Māori cultural experts have come out in support of billionaire Jeff Bezos, who has given his $500 million luxury yacht a Māori name.

Yesterday the Herald revealed the Amazon founder, according to AIS on Vesselfinder, had named his boat Koru - meaning new beginnings and continuity.

Hundreds of Herald readers also took to our Facebook page, with the majority of Māori and Pākehā also very supportive.

The massive yacht is being moved from the primary facilities in Alblasserdam to Rotterdam through the Netherlands’ canals.

Her masts will be fitted later to avoid dismantling the Koningshaven Bridge after a hue and cry over disassembling a historical monument to accommodate a tycoon’s pleasure craft.

The 471-foot vessel will now undergo sea trials, after which it will be delivered to the billionaire.

Bezos, listed among the top five of the world’s richest people, posted the image to Instagram.

Respected Māori cultural adviser and community advocate Rangi McLean - who last year had his own issues with a German artist who used his image without permission - said it was a big positive for Aotearoa for Bezos to take a Māori name for his boat.

German artist Gerd Stritzel's painting of Rangi McLean.

“I believe Bezos has taken on our way of life and is taking on board all those aspects. From what I have read, he understands what the koru means and stands for.”

“To have our kaupapa, not only our reo but our culture, on the world stage, is a good thing,” McLean told the Herald.

“It’s the same way that Air New Zealand portray the koru on their planes.

“It’s fantastic to see a Pākehā company embracing te reo and incorporating it in their everyday lives with passengers.”

Whānau Ora chairwoman Merepeka Raukawa-Tait was another who supported Bezos, and hopes that along with taking the name, he also takes the appropriate cultural measures and has Koru blessed with tangata whenua in attendance, to ensure safety of his boat and all those who sail on it.

“It appears he knows the meaning of the word koru,” Raukawa-Tait said.

“And [I] would love to think he would do the right thing and have a naming ceremony that reflects the origin of the word and its significance to Aotearoa.”

Dame Naida Glavish was also supportive, but added: “Koru is ka pai as long as he understands the koru [represents] no beginning and no end - it’s about continuity.”

Academic Bernie O’Donnell, a cultural adviser to Auckland University, director of Whānau Ora and chairman of the Maori Urban Māori Authority, said this was a korero with a much wider reach than the use of te reo.

“Who gave the Māori advice on the name, and was it authenticated?” O’Donnell said.

“Whānau Ora is easy. It’s for Māori, by Māori, to Māori. But now we are going into areas where it’s by Māori, for non-Māori.

“Should it be that way? Absolutely, because that is normalisation of our culture and our language, and that’s where we need to go.

“What we need to understand is, if we put up our hands as Māori advisers in a non-Māori space, we will be challenged.

“The questions should be about keeping control of the language, and not just be about a name.”

The $500 million schooner first hit the water in August at Oceanco’s Alblasserdam shipyard as the biggest sailing yacht in the world. The vision was spectacular, as Koru was almost twice the length of an Airbus A380.

Koru will also have support vessel YS 7512 for company.

The 246-foot support vessel was signed in 2019 with Damen Yachting. YS 7512 support vessel is huge, offering more than enough space to house an arsenal of tenders and toys, marine gear, and storage of emergency relief support equipment.

The ship includes a helipad and hangar for a D14-value helicopter. A total of 45 people, including crew, guests and specialist staff, can comfortably reside onboard.

With three enormous decks, a bowsprit, a colossal black hull, and an elegant contour, yacht builder Oceanco outdid the revered Black Pearl ship, known to be one of the world’s largest and most ecological yachts. The three decks will feature amenities like an on-deck swimming pool, a movie theatre, several lounges, and business areas dotting the enormous decks.

Koru is based on Bezos’ Black Pearl ship.