Fisherman Island is a small uninhabited island off the coast of New Zealand. It is contained within Abel Tasman National Park and adjacent to Motuareronui / Adele Island.[1]
In August 2014, the name of the neighbouring island was officially altered to Motuareronui / Adele Island.[2] Motu means island, arero is a tongue and nui is big; hence, Motuareronui literally means the big island shaped like a tongue, which makes Motuareroiti / Fisherman Island (with iti meaning little) the little island shaped like a tongue; however, in his comprehensive book on natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park, Philip Simpson suggests the two islands are incorrectly named, as follows:[3]
Tongues (arero) are important to Māori culture... the islands are not, however, noticeable tongue shaped. A recent official change as a result of the Treaty settlement is that Tasman Bay is shared with Te Tai o Aorere. This supports the suggestion that the two islands are incorrectly named and should be Motuaorerenui and Motuaorereiti.
See also
References
- ^ Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abel Tasman National Park". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. pp. 25. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- ^ "NZGB decisions". Land Information New Zealand. August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Simpson, Philip (2018). Down the Bay. Nelson, NZ: Potton & Burton. p. 214. ISBN 9780947503932.
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