War of words over road name

Frank and Cecilia James on the path of the future road extension to the Mangatawa interchange that they would like renamed. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN

A Papamoa family opposes a planned link road across their old farm being named after the British military academy of Sandhurst because it is insensitive to Maori.

Frank and Cecilia James have sold the land needed for the road to Tauranga City Council which plans to link Sandhurst Drive with SH2's Mangatawa Interchange.

Their son Richard, speaking on behalf of his parents, said the council should not extend the name Sandhurst to the link road. He told a council meeting this week that Sandhurst did not meet the council's street naming policy and was insensitive and culturally inappropriate to Maori.

"It offends the sensitivities of Maori, given the British military role in Tauranga."

The family put its case just six weeks before the 150th commemorations of the Battle of Gate Pa in which British military forces suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Maori warriors.

Naming options put up by the family were James Drive because of the family's long associations with Papamoa; Coastlands Drive because the link marked the boundary between Mount Maunganui and Papamoa; and Faulkner Drive because Mrs James was related to Tauranga early settler John Lees Faulkner who married into a hapu of Ngai Te Rangi.

He said James Drive would recognise one of Papamoa's first farming families and followed the trend of other Papamoa roads being named after farming families such as Gravatt, Dickson and Evans.

Mr James said people would be able to differentiate the transition of names from existing Sandhurst Drive to the link road.

There were many examples in Tauranga where one road transitioned into another.

The family has owned the block for more than 30 years and would become the last large private subdivision in Mount Maunganui.

A report is to be prepared by council staff on the request, with meeting chairman Steve Morris promising a decision as soon as practicable.

A council rule was that street names should not sound similar to an existing name to avoid confusion in emergencies. Faulkner has already been used in Tauranga and James Cook Drive in Welcome Bay.