Close to half an hour of discussion led to councillors agreeing on one of two options, Te Unua Museum of Southland, to be the name.
The other option was Te Unua Southland Museum.
Cr Ian Pottinger was in favour of the chosen name, and said he wanted council to move quickly in developing a brand or logo that could be used in communications and marketing, citing Te Papa’s thumbprint logo.
"You’ve got to get it right the first time ... It will give the project some real identity. You can even wear the T-shirt if we get something done like this."
Mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said her runaka also accepted the chosen name when it was presented to them.
"The thing that we are happiest about is we have come to a place where Te Unua is no longer the target, and we are now looking at what the English version is and deciding on that."
Following the naming approval, councillors also approved the museum’s 3728sqm concept design and increase in "construction" budget of $6,009,682.
Mayor Nobby Clark noted the size sat within the bracket given by council, and the increase was "not an inappropriate amount".
"An increase in budget does not mean an increase in rates or potentially an increase in our debt levels in council either; we have other options available to us."
The report directed staff to proceed to the next design stage and report back in line with a workshop on November 28 and formal sign-off of the developed design on December 19.
