The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa has opened public consultation on proposed names for three new railway stations around Drury, south of Auckland.

The proposed names are:

• Paerātā Railway Station,
• Ngākōroa Railway Station, and
• Drury Railway Station.

The consultation runs from Tuesday 9 August to Wednesday 9 November 2022.

Chairperson Anselm Haanen says “Name proposals were made by KiwiRail, with the support of a Mana Whenua Forum.”

The Board declined the proposal for the name Maketuu Railway Station, and the consultation will consider Drury Railway Station instead.

“Generally, the Board’s approach is to name railway stations after the destination they serve, which makes it easier for travellers. We look for names with strong links to the destination or significant nearby features that people can relate to.

The Board’s view was that the town of Drury has a better natural association with the railway station”, says Mr Haanen.

Ngākōroa Railway Station is named after the nearby stream and Paerātā Railway Station is named after the nearby locality.

These two Māori names use standardised spelling with macrons, replacing the double vowels in the KiwiRail proposals.

“The Board adopts a nationally consistent, standardised approach for official names in te reo. We are very aware of the importance of pronunciation in teo reo, and macrons support clarity of meaning. Therefore the Board follows the orthographic conventions created by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (The Māori Language Commission),” says Mr Haanen.

“We welcome feedback on all three name proposals.”

Anyone can make supporting or objecting submissions on the proposed new railway station names online at linz.govt.nz or by emailing nzgbsubmissions@linz.govt.nz. The Board welcomes alternative suggestions. After the three-month consultation period, the Board will consider all submissions and alternative suggestions at its hui on 2 December.

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