Submissions on a name change for Maxwell will be considered by the New Zealand Geographic Board.
Photo / Bevan Conley
The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa is inviting submissions on the proposal to change the name of Maxwell to Pākaraka.
Whanganui District Council conducted a consultation between November 23 and December 21 last year after agreeing to work in partnership with Ngāti Maika of Ngā Rauru
Kiitahi to make the application to the board.
The council's policy team leader Jasmine Hessell, who presented the results of the consultation at a council meeting in February, said of the 255 submissions received, 189 supported the name change and 58 opposed it.
"Letters were sent directly to property owners in the Maxwell locality, and additional advertising and media promotion was undertaken to enable others with an interest in the area to submit," Hessell said.
Of the remaining submissions, four were neutral and preferred to leave the decision to the Geographic Board, one submitted an alternative suggestion for the name of the township, and two others sought further consultation to identify a name acceptable to both Pākehā and Māori.
