Construction of the $16 million Selwyn District Council service centre, library and community facility is due to start in Leeston towards the end of the year.
It will be called Whata Rau, a name gifted to the council by Te Taumutu Rūnanga.
But already Leeston residents and the township’s community committee want bilingual signage.
That might stop a similar controversy to what erupted in Rolleston over Te Ara Ātea.
The word ‘library’ was left off the building by the council, leading to concern from the Rolleston Residents Association, which ignited huge reader feedback when it was reported in Selwyn Times.
“Probably the most important question. What is the name going on the side of the building?” he asked council staff giving the briefing.
Mayor Lydia Gliddon responded to the question, saying it was “undecided”.
“It has a building name of Whata Rau. That has been gifted by mana whenua and is relevant to the community," she said.
Whata Rau does not translate to library and community centre. Whata means an elevated stage for storing food – a storage place or drying racks.
It also means to elevate, support and bring into prominence. Rau means to put into, gather into, place into and to catch with a net. It also means a hundred.
Joined together, the name recognises the many platforms and storehouses of knowledge, the resources to be found throughout the district, and the significant natural resources of the landscape.
No decisions have been made on what wording will appear on the building and if it will be bilingual.
“I don’t think you want another case of Rolleston division, and that’s my position on it . . .” said Shefford.
“Sometimes something little ends up being something big and consumes time, effort, energy, and creates division for the wrong reasons.”
In Christchurch, the newly completed Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre features both its gifted name and its purpose on the entry sign.
Shefford said it should be up to the community what they want on the building.
“If they don’t want (Leeston Library and Community Centre) put on and they are happy with Whata Rau, just let them be,” he said.
But Leeston Community Committee chair Bryan Tubb said if Whata Rau goes on the outside, so should Leeston Library and Community Centre.
“That would be the opinion of anyone in the community committee,” he said.
People spoken to by Selwyn Times in Leeston say both names should be on the building.
Said Leeston resident Bobbie Pringle: “It should be bilingual with the Māori name first.”
Another resident, Jackie Cochrane, said she will be calling it the library.
“Library should be first, then the Māori name,” she said.
Fresh Choice Leeston owner David Craig said it should have both for people who live outside the area and do not know what it is.
“If we can do things right from the start, it is good for everybody, so I think it is about respecting the name it has been gifted from mana whenua and Taumutu and also partnering with our community,” she said.
Gliddon said it should be up to the community reference group formed to help with design to decide what goes on the building.
The group, chaired by former councillor Grant Miller, also comprises of community volunteer Grant Clausen, Ellesmere College principal Antony French, accountant and business owner Mike Lay, planning consultant Jane West, and Te Taumutu Rūnanga representatives Liz Brown and Bridget Robilliard.
Miller was non-committal about what should be on the building when asked by Selwyn Times, saying there were more important things to focus on, like getting it built.
“I wouldn’t be worried about the name, I’d be worrying about getting it built on budget and on time. The Leeston community has been waiting too long,” Miller said.
“I just think it has been a non-issue (name) right from the start, the project has been Whata Rau Leeston Library and Community Centre.”
Ellesmere councillor Elizabeth Mundt also said it should be what the community wants.
