It's something that has always happened. We're part of the MidCentral District Health Board in Manawatu and we observe Wellington Anniversary Day, which further confuses everyone, including those who live and work here.
It seems if you come from Pahiatua, you're likely to be reported as living in northern Wairarapa, or even eastern Manawatu. Actually it's neither. Pahiatua is a proud Tararua town.
We have been amalgamated for 29 years and our mayor doesn't want our young people growing up with mixed messages about their turangawaewae - the place where they have the right to stand – the place where we have rights of residence and belonging through kinship and whakapapa - the place they stand and belong.
Unfortunately, this confusion is all too common and I'm embarrassed to say some sections of the media are to blame.
In a high-end glossy magazine, a Herbertville beach house was described as being in northern Wairarapa. What? That beautiful beach is a Tararua gem.
Occasional calls from some for a couple of our towns to "jump" the boundary hasn't helped either. Some Woodvillians eyed up Manawatu as a likely prospect. It seems they weren't wanted.
Now, most would consider themselves very lucky to be part of Tararua. But you are more likely to see Woodville described as a "small Manawatu town", than a delightful Tararua village.
And there has been some huffing and puffing over the years from the good folk of Eketahuna, who thought Masterton and the Wairarapa looked like a good bet.
Having Tararua District's mayor part of their community appears to have put a lid on that idea. No rebellion just now apparently.
We take our name from two mighty ranges, the Tararuas and the Ruahines. The first part of our name Tara is taken from the Tararua range and Rua is taken from the Ruahine range, joined together to form the mighty Tararua District.
And so for those who don't know, we're not northern Wairarapa, southern Hawke's Bay or eastern Manawatu. We are none of the above. We are the mighty Tararua District, which connects Manawatu with Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa.
We have strong relationships with each of those districts because we share those ranges but the name Tararua is ours.
Mrs Collis said being called southern Hawke's Bay raises her blood pressure, being referred to as northern Wairarapa makes her nearly choke, and she's been close to hyperventilating when Tararua is called eastern Manawatu.
I know how she feels. But we all need to do our bit to put Tararua on the map and correct people when they get it wrong.
Perhaps the new road through the Manawatu Gorge could be known as the Tararua Superhighway.
We're going to have to wait long enough for it to be built, so we've time to make a stand with the naming of our own road of national importance.
Through adversity, especially since the closure of the road through the gorge, our district has come together, strong and proud. We know who we are and now it is time to share it with others, just as long as they keep their mits off our identity.
We are the mighty Tararua spreading from Norsewood, south to Eketahuna and Mt Bruce, west to the ranges and out to the Pacific coast to the east. Yes, even Pukaha Mt Bruce is in Tararua.
Tararua is the perfect place to live, work and play. Perhaps that's the reason others want to steal it from us and claim it as their own.
A great way of life starts with where you live and here it starts with the Tararua District where the good life promises a slice of New Zealand at its very best.
• Christine McKay is chief reporter, Dannevirke News
