To Nicola Taylor's delight, Purakanui School has changed its name to Purakaunui School.
Mrs Taylor, who lives in the seaside village and is descended from 19th-century settler Richard Driver and his Maori wife, Motoitoi, has long been campaigning for the extra "u".
Rakau is the Maori word for stick and pu-rakau-nui means big pile of wood or sticks.
The name was given to the area after a raiding Maori war party massacred villagers at the Mapoutahi pa in about 1750 and piled their bodies into a heap.
Snow fell overnight and in the morning the villagers' brown arms and legs protruding from the snow looked like sticks.
Earlier this year, the Dunedin City Council agreed to add the extra "u" to Purakanui School Rd and Purakanui Station Rd.
That happened officially at the start of last month, although the road signs have not yet been replaced.
News the school board had also decided to change the school's name was "great", Mrs Taylor said. "I'm very pleased. It gives some consistency to the area."
Purakaunui School principal Lynne Allen said the change would happen over time to minimise the cost.
The new name was already being used on newsletters and general information but was yet to be changed on the large carved sign at the school gate, on its website, on sports uniforms and with the Ministry of Education.
In April, Mrs Taylor and John McLachlan, another Motoitoi descendent, visited the school and spoke about how the area got its name.
They and the local Maori landowners, the Purakaunui Incorporation, made small donations to assist the school with name-change costs.
