Editorial: Sails define our city, so keep them

The slogans cities adopt for their self-image seldom catch on. Who can be excited, for example by the Harbour City (Sydney), the River City (Brisbane) or Marvellous Melbourne. The slogans are usually either suitably sedate (Christchurch, the Garden City) or desperately hopeful (Absolutely Positively Wellington). But Auckland has hit on a gem. City of Sails is accurate, stylish and enchanting, and a web search suggests it is unique. It has been so successful that one of the city's boosters wants to get rid of it.

Michael Barnett, chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, thinks the slogan "no longer reflects the region or its people". Why not? What has changed? The city is the same, the wide Waitemata, the islands of the Gulf and countless sheltered bays still beckon on a sunny day. The sails are still to be seen from the harbour to the horizon, heeling gently under a warm breeze.

Mr Barnett complains that the slogan is 25 years old. But Mr Barnett has been calling himself the voice of business for at least as long, and nobody has suggested a replacement for that reason alone. It seems no time at all since a newly-appointed director of Auckland's Visitor Information Centre, Catherine Saunders, came up with the "City of Sails" to replace "the Queen City", which had definitely developed wrinkles. Even so, the Queen City was established; it would take a brilliant brand to replace it. After a slow start, recalled the chairman of the Information Centre, Peter Grayburn, in a letter to the Herald yesterday, the City of Sails caught the imagination and has been synonymous with Auckland ever since.

"If a change is to be made," he said, "let's hope that it will enhance Auckland's image to the world, and not be some mishmash of political correctness in an attempt to appease every interest group on the region".

The Mayor of Manukau is one of the few we could find who agreed with Mr Barnett. The City of Sails, said Sir Barry Curtis, was "inappropriate" - a word much used by the politically correct - as though that carried its own explanation.

What could possibly be "inappropriate" about a yachting image? An association with personal wealth and leisure, perhaps? What a sad day it would be for all who live in the City of Sails if civic leaders lowered their sights and turned their backs on the aquatic possibilities available to everyone. Practically anyone in Auckland can go sailing. Plenty of primary schools maintain a set of Optimists in which children can learn the rudiments. And anybody keen to crew can probably fill a vacancy on racing days.

But the splendour of sail is its ability to lift the spirit of many more than those fortunate enough to be on a boat. The sight from the shore is enjoyed almost as much by former sailors, infrequent sailors, and the many Aucklanders, if truth be known, who would sooner do anything than scrape barnacles off a hull or fret about a small fortune tied to a mooring when the wind gets up. But they are glad, nevertheless, for those who maintain the image of the City of Sails, and thrill to the sight of a fleet heading to sea on a summer evening.

The attempt to change the city's image may have a serious intent. It accords with growth plans that hope to discourage further coastal spread and turn Auckland's focus to more intensive urban living. But the City of Sails is too well accepted now to be seriously threatened by a change for change's sake. Nothing like Catherine Saunders' inspiration could be expected from a civic committee or the Chamber of Commerce, but their attempts could provide some fun. Remember Auckland A?