Misspelled Whangārei road signs called out by residents

Spelling mistakes in Whangārei road signs. Photos/ supplied and NZME

Keen-eyed drivers and residents were quick to spot two misspelt road signs around Whangārei, including one put up last month. .

Unimpressed, they posted both blunders on social media pages, calling out the district council and the Land Transport Agency for the mistakes.

First in the firing line was a large Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) sign erected outside Maungatapere’s interdenominational memorial church on September 12.

The sign warned motorists travelling through the township to be on alert for road resurfacing at a non-existent “Mangatupere”.

Drivers travelling through the Northland township of Maungatapere were alerted to road resurfacing work being done at a non-existent place the New Zealand Tranport Agency/ Waka Kotahi called "Mangatupere".

A spokesperson for NZTA said the blunder had been rectified on September 25, but was first noticed and reported to its contractor on September 17.

It’s not the first time this region has been embarrassed by road signs that got the reo wrong.

In 2016, , Whangarei was incorrectly spelt as “Whanagarei” on a major sign erected at the city’s southern entrance, south of Rewa Rewa Rd on State Highway 1.

Eight years ago, a highway sign went up on the southern entrance to Whangārei incorrectly adding an extra a to the name of the city. Photo / NZME

In the second, more recent street-sign blunder, Whangārei District Council (WDC) and its contractor Downer failed to see a misspelling in a sign when they replaced a correctly spelt one at Onerahi.

Cypress Gardens Place, named in honour of an Italian tree currently purports to be Cyprus Gardens Place, referencing a country with a turbulent history in the Mediterranean.

“You would think the council would know how to spell our street names as they’ve got all the maps to help them if they can’t spell,” one commenter posted to Facebook.

“Why put up a new sign instead of using the old sign with the correct spelling just to shift it two metres along the road?

“A waste of ratepayers money!!”

A Downer vehicle passes under a misspelled sign some of the company's workers recently put up in Onerahi. Photo / Sarah Curtis

A WDC roading spokesperson said the Cypress Gardens Place signage mishap was due to discrepancies in council records.

“We have lots of assets in the area, and two different spellings had been used on different lists.

“We have clarified the correct spelling, tidied up the errors in our system, and the new sign has been ordered.

“This kind of thing does not happen very often and when it does, members of the local community point it out very quickly.”

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years of experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.