What's in a Name?
Tiavare, and Metua Grace Henry
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You are probably wondering how the English name "Henry" became our family surname.
The original Maori name was Tetaura-Raru. As a small child, Tetaura lived in the village of Amuri on the island of Aitutaki. Reverend Henry Albert Royle encouraged the boy to attend the missionary school. When Tetaura married, and was expecting his first child, he asked the Missionary if he could place the name Henry on his first born, if it was a son. After some deliberation, Reverend Royle agreed. As a result, Tetaura-Raru’s first born son was named Henry Tetaura. In those days the child took the first name as a surname. Henry Tetaura’s first son was named Tiavare Henry. Tiavare then broke with tradition, and his first son was named Albert Royle Henry, using all three names of the Missionary. |
Albert and Elizabeth Henry, with their four children; Hugh is second from the left.
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