Rings fans lose battle to rename local landmarks

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings

The Dark Lord might not have liked Middle-earth and now Lord of the Rings fanatics have concluded the New Zealand government feels the same.

Rings fans have lost their latest bid to have local landmarks named after place names from the Oscar-winning trilogy.

A holiday park operator from Fiordland had proposed that a nearby 2km stretch of the Waiau River by Te Anau be renamed Anduin Reach.

The area doubled as the Anduin River in Fellowship of the Ring - cast members floated downstream in elfin boats.

But the New Zealand Geographic Board declined the suggestion and hinted that people would be hard pressed to get the Rings into the country's map books.

"In the case of Anduin Reach, the board noted that Lord of the Rings place names have been declined in the past and that there is no geographic basis for the area having a name," wrote Jill Remnant, the board's assistant adviser.

Disappointment was expressed on Rings fan website The One Ring.

"I am afraid the geographic board are no fun when it comes to Tolkien," it stated.

Motor camp manager Aaron Nicholson, who made the request, was even more frustrated, saying he felt politicians had a "strangely negative attitude" towards the Rings movies.

"These movies were a massive success for New Zealand, the director Peter Jackson is still a massive success and we've still got tourists coming here to see where the movies were filmed," Nicholson said.

"We should be encouraging it, making a fuss about it and stop being precious about historic relevance."

- AAP