Whanganui District Council ditches coat of arms for new branding

Whanganui District Council staff (from left) Bridget Lohrey, K-CI Williams and Sarah Pomeroy with the council’s new branding.

Whanganui District Council has unveiled new branding and its crest, or coat of arms, is taking a back seat.

The council said in a statement that the new brand represented movement and energy, referencing the Whanganui River and forming “a distinctive ‘W’”.

It has four colour combinations.

The crest was granted to the Wanganui City Council in 1955.

It includes part of the arms of Lord Petre, an officer of the New Zealand Company after whom the city was once named, and part of the arms of William Hogg Watt, the first mayor.

The crest has been used in branding for about 10 years, and before that, the brand featured the Whanganui River.

Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe told the Chronicle that previously, the council had around 20 different brands.

“Even the infrastructure department had its own one, and it’s confusing for people as to who they are dealing with,” he said.

“This brand also better reflects Whanganui’s identity.”

It was created by Extended Whānau, an Auckland-based agency that worked on logos for Whanganui’s UNESCO City of Design status and the redeveloped Te Whare o Rehua Sarjent Gallery.

The work cost $61,800, including strategy, design, stationery templates, advertising and presentations.

Former Whanganui mayor Annette Main in 2015, with a council flag bearing its coat of arms. Photo / NZME

In a statement, interim chief executive Barbara McKerrow said conversations about refreshing the brand began in 2023, during the development of the council’s Strategy for Whanganui – Rautaki mō Whanganui.

Strategy for Whanganui, replacing 2014’s Leading Edge Strategy, was signed off by district councillors in June last year.

It has five key goals - grow, build, protect, activate and celebrate Whanganui - and a district population target of 53,000 in 10 years.

Tripe said the branding cost was funded from existing budgets, and it was “a very fiscally prudent exercise”.

“There is always going to be debate around how the council spends money, but this had to happen at some stage.

“I think we got good value for money. We were in the minority, having not updated our branding, but good things take time.”

The council said research conducted in early 2025 found that 60% of people could not recall the council’s logo.

“Only 20% of respondents viewed the crest positively.”

Council communications and marketing manager Sarah Pomeroy said the new brand would be rolled out gradually over the next two to five years.

“Signs, uniforms and materials will only be updated as they need replacing,” she said.

“The stock we have on hand will be used first to minimise waste and expense.”

Tripe said he was keen to retain the council’s history, and the crest had “a lot of meaning to it”.

“The crest will continue to be used for ceremonial symbols. For instance, the office of the mayor will still use it in its correspondence.

“We’re retaining the old, but being more future-fit and ready.”

McKerrow said the symbols and colours within the crest reflected significant moments in the district’s history, but it had limitations as “a primary visualiser”.

“It isn’t well-suited to representing the full breadth of what the council does today,” she said.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.