A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
In response to Gavin Maclean’s wonderful English language lesson wrapped up in a piece of history, I disagree that dual naming is either clumsy, or meaningless . . .
A dual name Turanganui a Kiwa/Poverty Bay will allow us all the opportunity to use, say and hear these place names,
in either language, and become used to their pronunciations. This normalisation of the Maori language into our every-day use is essential for the rest of New Zealand, and our tourists, to become used to using and understanding it.
Already we now know and are comfortable with Taranaki/Mt Egmont, Aoraki/Mt Cook, two examples of how either of these names are correct, whether together or not, and we are now comfortable using both.
As for a groundswell for change, Mr Caddie, I’m sure in your community up the Coast that feeling is prevalent and fervently fostered, whereas in Turanga/Gisborne, a rather more cosmopolitan community, there is also an equally fervent respect for the history made by one of the foremost sailors/cartographers ever known, Capt James Cook.
Dual naming of our stunning region gives equal respect to both great men (Cook and Kiwa) and their astonishing achievements.
