Bid to change name of hill gathers speed

ICONIC ROUTE: The Rimutaka Hill could be named Remutaka Pass in a proposal to the New Zealand Geographic Board. PHOTO/FILE

The debate over the name of the Rimutaka Hill has been reignited with a group advocating to officially name it the Remutaka Pass.

Remutaka Pass Co-ordinating Group spokesman and former Masterton mayor Frank Cody said the group had recently submitted a proposal to the New Zealand Geographic Board.

If successful, the Rimutaka Hill Rd could be renamed Remutaka Pass Rd, and the word Remutaka used to rename other geographical features in the area.

In a letter to South Wairarapa District Council seeking its support, Mr Cody said the current name didn't adequately describe the iconic route, particularly to tourists.

"The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines 'pass' as a 'narrow passage through mountains', even more apt to the Remutaka route than applies to one or two of the South Island passes."

He said the board was already aware of the misspelling and Wairarapa iwi were supportive of the group's proposal.

The earliest use of the spelling Remutaka, which translates as sitting down to rest, has been seen in reports of expeditions to Wairarapa by colonial surveyors Robert Stokes and JW Child in late 1841, taken from the New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator.

Cultural advisor for Rangitane O Wairarapa Mike Kawana had told the group they supported any initiative to correct the name. He said it was a result of people not bothering to learn how to say names correctly and in 600 years, both Rangitane and Kahungunu ki Wairarapa had always referred to it as a maunga (mountain) and never a hill.

Emails between councillors and community board members show not everybody likes the idea.

Featherston community board member Peter Jackson said the names Rimutaka Rd and, later, Rimutaka Hill Rd, had a historical significance to its creators and the WWI soldiers who marched over it. He said to change it would be "thumbing our noses at its history".

Greytown Community Board member Leigh Hay questioned the costs of changing the name.

Mr Cody said the costs would be minimal by comparison with the support it gave to community leaders to raise the profile of the route as a scenic drive.

"The NZ Transport Authority has no problem with our proposal and its reply has been sent to the geographic board as part of our consultation with Crown agencies."

He said if the board accepted the proposal, NZTA had said it would make any changes to the naming of the road, signage and its website.

The board will consider the group's proposal next month.

It will take into account both the Maori and European history of the area, and the spelling.

If it supports the change the public will be consulted.