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Fellow New Zealanders,
I want to say about something far greater than politics. I speak about identity, history, truth, and the name of our nation — the name by which the world has known us for generations: that is “New Zealand”.
Names matter.
A country’s name is not simply a word on a map. It is the banner under which generations have lived, worked, fought, sacrificed, built families, built communities, and built a nation. It is the name carried by our soldiers, our sports teams, our exporters, our passports, and our people across every corner of the world.
And that name is New Zealand.
For 383 years, since 1643, this land has been internationally recognised as New Zealand. When Abel Tasman and Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu reported this discovery back to the States General – the Parliament of Holland – this land was given the name “New Zealand”. Since that time, through every generation, every law, every treaty, every map, and every international relationship, this country has been known as New Zealand.
That is not opinion.
That is historical fact.
Before European arrival, there was no single united Māori nation governing all the land, foreshore, offshore islands, and seabed of what we now know as New Zealand. Māori society was tribal in structure – iwi and hapū, each with their own territories, traditions, and identities.
There was no single nationwide Māori name that collectively described the entire landmass and surrounding territories of modern New Zealand.
That reality should not diminish Māori history or culture. Māori heritage is an important and treasured part of our nation. But respecting history also means being truthful about history.
The claim that “Aotearoa” has always been the name of the whole country is not supported by historical evidence.
The term Aotearoa gained wider use much later and was popularised in the late 19th century by S Percy Smith, a European writer, through retellings and interpretations connected to his story of Kupe. It was not historically established as a unified national name covering all of modern New Zealand in pre-European times.
And so I say this clearly:
New Zealand is not a colonial insult.
New Zealand is not something to be ashamed of.
New Zealand is the name under which this nation was built.
It is the name under which Māori, European, Pacific peoples, Asians, and countless migrants from around the world came together to create one of the finest countries on Earth.
We are New Zealanders.
Not because of race.
Not because of ancestry.
But because we share a nation, a history, a future, and a common identity.
Changing or replacing our country’s name is not a small symbolic gesture. It risks dividing people where unity is needed most. It risks rewriting history instead of understanding it. And it risks disconnecting future generations from the name that has united this country for centuries.
A mature nation does not erase its past.
A mature nation acknowledges all parts of its history honestly and proudly.
We can honour Māori culture without rewriting historical fact.
We can celebrate te reo Māori without abandoning the internationally recognised name of our nation.
We can walk together as one people without pretending history was something it was not.
This country belongs to every New Zealander equally.
And the name that unites us – the name recognised throughout the world – the name carried through war, peace, hardship, triumph, and generations of shared endeavour – is New Zealand.
Let us protect it.
Let us preserve it.
Let us proudly stand beneath it.
Not divided.
Not rewritten.
But united as one people, under one enduring name:
New Zealand.
If you agree then I ask you to please forward the letter onto others.
Alfred Johns, Te Aroha
This article was republished by Brash and Mitchell.
