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POMS AWAY! 
Hiya, just read your “..things Kiwis say ..” post.
I may have an answer that can solve where “ow” came from.
A lot of the early immigrant workers came from up north, Nth England & Scotland. Scots & Geordies, in particular, used to use a similar sounding word when referring to anything they could lay a personal claim or relationship
to.
Nowadays we would say ‘mine’ or ‘our’ or ‘ours’, they would say (scots) – ‘oor’ or (geordie) – wor.
Oor lass – wor lass – our girl – daughter/wife/girlfriend.
If you combine these same meaning but
different sounding, to the kiwi ear, with the only closest reference in Te Reo, which is ‘au’ or ‘ahau’ … & mix that up with general laziness in how english is currently spoken & i think you get pretty close as to how & where ‘ow’ came from.
Ow bro – oor mate – my friend
Shut up ow – be quiet mate.
Just a thought or two ……
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That’s an interesting idea. My nana’s always calling me “our Abby”… I’m not sure.
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That’s just reminded me of a joke about a Geordie soldier. Someone says, “The enemy’s got war drums,” and the Geordie says, “The thieving bastards!”
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