by Anne-Marie Emerson
Eminent historian Bruce Stirling is firmly in support of Whanganui iwi Te Runanga o Tupoho's attempts to have the "H" put back in Wanganui.
Mr Stirling's 20-page report, titled The Naming Of The Town At The Mouth Of The Whanganui River, formed part of Tupoho's application to the New Zealand Geographic Board to have Wanganui's name changed to Whanganui, and has been released publicly under the Official Information Act.
Mr Stirling's report covers the naming of the town by the New Zealand Government and debate over the names chosen; historical usage of the two spellings; and historical debate over the spelling and pronunciation of the city's name.
The report draws extensively on both Maori and settler sources.
Mr Stirling notes that in the early days of Wanganui's settlement, both Maori and settlers often used the Wanganui spelling.
"This early error reflected how recently te reo Maori had been recorded as a written language which meant that the rules of written Maori were still developing."
But by the 1850s, when written Maori became codified, Maori themselves began using the Whanganui spelling. "By 1858 Whanganui Maori were more consistently using the correct spelling for the town, the river, and when describing themselves as `the Whanganui tribes'."
Mr Stirling emphasises that `wanga' is entirely meaningless in Maori, whereas the word `whanga' is "replete with meaning", and is used widely in the Maori naming of places.
He said many Maori place names originally spelled with an initial `w' had been changed to `wh' including Whangaparoa, Whangaroa, Whangamomona and Whangarei.
"All of these names were initially and officially spelled with the `h' in `whanga', but all were subsequently corrected from the late 19th century until as recently as 1949, in the case of Whangaehu, corrected from Wangaehu."
"Wanganui is the notable exception."
Mr Stirling is a professional historian who has carried out research for the Crown Law Office, Historic Places Trust, and Treaty of Waitangi claims for iwi throughout the country, including Whanganui.
His report draws a very different conclusion to that of another historian, Diana Beaglehole, who was commissioned by the Wanganui District Council to produce a report on the naming of Wanganui.
Ms Beaglehole concluded the spelling "Wanganui" was a direct consequence of the way local iwi pronounced the "wh" sound.
"Among local iwi, the sound is barely aspirated, more like `wa' [as in `want'] than the strongly aspirated `wha' [pronounced as `f' in other tribal dialects]."
She said early records of the town's name, including settler diaries and journals, refer only to Wanganui.
Second historian supports "H" in Wanganui
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