Maxwell name change one step closer after community consultation

The community consultation was carried out between November 23 and December 21 last year. Photo / Bevan Conley

The results of a public consultation on Maxwell's name have revealed that the majority of submitters supported changing the village's name to Pākaraka.

Whanganui District Council conducted the consultation between November 23 and December 21 last year, after agreeing in August to work in partnership with Ngāti Maika of Ngā Rauru Kiitahi to make the application to the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB).

Policy team leader Jasmine Hessell, who presented the results of the consultation at a council meeting on Tuesday, said of the 255 submissions received, 189 supported the name change and 58 opposed it.

"Letters were sent directly to property owners in the Maxwell locality, and additional advertising and media promotion was undertaken to enable others with an interest in the area to submit," Hessell said.

Of the remaining submissions, four were neutral and preferred to leave the decision to the NZGB, one submitted an alternative suggestion for the name of the township, and two others sought further consultation to identify a name suitable to both Pakeha and Māori.

"In light of the significant public interest in this proposal, and the consultation requirements of the New Zealand Geographic Board, clarification of the council's position in relation to the name change itself is being sought," Hessell said.

Councillors accepted a resolution to formally support the renaming application.

Mayor Hamish McDouall said the council recognised that partnership had been requested and that Ngā Rauru Kiitahi's Deed of Settlement with the Crown, signed in 2005, specifically encouraged discussions between the council and Ngā Rauru in relation to the name of Maxwell.

"We have already resolved to work in partnership in relation to this application," McDouall said.

"In particular by carrying out the community consultation required.

"However, our resolution today formalises Whanganui District Council's support for Ngāti Maika of Ngā Rauru Kiitahi's application to the New Zealand Geographic Board and signals that we acknowledge the importance of this historical grievance being recognised and addressed."

All information received during the consultation period has now been forwarded to Ngā Rauru Kiitahi so that Ngāti Maika's application can be prepared.

The New Zealand Geographic Board's next meeting is on April 20, 2021.