Media Statement

Friday, April 26, 2013

Public Consultation Open For New Zealand Geographic Board Name Proposals

Public consultation has today opened for nine proposals to assign new, or to alter existing, geographic names around the country. The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) has publicly notified these proposals in the New Zealand Gazette after accepting them at its March 28 Board meeting.

From tomorrow onwards, various newspapers throughout the country will also include public notice advertisements. The proposals now open for public consultation are:

• Pariroa / Castle Mount: a proposal to alter the name ‘Castle Mount’ – for a feature located within Fiordland National Park – to a dual name, thus restoring the original Māori name for this feature.
• Headlong Peak: a proposal move this name from its current location – at peak 2510m, north of the head of Lake Wakatipu (currently proposed to be named Mount Tewha) to its correct position 450m west at peak 2457m.
• Mount Tewha: a proposal to alter the name ‘Headlong Peak’ to ‘Mount Tewha’ for peak 2510m, north of the head of Lake Wakatipu (Headlong Peak is proposed to be moved west to its correct location).
• Lake Te Kōhua: a proposal to name an unnamed alpine lake in the Remarkables. ‘Te Kōhua’ (the iron cooking pot) relates appropriately to the bowl-shaped lake. It recognises the importance of this gift and the role it played in the early exploration of the district, and the significant benefit it brought to Ngāi Tahu.
• Marsack Stream: proposal to correct the spelling of a name, north-west of the Hunters Hills, South Canterbury, from ‘Massack Stream’ to ‘Marsack Stream’.
• Mount Tūwhakaroria: a proposal to name an unnamed feature – previously proposed as Te Kōhua Peak – at the southern end of The Remarkables. This name relates to a Ngāi Tahu creation story and the treading of the land by Rākaihautū, who formed all of the great lakes with his ko (digging stick) Tūwhakaroria.
• Tatchell Creek: a proposal to correct the spelling of a name near Ward from ‘Tachalls Creek’ or ‘Tachells Creek’ to ‘Tatchell Creek’.
• Tāpuae o Uenuku / Hector Mountains: a proposal to alter the existing name for Hector Mountains to a dual name in order to restore Tāpuae o Uenuku – the traditional Māori name for the Hector Mountains. The proposed dual name ‘Tāpuae o Uenuku / Hector Mountains’ recognises the equal significance of both the Māori and non-Māori names.
• Te Karearea Peak: a proposal to name an unnamed feature at the southern end of The Remarkables, and which recognises the native falcon on the most visible and recognisable alpine feature that can be identified with by the local community.

The consultation period for these proposals closes on 31 May 2013 for Tatchell Creek and Marsack Stream, and 26 July 2013 for the remaining seven names. See a full list of proposals and their submission deadlines on our website.

About the public consultation process
Any member of the public can make a submission to the NZGB either supporting or objecting to these proposals. Submissions can be made in writing to the Secretary for the New Zealand Geographic Board or via the online forms or by email to nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz.
All proposals have been publicly notified in the New Zealand Gazette and public notices will be published in national and various relevant local newspapers, as well as on the LINZ website.
The Board will consider all submissions (received before the end of each consultation period) at its meeting on 18 October 2013.

Further information about geographic naming and the New Zealand Geographic Board
Visit the LINZ website for information about place naming and the New Zealand Geographic Board.

Find out more
For place names & NZGB
• Have Your Say
• Who Names Places & Streets in New Zealand & Antarctica
• Learn About Māori Names
• Researching names
• Contact the New Zealand Geographic Board

Ends

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