The Press was originally located in two garages at numbers 10 and 12 Wai-te-ata Road, Wellington. The sonorous name 'Wai-te-ata' is of Māori origin, 'wai' meaning 'waters' and 'te ata' meaning variously 'of the dawn' or 'of the morning.' A stream of that name ran through a gully and along the road until construction of university buildings forced it underground. Ironically, the practical implications of this poetic though aqueous metaphor have been only too true; water leaks and floods have plagued the Press's various relocations and incarnations.