Central Otago District Council (CODC) staff will continue to spell Māniatoto in its te reo style in council correspondence unless it is specifically referring to the Maniototo Community Board.
CODC chief executive Peter Kelly confirmed yesterday this would be the council style for the name.
The issue had been in the spotlight over the past couple of weeks after a debate over the changing of the Maniototo name.
Under its representation review, the council was asked by Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, to change the Maniototo name to Māniatoto with regards to its community board and ward.
But the Maniototo Community Board met early last week and decided by a 4-1 vote it would not change the name.
The issue then went to the Central Otago District Council meeting last Wednesday. After a lengthy debate, the council decided it could not disagree with the community board’s decision and supported the keeping of the Maniototo name.
Central Otago District Mayor Tim Cadogan was the only member who voted against this decision, saying it was wrong to keep the old word.
The Maniototo name meant nothing in te reo Māori, he said at the meeting.
Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki representatives confirmed the claim.
The decision of the council around the names would not be appealed by Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki.
Many councillors said the representative review was not the place to change the name but the issue should be taken up with the New Zealand Geographic Board.
The council began using the Māniatoto name after former council chief executive Sanchia Jacobs in 2022 discovered that working on a council plan, the council was advised the word Maniototo had been historically misspelt, and that spelt as it was, had no meaning, value or relevance to mana whenua.
The spelling they were advised to use was Māniatoto, meaning plains of blood, likely referring to the red tussocks that covered the landscape.
