To name is to claim and the trend in this country for some decades now has seen the process of naming inextricably linked with Maori revival.
Hence an organisation now called "The New Zealand Geographic Board Nga Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa" can recommend on behalf of all New Zealanders that a proposal by a Maori tribal group, Te Runanga o Tupoho, to spell the name of Wanganui city "Whanganui" is both acceptable and just - and never mind local referendums showing strong support for retaining the name the city has officially had for 170 years.
It would be acceptable to most if the name without the `h' was a simple spelling error, not uncommon from New Zealand's settlement days when the spellings of tribal names for localities were interpreted orally, since Maori had no written language.
In fact, the board's information was that the matter of the correct spelling of the name was an issue as early as the 1830s, and that there was evidence of the use of the `h' in early historical records: "In the end we could not overlook the fact that Wanganui is not correctly spelt and it is a Maori name that is of significant cultural importance."
In thus adding to its decision the rider "significant cultural importance" the board has stepped into an arena where the Christians and the lions are bound to collide.
Interestingly, the submissions to the board on "Whanganui" were about evenly divided between those who wanted the `h' restored, and those who did not.
If the restored `h' is finally approved by the Government we can assuredly anticipate many similar applications, particularly as the board, in a fit of political correctness, has itself indicated an interest in replacing what might be called "colonial" location names with tribal or pan-Maori names, or assigning new names.
The trend for dual names, which followed Parliament's adoption of Maori as one of New Zealand's official languages, and the entrenchment of some Maori locality names through the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process, is certain to continue apace.
Cultural zealotry is becoming a familiar experience in New Zealand, a pattern found in many other post-colonial societies: those who resist change do not like it; neither do those who oppose the concept of dual heritage.
What the Government (and the board for that matter) must be careful about is to apply equal respect to the integrity of place names that reflect each culture.
It is manifest that the popularity of dual European-Maori names is not shared by all New Zealanders, but that increasingly among the young it is not a concern.
Indeed, many young people embrace the idea, propagandised as it has long been in the bureaucracy and fostered for quite some time in our schools.
Is it - as has been stridently claimed - "racist"? Of course not: the argument that 170 years of customary usage in Wanganui should be preferred over customary usage hundreds of years older does not wash.
Are some people uncomfortable with the idea of exchanging a historically incorrect European spelling for a correct Maori one? Indeed they are, but consistency requires the adoption of the - borrowed - correct name.
The board has essentially passed this hot potato on to the Government for final determination, which may confirm, modify or reject its decision.
Should the Government agree with it (even allowing that one of its reasons may include a fear of breaching its relationship with the Maori Party, one of whose founders has W(h)anganui as her base) its principal concern must be accuracy.
If it does approve of the change it will nevertheless be a step of more than superficial significance because, though slight in actuality, it will be a precedent-setting amendment to the identity of a community.
Likely it will be ignored by those who are free in this country to choose to ignore it, who may continue to ponder why European place-names seem to have become officially and politically unacceptable; why the Maori version appears to have acquired an inflated value.
In due course, we can expect the North and South Islands to obtain official dual Maori and English names, along with road signs and the like as is the case in many countries today, and for the increasingly common "Aotearoa-New Zealand" to become ineradicable, if not official.
Otakou, anyone?
