Pākehā settlers. In those days it was a less than complimentary term among the go-getting newcomers. Of his early days in Auckland Sir John Logan Campbell wrote of "detesting the procrastinating ways of Māori workmen who kept on saying 'Taihoa – wait, all in good time, there's no hurry'." Some of his contemporaries, delving into the language, insisted that taihoa was used rather with regard to debts which were owed by Māori rather that postponing any duties they were expected to carry out. The word could be applied to Pākehā as well. One chief requested in 1857 that the government would allow him to sell land, complaining that the head of the Native Land Purchase Department, Donald McLean, would fob him off with "'taihoa (by and bye)' until he was tired." He then applied to the Governor who also said "taihoa". During the rest of the 19th century taihoa was commonly used by both races and among Pākehā began to be used as something of an insult to Māori, rather along the lines of the deplorable use of "Māori time" to mean "late" or "any old time". One flax mill owner complained, "no dependence whatever can be placed on their promises to do anything within a given time. 'Taihoa' being one of the first words the meaning of which a stranger learns to his cost who may have trusted to their punctuality." Thankfully, in later times, the word was used inoffensively to indicate "wait a bit" and became popular from the 1900s when James Carroll, the native minister, aimed to slow the sale of Māori land and this gave rise to the phrase "the taihoa policy" which can still be applied to politicians slow to honour their promises. Think, "Minister Brown's taihoa policy has delayed building Dunedin's new hospital." Taihoa can be found in many contexts. In 1950 the Northern Advocate, enthusing about a new-found rugby star, 18-year-old Peter Jones, suggested the All Black selectors "taihoa" on account of his youth. In the same year a Whanganui magistrate fined Māori farmers for failing to clear ragwort. "Māoris must deal with noxious weeds just the same as Europeans. The taihoa policy will not help you; it will just involve you in very heavy fines," pronounced the upholder of the law. So, it's fair to say "taihoa" is pretty well established among New Zealand speakers and I'm wondering if it may be a better road sign than "Stop". "Stop" is certainly an effective word, but can it be too effective? Taken literally at a compulsory stop, it would oblige the motorist to stop his vehicle. Motorists behind him would also stop and, because the leading car is given no further instructions, it would remain static until the traffic had backed up for about 10km and the resulting traffic rage would possibly lead to serious injuries. However, "Taihoa" at a compulsory stop would simply suggest "wait a bit". The motorist could wait, checking for traffic from either direction, and then move on, thus avoiding rampant road rage. Thus, at road works "Taihoa" is ideal as it suggest a wait rather than a permanent stoppage. The signs in Māori at the heart of the recent debate used "Haere" instead of "Go". "Haere" certainly has a meaning of moving but many motorists would be confused, thinking it was simply a greeting as in "haere mai". The solution may well lie in a comment from Ernest Corbett, Minister of Māori Affairs in the 1950s, who suggested that the opposite of "taihoa" was a term he heard often in his Taranaki base, "kia tore". "It means get on with it," said Corbett. On reflection, I've decided this is all too messy. Let's just use "Stop" and "Go" but hold the pole in a sort of Māori way. — Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
King's Birthday Honours 2025: 12 Northlanders recognised
This year the King's Birthday Honours List contains 188 recipients, who have been recognised for their contributions to various areas including community, sport, Māori language education, breast cancer treatment and research, Māori, and the Pasifika community. Of this year's recipients, 12 are from Northland. The Northern Advocate caught up with
NZ Herald
22-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Police launch investigation after unexplained death of 3-year-old girl in Kaikohe
Police say the unexplained death of a 3-year-old is currently under investigation. Photo / NZME Police are investigating the death of a 3-year-old girl in Kaikohe yesterday. Emergency services responded to a Tawanui Rd address around 6.15pm. Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston of Northland Criminal Investigation Branch said the child was found unresponsive about 6.15pm. Despite the medical treatment provided, she died at the scene. 'Police extend their condolences to whānau.' A post-mortem examination will be conducted in the next few days to determine the cause of death. Inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death are ongoing. Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
NZ Herald
19-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Botulism alert: Northland vets urge caution for dog owners
The dogs were also known to have been eating a rotten carcass – a risk for contracting the disease, Harrison-Wilde said. Botulism, which can also affect humans and a range of animals, including birds and fish, is a rare but potentially fatal illness caused by the neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Botulinal toxins are the most potent, naturally-occurring, acutely toxic substances known. They can be destroyed if exposed to temperatures above 85C for at least five minutes. However, C. botulinum spores are resilient, capable of surviving in soil and aquatic sediments for extended periods, potentially years, under favourable conditions. Warm temperatures, high humidity, and anaerobic environments – such as those found in decomposing organic matter – created ideal conditions for the bacteria to thrive. Dogs typically got botulism by ingesting the toxin from decomposing carcasses, spoiled food, rotting vegetation, or contaminated water and mud. 'In the Bay of Islands, the abundance of marine life means that fish or bird carcasses washed ashore can be a significant source of contamination. Additionally, improperly stored pet food or exposure to garbage can also pose risks,' Harrison-Wilde said. She urged owners to keep their dogs away from high-risk situations. 'Always supervise them around beaches, bush tracks, and paddocks,' Harrison-Wilde said. A dog usually showed signs of having the disease within 12-72 hours of ingesting the toxin, and the earlier those signs appeared, the more serious the disease, she said. Recovery typically took two to three weeks, but dogs on the mend should show marked signs of improvement within a week. With proper medical care and support (maintaining hydration, controlling symptoms, etc.), the expected outcome for most patients was positive, although some dogs could die from respiratory paralysis, Harrison-Wilde said. If the amount of ingested toxin was not large and there were no other infections, dogs often recovered naturally without medical intervention. The two dogs presented to Bay of Islands Vets were treated with supportive care, intensive nursing and intravenous fluid therapy, she said. An antitoxin was available for cases confirmed by laboratory testing, but was not readily stocked by most veterinary hospitals in New Zealand. And to be effective, it needed to be administered before signs of paralysis appeared. Previously documented cases included working dogs that had swum in muddy water after a hard day's work in warm weather. The water was suspected to have been contaminated during an outbreak of avian botulism. During 2024, about 60 ducks died from an outbreak of avian botulism in the Whangārei suburb of Totara Parklands. Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years' experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
NZ Herald
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Road Safety Week 2025: Whangārei firefighter's plea to motorists
Wearing a seatbelt was another tool in the safety box that sometimes went unused, he said. 'It's like you've got the smoke alarm, but then you take the battery out of it.' 'It's a piece of safety equipment, that's what it's designed to do.' Police data showed last year in Northland six people died and 23 were seriously injured when not wearing a seatbelt. Smith said he had yet to see someone survive being ejected from a vehicle due to not wearing a seatbelt. Speed was another cause of fatalities, he said. Data shows that in 11 of last year's 27 fatalities, inappropriate speed was found to have contributed to the crash. Six people died and 34 were also seriously injured in crashes where alcohol impairment above the limit contributed to the crash. 'There's definitely parties that are caught in the crossfire because of these things that are happening, [and] they're doing nothing wrong,' Smith said. He said motorists were occasionally just in the 'wrong place at the wrong time'. 'You can be doing everything right and all of a sudden something happens in front of you,' he said. 'You can't help but think to yourself, it could be you, a friend or a family member.' Smith said that when driving past previous accident sites, they stuck in his mind. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. 'It's not only of course the people that are involved in the incident or accident that are affected, it's far-reaching.' Those impacted include people who are the first on scene at crash sites, he said. And while it was his job as a fulltime firefighter to attend crashes, they left a lasting impact. 'Over time, the things that we see and experience, they can't help but shape you.' 'It affects all the emergency services. No matter how conditioned we are, it does have an impact.' A key message he wanted motorists to take away this Road Safety Week was to be aware of their surroundings. 'It's amazing how many people don't have awareness of us behind them, even with sirens, flashing lights and everything.' Seconds matter when attending an incident, and that could sometimes be held up by unaware motorists, he said. 'All you really want them to do is incident and move to the side of the road.' In 2024, 27 people died and 153 were seriously injured in crashes on Northland's roads. The victims were aged from 0-86. Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
