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The New Zealand Geographic board has opened consultation on whether macrons should be added to the spelling of Ōpōtiki District.
The Ōpōtiki District Council has asked for the change to recognise the importance of its partnership with mana whenua and to promote te reo Māori and tikanga.
The council says Ōpōtiki is a contraction of Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti, which refers to the tipuna Tarawa released his pet tānahanaha or fish into a spring soon after he arrived in Aotearoa.
The spring became known as 'Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti' meaning 'the pets from afar'.
Geographic board secretary, Wendy Shaw says that the proposed change is consistent with the Board's role in applying macrons correctly in written Māori to support the meaning of a name.
The town name officially became Ōpōtiki with the macrons in June.
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