Momentum gathers for name change

SUPPORT: The Remutaka Pass Co-ordinating Group has sought support for a name change. PHOTO/FILE

The issue of whether Rimutaka Hill should be renamed is to go before Masterton District Council today with a decision expected to be made on whether a change should include the word Remutaka.

A group calling itself the Remutaka Pass Co-ordinating Group has sought support for a name change and has pointed out to councils throughout Wairarapa that the New Zealand Geographical Board considers the correct spelling of Rimutaka is actually Remutaka.

The underlying reason for the group wanting a name change is to give the hill road higher profile that would help in its promotion as a scenic drive.

South Wairarapa District Council has already discussed the issue and has thrown its weight behind supporting a spelling correction from Rimutaka to Remutaka but stopped short of taking a position on whether the summit should be called a hill or a pass.

Upper Hutt City Council is expected to also consider the proposal for change as the boundary between Upper Hutt City and the South Wairarapa district is the hill summit.

Ultimately any name change would have to be submitted to board, which forms part of Land Information New Zealand.

When assessing applications for name changes, the board takes into account the history of the place from Maori and European perspectives and the correct spelling for names.

The earliest use of the spelling Remutaka, which translates as sitting down to rest, is thought to have been in 1841 in reports of visits to Wairarapa by colonial surveyors Robert Stokes and JW Child.

Rangitane o Wairarapa and Kahungunu ki Wairarapa have flagged their support for the name change proposal.