Te Papa O Ngā Manu Porotakataka signage mistake fix to cost $7000

Te Papa O Ngā Manu Porotakataka is currently without signage. Photo / George Novak

An incorrect word in a sign will cost Tauranga ratepayers about $7000.

Tauranga City Council is remaking the sign for Mount Maunganui urban park Te Papa O Ngā Manu Porotakataka after a "minor error" where a space was incorrectly added to the word "whakaingoatia".

A Mount business leader says there is no excuse for the error and an iwi leader says the council must get signage right, no matter the language.

Council general manager of community services Gareth Wallis told the Bay of Plenty Times the sign told the story of the name gifted to the park by mana whenua.

The error was not identified until after the sign - which had yet to be installed - was created. It would cost about $7000 to remake.

From the council's perspective, it was deemed important to correct the error to show respect to the taonga.

Carlo Ellis, the council's manager of strategic Māori engagement, said the error had changed the meaning of the word.

Ngāi Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley told the Bay of Plenty Times the council had to get signage right, no matter the language.

He compared it to a sign saying "Bay of Plent" or "Whakatan".

That the error made it on to the sign raised questions about what point in the sign-off or fabrication process it had been made.

He said the council should review what happened, its internal sign-off process and ensure it could not happen again.

Mount Business Association chairman Grant Aislabie said there was "no excuse" for things as simple as getting signage right.

"That should be someone losing their job.

"It's not rocket science."

The signage error was listed at a council meeting yesterday among factors responsible for a new $124,000 overspend on the controversial park project.

The name of the park - which means "the place of circling birds" caused a stir when first approved by the council, with some complaining it was too long and hard to pronounce and others saying it was a beautiful reference to the history of the area.