MOTTO CHOSEN FOR TAUPO BOROUGH

Taupo Times, Volume III, Issue 135, 27 August 1954, Page 1

MOTTO CHOSEN FOR TAUPO BOROUGH

At its meeting on Wednesday, August 18, the Taupo Borough Council decided to adopt as the Borough motto a Maori motto which is also that of H.M.N.Z.S. Taupo,1 and which was derivedfrom an old Maori proverb used by the Ngati-Tuwharetoa people of the Taupo Country. A letter had been received from the Navy Secretary, Wellington, expressing the Navy Board's pleasure in approving the adoption of the motto by the Borough. The motto is a short one, "Kia u!", signifying stand fast. The ancient proverb from which it was derived is "Ruia taitea, ruia taitea, kia tu ko taikaka," which is translated as "Cast away the sap, but let the heart remain." The proverb refers to the totara tree, of which the sap (taitea) decays quickly, but whose heart wood (taikaka) does not decay, and which has been likened to the chief whose .power does not fade. When the Council asked for suggestions for a motto, a prize of £1 was offered. A number of suggestions were sent in by pupils of the Taupo District High School, and though none was chosen the Council, in recognition of the interest shown, decided to forward the £1 to the School. It may be noted that the pronunciation of the word "u," is as the letter "u" in the English word "ruby," not as in the English word "tune."