Council may back alternative name

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton

Plans to rename Ahuriri landmark Perfume Point as East Pier Point are opposed by Mana Ahuriri - and the treaty claimant group's call for an alternative name may get the support of Napier City Council.

Last year the New Zealand Geographic Board considered a proposal from Mana Ahuriri to formally name the point Te Karaka - a name previously used by Maori for the site.

The board said Perfume Point was an "anecdotal" name and, given the site hosted a navigational beacon tower and "because of maritime safety and navigational aid concerns" it recommended it officially be called East Pier Point.

However, it also recommended that the name Te Karaka "be assigned to an historic site on the point near the navigational light".

Public submissions on the proposed change are open until August 28 and Napier City Council is considering lodging a submission with the Geographic Board once it gets input from its Maori consultative committee.

The issue was due to be discussed by the committee yesterday, but a planned meeting did not go ahead because a quorum could not be met.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said it was hoped the committee meeting could be rescheduled ahead of a full council meeting next week.

That would enable the council to use the committee's view as the basis for lodging a submission to the Geographic Board ahead of the August 28 deadline.

"We're looking for guidance from our Maori consultative committee," Mr Dalton said.

"But I would like to think that if the Geographic Board is not going to support the mana whenua's (local people's) recommendation then at least they would revert to the common usage name - Perfume Point," he said.

"The name East Pier Point has no relevance in Napier."

The "whimsical" and unofficial Perfume Point name came about because the site was at one time a smelly sewerage outlet point.

Mana Ahuriri caused controversy over another request for a name change in recent months.

The group approached the company that runs Hawke's Bay Airport asking it to change the name to Ahuriri Airport Hawke's Bay.