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Story: Place names

Animal names

Image
Animal names

Surveyor John Turnbull Thomson sketched this horse and pig at Highlay hill in Otago in 1857. Thomson was responsible for many of the place names in Otago and Southland, including animal names, such as Sowburn in Central Otago.

Using this item

Hocken Collections, University of Otago

Reference: 92/1309

by John Turnbull Thomson

Permission of the Hocken Collections Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Place names – Colonial naming, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/19336/animal-names (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 1 March 2009.