An 18-month social studies project to find the A to Z of Southland place names may finally be over for two Limehills School pupils.
Anna Gilchrist and Kaitlin McKenzie will find out tomorrow if the New Zealand Geographic Board approves their request for Xiphophora to be the name of a coastal rock outcrop in Bluff.
The girls chose the name - with the help of Southland natural historian Lloyd Esler - after they failed to find a place-name beginning with `X' for their project, which includes photographs and a history of each place name.
The botanical name for a strap weed commonly found at Bluff, Xiphophora would be an appropriate name for the unnamed area, Mr Esler said.
"It appears X marks the spot."
Year 7 teacher Kirsty Rodger said the girls were hoping the board would grant their proposal as "they want to take their grandchildren there one day and say `I named that'."
Although a nearby area was named Burial Point, it was likely the rocky outcrop, which is almost fully submerged at high tide, could be named Xiphophora, much to the relief of two 11-year-olds.
"The girls are hoping to put the finishing touch to their project," she said.
The Catlins, Venus Valley and Moose Lake are just some of the 11 other Southern names to be considered tomorrow.
The board is set to consider 60 place name proposals, including whether an "h" should be added to Wanganui.
While the name "Catlins" had been in common use since the 1840s, the board will consider making the name official after receiving nine submissions during the public notification period.
Other names to be considered include Moose Lake for a lake in Fiordland along Wet Jacket Arm.
The lake is near the site where moose were released in 1910.
Other possible changes include introducing the name Coneburn for a locality near the Remarkables, near Queenstown, and naming two unnamed features in the Kepler Mountains, near Te Anau, Mt Hill-Tinsley and Mt Pickering.
A proposal to bestow the name Lake O'Neill on a lake on Anchor Island at the entrance of Dusky Sound was deferred at the last board meeting.
It is believed the lake was unofficially named after the surveyor Charles O'Neill by other members of the first exploration party.
