The name was suggested by 10-year-old Robert Spratt, of Pinehill, who won a $50 voucher allowing his family to visit the sanctuary.
The word Matariki is associated with the Maori new year in late May or early June, and sanctuary marketing manager Pip Dalgliesh said yesterday it was considered appropriate because it conveyed the sense of a new beginning.
Matariki is the first offspring of captive-bred birds to be released into the wild and now lives in the treetops of the sanctuary's 100-year-old forest.
Another five young kaka have also been released.
The competition attracted almost 200 entries from children and other names submitted to judge Phyllis Smith included M. J. (in memory of Michael Jackson), Holycopter and Chocolate.
Robert, a pupil at George Street Normal School, said last night he had seen kaka in the Dunedin Botanic Garden aviary and "just thought" Matariki would be a good name.
His mother, Morag, said Robert was "really into wildlife" and was a member of Forest and Bird's Kiwi Conservation Club.
