Te Ao Māori

Thousands submit on Wanganui spelling

20:22 pm on 19 February 2015

Wanganui District Council has received 1,939 public submissions on the spelling of the river city's name - but it will not reveal what the public's preference is.

Photo: Supplied

The local authority is seeking to change the spelling of the district name from 'Wanganui District' to 'Whanganui District' - by adding an 'h'.

In December, councillors voted 10-4 in favour of applying to the Geographic Board for an official name change.

The council then decided to invite public submissions over a two month period, which ended on 13 February.

Wanganui District Council said it is not analysing the submissions and is sending them to the Geographic Board for its consideration.

Whanganui iwi descendant Jay Rerekura, who made a submission, said he was comfortable with the council's process.

He said he understood the consultation process was more about collecting information rather than gathering numbers for or against the letter 'h' being included.

The Geographic Board said the council's proposal had been placed on its agenda for consideration when it next meets on 29 April.

It said it would consider all information relating to the proposal - including any consultation undertaken and provided by the council.

If the decision is made to proceed, it said, the Wanganui District Council proposal would then go through the board's usual processes - which include a period of public consultation.