A new street at the Mt Roskill Suburb, Auckland has been named in honour of Tēvita ‘Ofanoa and his family.
Two other new street names were Baitful Lane and Herenga Way.
Roskill Development webpage said the new names were decided after huge supports from the community.
Named as Ofanoa Lane, the website said: “The Ofanoa whanau lived for 20 plus years on Freeland Avenue. Dad Tevita Ofanoa was a well loved and respected member of the Roskill community having been the Mt Roskill Intermediate caretaker for many years. The family environment that he and his wife rovided included caring for many of the children that grew up in Freeland Avenue. They had an open-door policy, and all were welcome. Tevita and his wife were immigrants from Tonga, whose family has worked hard and achieved many things in their chosen paths”.
Baitul Lane: “Named after the small Islamic Centre, Baitul Mukarram Musalla, which has existed for 5 years at Roskill South shopping centre. The Islamic Centre represents the Islamic community located in the local area. ‘Baitul’ means house, and therefore draws reference to the new development”.
Herenga Way: In te reo Māori, ‘herenga’ means connections or ties. It demonstrates Mt Roskill’s connections between its people, as it is the connections that make up a community”.
“We recently asked for the community’s help in naming three new roads in Roskill South, and the feedback was fantastic! It was a privilege to read the heartfelt stories and meanings behind many of the submissions, and creating a shortlist for the Local Board to approve proved quite a challenge. Submissions that were unsuccessful this time will still be considered for future roads/laneways, and we thank everyone who took the time to send through their suggestions.”
Photo source Roskill Development