Wanganui debate boils into h-rage

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The recommendation that an "h" be added to Wanganui has sparked fanatical postings on a Facebook page, including extreme racist threats and calls for vandalism.

The Wanganui not Whanganui page had about 1600 fans yesterday, many of whom expressed outrage that the Geographic Board recommended the change.

Contributors include Wanganui-born Nazi sympathiser Nic Miller, who in 2006 set up a website targeting Jews. He has posted several threats and called for an organised campaign of "civil disobedience and vandalism".

"Every single misspelled sign with the terrible "H" will have to be defaced & corrected."

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said the comments, and those from some others on the site, meant the issue had taken an "ugly turn" and was being used by some to advance extreme racist views. But he said most of the reaction had been reasoned.

"There are people for the change and people against the change. It has been an issue that has been divisive [but] from what I've seen, people have different views but they're not coming to blows over it."

Business owners in the city are divided over whether to adopt the "h."

Wanganui Motors owner Steven Dyke said with feelings running high, changing the dealership's name could alienate customers.

"The brand of this company has been here for about 50 years and we feel it should stay the way it is now," he said.

Wanganui Electrical Services owner Darrell Murphy believes adding an "h" to his business name would cause inconvenience. "We'd be looking at signs, vans, letterheads, email addresses. For a company that uses `Wanganui' as its primary name it would have a big effect. We wouldn't be rushing to do it."

Wanganui Pet Motel owner Yvonne Malaquin said she voted against the "h" in a local referendum and would not change the business' name. In the poll, in May, 77 per cent said they wanted the current spelling retained.

Wanganui Chronicle editor Kim Gillespie said there were no immediate plans to rename the newspaper, but it would have to be considered if the town's name was officially changed.

New Zealand Post postal services' group chief executive, Peter Fenton, said there were already mechanisms in place to ensure items mailed to Wanganui with and without the "h" reached the intended recipient.

National's Whanganui MP Chester Borrows said that although he favoured the name change, it was important that local citizens' views were taken into account. He planned to discuss the matter with Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson, who will make the final decision.

Wanganui District Council is seeking legal advice, after mayor Michael Laws said the board's decision was potentially illegal because it had not taken the heritage and cultural value of Wanganui without an "h" into account.