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Wanganui or Whanganui?
Retaining the existing spelling – WANGANUI
Wanganui has created its own identity over 170 years of common usage, shared experience, heritage and culture that the city has developed. This has created a unique identity, irrespective of Maori origins.
- The New Zealand Gazette, 19 January 1854, states that ‘henceforth the town formerly Petre will be known as Wanganui’. The city has been known and spelt this way ever since.
- The spelling of the city and district reflects the phonetic way Wanganui is pronounced by local iwi, who have a silent ‘H’ in their dialect. The spelling was established by the early settlers who introduced the English written language to the area.
- Changing the spelling could result in confusion and lead to the mispronunciation of the city and district’s name (leading to the pronunciation ‘fonganui’).
- Wanganui has worked hard to develop national and international recognition. Changing the name of Wanganui could lead to reduced recognition and affect visitor numbers, impacting on the local economy.
- There are potentially substantial monetary costs involved in changing the name for all local businesses, services and organisations as well as changing names on signage and maps. These changes will also take a long time to happen.
Changing the spelling – WHANGANUI
The name Whanganui was given by Hau of the Aotea waka over 600 years ago. Wanganui spelt without an ‘H’ has no meaning in the Maori language.
- There are two dictionary definitions of the Maori word ‘whanga’ – one is ‘span, bay, cove, bight, estuary’ and the other is to ‘wait, await, measure with the arms extended’. The word ‘nui’ means big. The word Whanganui (spelt with an ‘H’) has two meanings in the Maori language ‘big bay/harbour’ and ‘big or long wait’.
- Whanganui iwi and others see value in the community adopting Whanganui as the spelling as it acknowledges their existence and identity, and especially iwi’s status as tangata whenua. It was the iwi who originally named the geographic features of the district, including ‘Whanganui’. The name is of Maori extraction and cannot be divorced from its Maori context.
- Spelling Wanganui with an ‘H’ acknowledges the Maori language and is respectful to the local iwi.
- Local iwi dialect pronounces the ‘Wh’ sound with a soft ‘h’ rather than a ‘f’ sound, common to other New Zealand iwi. This identifies Whanganui iwi wherever they speak in New Zealand. That is why changing the spelling of Wanganui will not change the way it is said, which has been confirmed by the Maori Language Commission.
- In the 1990s the New Zealand Geographic Board changed the spelling of the Whanganui River. The Parliamentary constituency, which reaches past the district boundaries, is also spelt with an ‘H’. Ensuring the river, city, district and constituency have the same spelling will reduce confusion.
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