‘Lyttleton’ sign blunder - and not for the first time

The sign on Evans Pass Rd is not the first to misspell Lyttelton.
The sign on Evans Pass Rd is not the first to misspell Lyttelton.
Lyttelton has been spelt incorrectly on a road sign once again.

The most recent gaffe features on a sign at Evans Pass Rd, pointing to Lyttelton - but misspelling the port town’s name as “Lyttleton.”

Christchurch City Council manager of city streets maintenance Mark Pinner said the sign was put up in August.

It is unclear whose fault the spelling error is at this point, he said.

"At this stage, we’re unsure whether the error was made when the request was put through or when it was manufactured.

"Irrespective of this council apologises for the error,” Pinner said.

In 2018, a sign on Lyttelton St also failed to display the port town’s name correctly. Photo:...
In 2018, a sign on Lyttelton St also failed to display the port town’s name correctly. Photo: Supplied
The sign will be replaced over the course of the next few weeks. It will cost $100.

Lyttelton Harbour Business Association chairwoman Vicki Tahau Paton, who first noticed the sign and brought it to the attention of the community by taking to social media to highlight it, described the error as both disappointing and amusing.

“It is tongue-in-cheek, it is an error, it is disappointing, but at the same time, where there are far more serious matters going on in the world, it is quite amusing,” she said.

In 2018, a sign on Lyttelton St at the intersection of Edinburgh St in Spreydon was misspelt as “Lyttleton St.”

At the time, Pinner said mistakes on street signs were “very infrequent.”

One of the most memorable spelling errors spread across a street sign in recent history was made on a sign dedicated to 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold medal winner Dick Tayler. The street sign read “Dick Taylor.”

Others have included Moorehouse Ave (correct spelling Moorhouse) and a no-stopping sign in Cathedral Square added an extra ‘r’, ‘Catherdral’.