Hoping time takes heat out of opposition to 'H'

The history of the naming of the town dates back to the 1840s. PHOTO/FILE

In 2009, when Te Runanga o Tupoho in Whanganui petitioned to have the correct spelling of Whanganui officially recognised there was such fierce and ferocious opposition from some quarters of the community.

It's hard to fathom why there was such resistance when all local iwi wanted was official recognition of the name, its history and obvious connection to the Whanganui River and to put an end to the perpetuation of a misspelt name.

Ironically, the city which is also known as the River City struggled to be spelt using the same name as the river from which it was named. It's now been four years since the Whanganui spelling issue erupted and many organisations now use Whanganui without any fuss.

Maori Television, TV3 and Te Karere on TVNZ, for example, use Whanganui as their preferred spelling. Re-elected Whanganui Mayor Annette Main is now also using Whanganui in official district council press releases. I see this as a positive move towards the goal of "Whanganui" becoming the preferred spelling for the name of the city and the council.

The history of the naming of our town dates back to the 1840s when the New Zealand Company named it after Lord Petre, one of the directors of the company. The residents of the town petitioned the Governor in 1844 to change the name from Petre to the same name as the river, which was often spelt incorrectly even then. It took about 10 years for the town to be renamed Whanganui after the river, but even then the wrong spelling was used.

When the Minister for Land Information announced his decision in 2009 that the spelling of Whanganui would be alternative - either with or without an H, it gave recognition to the importance of the Maori history of Whanganui.

In December 2012, the act was amended, giving official recognition to both spellings. While alternative use will be an option for businesses and organisations, the intention is that all Crown agencies will eventually adopt and use the "Whanganui" spelling over time.

The fight for recognition for Maori place names is not new. The tribes of Taranaki know too well about such battles as they fought for many years for recognition of the name of the mountain that they and other iwi have always called Taranaki, but which came to be known as Mt Egmont instead.

When the New Zealand Geographic Board announced in 1985 that the name would officially be Taranaki, tempers flared and the board eventually announced that dual names could be used. That was over 25 years ago. Yet today in 2013, it seems there has been growing acceptance of the use of Mt Taranaki and less reference to Mt Egmont. Tourist brochures, newspapers and other media refer to the mountain as Taranaki. It seems that perhaps time does heal and acceptance is possible.

Whanganui historian Che Wilson, in his submission to the New Zealand Geographic Board, described the correct meaning for the name Whanganui as the long wait, "whanga" meaning to wait. He explained how this name originated from the time of Kupe the great navigator. He talked about the extended name Te Whanga-nui-a-Kupe referring to the extended wait for the return of Kupe from his exploration.

Yet despite this depth of korero, despite supporting submissions from knowledgeable historians and language experts, others have refused to acknowledge the origins of the name and the importance of reflecting that history correctly.

I admire my relations in Taranaki for their patience. They indeed have had to wait for a long time for acceptance of their history and their stories.