The Manawatu-Wanganui Region will in future be correctly spelt Manawatū-Whanganui Region.

The change also means the regional council will be known as the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council. Horizons Regional Council is the trading name for the council.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage made the final decision to correct the region’s name. The change takes effect from 18 October 2019.

Adding the ‘h’ to ‘Whanganui’ is consistent with the views of the local iwi and the standardised spelling for Whanganui National Park, Whanganui District, Whanganui River and Whanganui (town/city). Adding the macron to Manawatū also provides for the correct spelling, giving the right meaning.

The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) accepted a proposal to change the region’s name in September 2018 and consulted with the public.

NZGB Chairperson Anselm Haanen says: “I am pleased to continue supporting the correction of original Māori names to be consistent with the existing official names. I also believe they make a tangible contribution to our shared heritage, culture and language, especially in the local government context.”

An accepted meaning for Whanganui is “the long wait”, where “whanga” means “to wait’”. “Whanga” can also mean a river bay, leading to a more recent meaning for Whanganui as a big harbour or bay.

The name Manawatū has its origins in an old Māori waiata describing the search by an early ancestor, Haunui-a-Nanaia, for his wife. He named the waterways on his quest. The waiata “Ka tatū e hine ko Manawatū” describes how his heart (manawa) settled or momentarily stopped (tatū) when he saw the river. Manawatū is the compound form of the two words.

Horizons Regional Council Chair Bruce Gordon says that after seeking approval from iwi, the proposal for changing the region’s name was initiated.

“The council then consulted widely with our communities through our 2018-28 Long-term Plan process prior to making our proposal to the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa,” says Mr Gordon.

Pānui Pāpāho

Kua whakatikaina te tuhinga o te Rohe o Manawatū-Whanganui

Haere ake nei ka whakatikaina te tuhia o te Rohe o Manawatu-Wanganui ki te Rohe o Manawatū-Whanganui.

Nā tēnei whakarerekētanga hoki kua mōhiotia te kaunihera ā-rohe ko te Kauihera ā-Rohe o Manawatū-Whanganui. Ko Horizons Regional Council te ingoa pakihi o te kaunihera.

Nā te Minita mō Toitū Te Whenua, na Minita Eugenie Sage te whakatau whakamutunga kia whakatikaina te ingoa o te rohe. Ka mana te whakarerekētanga atu i te 18 o Whiringa-ā-nuku 2019.

E rite ana te hoatu i te ‘h’ ki te ‘Whanganui’ ki ngā whakaaro o te iwi o te rohe me te aronga whānui o te tuhi i te Whanganui National Park, te Takiwā o Whanganui, te Awa o Whanganui me Whanganui tonu (te taone/taone nui). Mā te hoatu hoki i te tohutō ki te Manawatū e whakatikaina ai te tuhi, e tika anō ai te tikanga o te ingoa.

I whakaaehia e Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) tētahi tono kia whakarerekētia te ingoa o te rohe i te Mahuru 2018 me tana whakapāpā haere ki te iwi tūmatanui.

Hei tā te Toihau o te NZGB a Anselm Haanen: “E harikoa ana au ki te tautoko tonu i te whakatikatanga o te ingoa wāhi Māori ake kia rite ai ki ngā ingoa kua takoto kē mai kua whakamanahia. E whakapono ana hoki au he tāpaenga tūturu ngā ingoa nei ki ā tātou taonga tuku iho, ki tō tātou ahurea me te reo, waihoki i te horopaki ki te kāwanatanga ā-rohe.”

Ko tētahi tikanga o te ingoa o Whanganui e whakaaetia ana ko “te tatari roa”, ko te tikanga o te “whanga” i konei ko “te tatari’”. Ko tētahi atu tikanga o te kupu “Whanga” ko te kokoru, i puta ai te whakaaro ko te kokoru nui kē te tikanga o te ingoa o Whanganui.

Ko te pūtakenga mai o te ingoa o Manawatū kei tētahi waiata tawhito e whakamārama ana i te rapu haere a Haunui-a-Nanaia, tētahi tupuna o nehe i tana wahine. Ka taunahatia e ia ngā wai i takahia e ia ki tāna e rapu rā. Ko te waiata “Ka tatū e hine ko Manawatū” e whakaatu ana i te tū poto o tana manawa i te kitenga i te awa. He pūhuinga a Manawatū o aua kupu e rua.

I kī ake a Bruce Gordon o Horizons Regional Council, whai i muri iho i te kimi whakaaetanga i te iwi, ka whakaarohia te tāpae tono kia whakarerekētia te ingoa o te rohe.

Hei tā Mr Gordon, “Ka whakapāpā whānui haere te kaunihera ki ō mātou hapori mā roto i tā mātou tukanga Mahere Pae-tawhiti 2018-28 i mua i te tāpaetanga o tā mātou tono ki a Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa.”

ends

© Scoop Media