Te Whare Tohu o Te Hau Whakaora

As an acknowledgement of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, and in line with many of the country's statutory agencies, cultural and educational institutions, and private companies, the college adopted a te reo Māori name: Te Whare Tohu o Te Hau Whakaora in February 2021.
In this video, Kiri Rikihana (Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa), Executive Director of ANZCA's Aotearoa New Zealand Office, explains how to correctly pronounce the name.

Background and meaning

The name is a combination of two options presented to the Māori Anaesthetists Network Aotearoa (MANA):

• Te Whare Tohu denotes the status of a college, or literally a “significant house”;
• o means “of”,
• Te Hau Whakaora means “the life-giving breath”,
• the words hau and whakaora have multiple meanings including: hau – “breath, wind, gas, vital essence of life, aura, prestige, eminence” and whakaora – “revive, revitalise, rescue, restore to health, cure, healing”.

The name speaks to the importance of the role of anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists in restoring the breath and “life essence”/Mauri of their patients. It infers the more holistic and sacred work of anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists to preserve the quality of life of their patients. 

There is a synergy between this name and the Latin motto on the college coat of arms - Corpus curare spiritumque - which means “To care for the body and its breath of life”.

Many people have been involved in the journey to this point where ANZCA joins most other health, government, education, training, private businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand in recognising Māori as one of the country’s three official language (English and New Zealand Sign language being the other two). However it was former ANZCA President Dr Rod Mitchell who put his name and his enthusiasm behind the quest during his time as the head of the college.

"This strikes me as being a very important step forward for our college. We officially acknowledge that New Zealand, as one of the two nations that define who we are, is a bilingual nation. This is all the more so when Te Reo is so intimately related to New Zealand’s national identity."

In this video, Kiri Rikihana (Te Ati Awa, Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa), Executive Director of ANZCA's Aotearoa New Zealand Office, explains the literal translation and figurative meanings of the name.

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