An artist's impression of the new Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wellington. Image / Supplied.
An artist's impression of the new Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wellington. Image / Supplied.
A proposed name for Wellington's new Convention Centre has been pulled from a city council agenda amid concerns it could be confusing, since a café in Lower Hutt already has the same name.
Furthermore, that café is attached to Lower Hutt Events Centre.
Cato Brand Partners was selected to develop a name for Wellington's long-awaited Convention and Exhibition Centre site, where there are now spades in the ground.
A shortlist of names was developed by a working group and all parties unanimously agreed that Tūtaki, literally translated as "to encounter", was the preferred name.
The name was developed in close collaboration with iwi partners representing Taranaki Whānui.
The revelation of the name double up seems to be a fairly recent one with the mayors of the two cities and council chief executives toing and froing over the matter the past few days.
While Tūtaki Café does not have legal rights of use for the name through a trademark, Wellington City Council officers acknowledged there could be some "PR and relationship risks".
That was because of the cafe's proximity to Wellington and its attachment to an events centre.
Wellington City Council Maori Partnerships portfolio leader councillor Jill Day confirmed the paper proposing the name had been pulled from the agenda of a Strategy and Policy Committee on Thursday.
She said Wellington City Council was working through the naming process with Hutt City Council and mana whenua.
"The Convention and Exhibition Centre is a regionally significant venue. So I think it's really important that we honour the good collaboration that we already have and would like to continue."
Day said the name Tūtaki didn't have to be confusing and there was capability to build a strong identity around it for the Convention Centre.
Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry says the café is a big part of the events centre's branding. Photo / Georgina Campbell.
Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry said Tūtaki Café was very visible as it was front-facing to the events centre.
"For the operator of the events centre, it's a big part of their branding and their image that they have in promoting the events centre as a whole."
Barry said it was important for the two councils to get in the same room and have a "free and frank" discussion to find a solution.
"To make sure we can get over the hurdles around potential confusion or name conflict that potentially exist there, but also understanding the processes that Wellington City have gone through, particularly with iwi, in coming up with that name."
Barry has sought advice from his council officers over what iwi engagement was undertaken for the naming of the café.
Wellington City Council's Naming Policy Māpihi Maurea states names should be unique and not duplicated in Wellington City and preferably not in the wider region for the same type of feature.
Despite the apparent conflict, council officers still recommended the use of the name Tūtaki in the pulled paper because the use of the word in each context was different.
"The use of the word for the café is more about meeting up for a coffee/kai, a date, 'lets get together' and has a simple meaning. In the context that Kura has provided in his karakia for the Centre, Tūtaki is a more powerful meaning of the word – 'Encounter the winds of Wellington'", the paper read.
Wellington's unique and diverse winds was the agreed theme to base the name from and Taranaki Whānui kaumatua, Kura Moeahu, gifted a karakia to council for the building of which the first word is Tūtaki.
The name was also chosen for being strong but simple and easy to recall, and was considered easily pronounceable.
In total seven name options were shortlisted for the centre, including Tūtaki .
