Auckland Council has restored the traditional Indigenous names for five of its regional parks.

The move forms a part of a new narrative the council, who on its website features the Māori Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau name above the English version of the Auckland government authority's name.

Mana whenua - the traditional iwi or hapu tribes - gave approval to share their ancestral names with the council for each of Long Bay/Te Oneroa ō Kahu, Shakespear/Te Hāruhi and Wenderholm/Maungatauhoro regional parks.

The celebrated full name for the established Ōmana Regional Park has also been restored back to Ō Manawatere Regional Park for all future references.

While a new Māori name has been provided for Ambury Regional Park, called Te Ara i Tautahi.

Auckland Council's community committee formally adopted the names on Monday to sit alongside existing English-speaking names at four of the sites.

Committee chair, councillor Julie Fairey, said the new park names are also set to be an integral step towards acknowledging the greater region's proud past while celebrating its Māori heritage.

It has been a council priority in both The Auckland Plan 2050 and Long-Term Plan 2021-2031.

"Names matter and have power," she said.

"Through partnerships with mana whenua, these names help to safeguard cultural knowledge, restore stories to the landscape, and strengthen connections to Tāmaki Makaurau.

"These additions and changes will help visitors to learn more about the cultural significance of the places that host our regional parks."

The pathway to adopting each of the reo Māori name can be traced back to November of 2021 when council's decision-makers agreed to invite mana whenua to offer insight into the land and to provide names for regional parks as part of its Te Kete Rukuruku program.

Councillor Alf Filipaina - a Māori man, who chaired the committee which introduced and initiated the naming process - said a lot of research, discussion and collaboration has taken place for iwi and council to reach the stage where five names can officially be recognised and accepted.

"I'm so proud that we've reached this step," he said.

"The names represent an important part of a bigger project to bring te reo Māori place names back into our everyday language across Tāmaki Makaurau.

"They follow the adoption of te reo for hundreds of local parks.

"I hope this marks the beginning for more regional parks to come.

"The names that mana whenua has gifted are a taonga (treasure) to be shared."

The five regional parks are the first to be named through Te Kete Rukuruku program in what is a partnership between Auckland Council, local boards and mana whenua to collect, to protect and to share stories unique to ngā iwi o Tāmaki Makaurau (tribes of Auckland).

Since 2017 - when the program started - 17 local boards have supported more than 580 local parks and public places across Auckland receiving historically original and contemporary Māori names.

In 2024, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu (a local council board of Auckland) adopted 21 new Māori place names, recognising the area's rich cultural heritage.

Robin Taua-Gordon, a Pou Tangata supporter from Te Kawerau Iwi Tiaki - its social, cultural and environmental arm - said the settlement trust played an important role towards sharing the narratives for Long Bay, Shakespear and Wenderholm parks.

"As Te Kawerau ā Maki, we honour the deep connection to whenua, and we acknowledge our history," he said.

"These names have always existed for us, but the Te Kete Rukuruku kaupapa has enabled us to share some of the mātauranga tuku iho (ancestral knowledge) with all who come here."

The kaupapa, which literally translates to 'woven basket' sets to restore and preserve significant Māori place names and the stories associated with them in response to concerns from mana whenua to ensure Māori identity is more visible and known.

Tumuaki Huanga Māori/Māori outcomes director, Nicholas Turoa, added that the names also reflected the rich identity of Auckland's Tāmaki Makaurau Māori heritage and the prevalent histories that shaped it.

"These names bring the stories of our places back into focus, strengthening the (iwi) connection between whenua, whakapapa, and community," he said.

"They recognise the deep Māori heritage of these sites, while also acknowledging the layers of history that have developed over time.

"This is about ensuring Aucklanders can see themselves in the places around them - and feel a stronger connection to the stories, names and identities that make up Tāmaki Makaurau today."