Public consultation opens on name change for Rangitikei district and official name for Feilding suburb

The Rangitikei district was named after the Rangitīkei River. At present, the river has a macron but the district doesn't.

Proposals to correct the name of the Rangitikei district and officially name a new Feilding suburb have opened for public submissions.

Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board is consulting on proposals to add a macron to Rangitikei to make it Rangitīkei district and to extend the existing locality of Maewa in Feilding to become a suburb that includes a new housing development.

Rangitikei District Council made the proposal to correct the spelling of its name by adding the macron.

Board secretary Wendy Shaw said the district was named after the Rangitīkei River: “The kōrero being that an ancestor, Haunui-a-Nanaia, in pursuit of his wife, crossed and named several rivers landmarks.

“It is at this river that his day (rangi) of striding (tīkei) came to an end. The river’s official name includes the macron.”

If successful, the macron would be officially added to the second “i” in the district’s name to make it Rangitīkei.

Signs and printed materials are expected to be updated as they age and need replacing. Digital changes could happen more quickly without significant costs.

Manawatū District Council has proposed extending the existing locality of Maewa to include a future housing development currently referred to as Precinct 4, and to formalise it as an official suburb of Feilding.

Maewa is an original Māori place name which Ngāti Kauwhata gifted to the council for the suburb name. It means “to meander” and describes the waterway that begins as a puna (spring) at the current locality and flows east into Makino Stream.

The board is inviting feedback from the wider community before final decisions are made.

Submissions can be made online at linz.govt.nz/consultations, by emailing nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz or in writing by posting a letter to Secretary of Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa New Zealand Geographic Board, PO Box 5501, Wellington 6145.

Consultation closes on July 11 for the district name and August 8 for the suburb name.