Editorial: 'H' debate a boil that needs lancing

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

A TURN-UP for the books?

The news on our front page today that a majority of submitters to the council supported the "Whanganui" spelling for the district's name will have surprised many.

And it rather undermines the oft-repeated argument that past referendums on this prickly subject prove that the people of Wanganui want to be just that - the people of "Wanganui".

There was no surprise that, following December's council decision to ask the New Zealand Geographic Board for a change to the district's name, a flood of submissions were quickly dispatched.

A total of 1939 submissions were received - a remarkable response by any measure.

But many of us would have assumed that most of those submissions opposed a change of name. However, an email among papers passed to the Chronicle shows that, by a slim majority of seven, "Whanganui" is preferred.

That spelling is certainly the preferred option of the Geographic Board which closes its public submission process today. The communications between the council and the board show that the latter also regards "Wanganui" as a misspelling with comments such as " ... the restoration of the correct spelling of an original indigenous name remains an important action sought by iwi".

Elsewhere, emails from the board note: " ... the Board currently has considerable evidence of and is convinced that the correct orthography is Whanganui ... ".

Another interesting revelation is that the board suggests the spelling of Wanganui East and the Manawatu-Wanganui region should be altered as part of this process. At times, the "H" debate has resembled a boil in need of lancing. In a few months that may be achieved and we can then worry about something else.