With new names proposed for more areas of New Zealand, Haley Munro explains the process behind changing the country’s place names.
Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is currently receiving feedback and suggestions for proposals to correct and restore some Māori place names in Auckland, as well as for the Rangitikei District.
The proposal suggests restoring the original Māori name to parts of the Auckland CBD waterfront, and correcting the spelling of Takanini to Takaanini.
Ngāti Whātua Orākei has proposed restoring the traditional Māori name, Te Tōangaroa, to the currently unnamed area along Auckland’s waterfront. This would partially cover areas of Auckland CBD, Parnell and Mechanics Bay and wouldn’t require any address changes or signage updates.
If the Takaanini name change application is successful, maps and signs would be updated and replaced over time. The suburb is named after rangatira (chief) Īhaka Wirihana Takaanini Te Tihi.
Other parts of New Zealand have already experienced such name changes. More recently, Kamo was restored to Te Kamo in Whangārei, and two Waikato rural boundaries north of Huntly were officially named as Rangiriri and Whangamarino.
Who proposes the names?
Anybody in New Zealand can propose place names for either a new name, changed name or a restored name.
Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is an independent statutory body, supported and administered by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand.
When a proposal is made, the Board uses naming guidelines and standards to help with decisions. If the Board doesn’t agree on the proposal, then it may consider consulting on a different proposal.
In the case of recent new proposals for the Auckland name changes, Wendy Shaw, secretary of the New Zealand Geographic Board, said it’s already started receiving submissions from the public.
“We’ve got people from the local community, we’ve got the council, we’ve got tangata whenua, and local trampers. So, anybody can make a [submission].”
How does the consultation process work?
When there is a proposal, the Board refers to the legislation that guides it.
It considers the proposition and if it agrees this is something that should happen, the proposal is sent out to the public for consultation.
The Board uses various channels to notify people that this name change might be happening.
“What we use is the New Zealand Gazette, which is required by law,” Shaw said.
“We use public notices, local newspapers and Toitū Te Whenua Land of information New Zealand, and Facebook to try reach the local community, and we do media releases as well and that uptake is important to get the message out.”
Anybody can send feedback on the proposed name changes.
Who makes the decision to use the proposed names?
The Board considers the feedback and if the majority supports the name change proposal, then it makes the final decision.
The goal, Shaw said, is to have an official name that is agreed on by the Board, based on the information they have at hand and based on the submissions they have received.
“But if they can’t make that final decision and if they can’t uphold the objective submissions, then the final decision is forwarded on to the Minister of Land Information [Chris Penk],” she said.
“So, it then becomes a political decision, and he makes the final call.
“Once he makes the decision it then becomes the official name for the place and there is a requirement for that name to be used on and in official documents.”
If one of the proposals is successful it doesn’t mean that local businesses must change the name of their business, but it does mean that government agencies over time will update brochures and signage when scheduled for maintenance to reduce the costs of these changes.