Porirua ponders place names
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
Suburban boundaries in the Porirua district have been criss-crossing and name swapping for a long time, but that?s about to change. To clear up confusion Porirua City Council is looking to formalise its suburban names and boundaries, and is calling for local input. PCC's head of information management and democratic services Mike Chapman says NZ Post have supported the move, and want to lock in the definitions of suburban areas. ?To date there has been a lot of debate around this, and the submissions are still open. ?We have the lines down on paper, and we encourage people to check them out,? he says. Historically, the only suburbs officially registered with the New Zealand Geographic Board are Whitby and Pauatahanui. ?Whitby was named as such by the people developing the site, to give it some identity,? says Mr Chapman. So far there have been no dissenting voices, and although it?s unlikely there will be, he says some people might be upset by the outcome. ?The only geographical feature we are looking at is Colonial Knob, and the discussion around having the Maori name alongside.? Colonial Knob?s traditional name, Rangituhi (sky glow), could be added with enough public support. ?We really need to sort out our data systems, for properties, but there is also this sense of having some standard, and for people to know which place they are in. ?There is much talk of Macrons being added to Maori place names,? he says. Council are considering the use of Macrons over the first 'a' in Pauatahanui and Ranui, which aid the correct pronunciation, and adding Maori names to suburbs and landmarks. To have input into the process, visit www.pcc.govt.nz, and under the heading 'other public consultation' you will find the submission form. The council website also has an area for researching the history of your suburb and street. Following council consultation in August, a final list of suburb names will be approved by councillors. These will then be sent to the Geographic Board who has a statutory obligation to carry out its own public consultation.
