Mayor welcomes consultation on name change

Published on 30 April 2015

30 April 2015

Mayor Annette Main welcomes the move by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) to consult on changing the name of our district to Whanganui.

At its meeting on Wednesday, April 29, the NZGB agreed to give the public a chance to have their say on the proposed change.

The consultation process will begin soon and will be open for three months.

Mayor Annette Main says that since the name of the urban area of the district was gazetted with two spellings in December 2009, the use of Whanganui has increased by individuals, businesses and organisations, which is an indication that relationships and times have changed.

“I welcome the decision by the New Zealand Geographic Board to ask people what they think about the name of our district. The Council surveyed the Whanganui community in February 2015 to seek its views on the district’s spelling and the results were sent to the New Zealand Geographic Board with the request to change the spelling. The Board will now consult more widely on the name change, which I am sure will include the view of people from all over New Zealand.

“The Council itself has seen increased use of Whanganui by our partner organisations, such as Safer Whanganui, Whanganui Digital Leaders Forum and Whanganui & Partners.”

In December 2013 the Tupoho Working Party, which includes representatives from Tupoho and the Council, asked the Council to consider changing the spelling of Wanganui District Council to Whanganui District Council and to change the spelling of all other entities under its control, i.e. Council-controlled organisations, from Wanganui to Whanganui.

On 19 December 2014 the Council voted to ask the NZGB to change the name of the district from Wanganui to Whanganui.