Christchurch City Council is working to correct spelling errors in around 30 Māori signs at parks across the city and Banks Peninsula.
Councli’s Visitor Experience team leader, Amy Johnston Bray, who is spearheading the project, says three sites have already had updated signage installed, with the most prominent being Rāwhiti Domain.
“This is a significant piece of work, which started after a member of the public contacted us last year to say the spelling of Rāwhiti was wrong. Three other sites will have new signage installed soon, and we will continue to make corrections as we work through our renewal programme,” said Ms Johnston Bray.
Parks staff have been working with the Council’s Te Tiriti team and Lynne Te Aika from Ngāi Tūāhuriri on the project.
They have checked all 1,300 park and reserve names and identified many that had tohutō/macrons missing and a couple that were completely wrong, such as several parks around Kā Pūtahi creek, the Council said in a statement. Staff then researched the history of the park to find out the original intent of the name, as well as checking spellings with local Rūnanga.
Ms Johnston Bray says the meaning of a word can change dramatically depending on the placement of the tohutō.
“For example, Te Kahu Park. A kahu is a cloak but a kāhu is a bird, or mara means fermented while māra is a garden. This shows that where the tohutō goes, matters. We all personally want our names to be spelt and pronounced correctly and that same respect should be shown to te reo Māori.”
Corrections are also being made to the Council’s website, marketing and consultation material and internal reports.
The importance of New Zealand’s indigenous language is being highlighted by te wiki o te reo Māori (Māori language week), which runs from 14-20 September. Under the theme Ake, Ake, Ake – A Forever Language, the 2026 focus is Te Reo Towns – a celebration of the communities who have kept te reo Māori alive and encouraging others to take the next step.
