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In the local accent, Maori say wh as w
followed by a glottal stop, and the name as something like "W'anganui",
hard to reproduce by non-locals. Until recently it was generally
written as "Wanganui" and pronounced with a w by non-speakers of Maori and a wh by those Māori speakers from other areas who knew its derivation.
Following an article about the river by David Young in the New Zealand
Geographic magazine that used "Whanganui" throughout, in accord with
the wishes of the local iwi, the spelling of the river's name reverted
to Whanganui in 1991. The region's name is now sometimes also spelt
"Whanganui", but the city has kept the spelling "Wanganui".
As a result, many people from outside the area now take pains to
pronounce the river and the region as "Whanganui" and the city as
"Wanganui", though the variant spellings do not reflect any difference
in the underlying name.
A non-binding referendum was held by the Wanganui District Council
in 2006, where 82% voted for Wanganui without an 'h'. Turnout was
55.4%. This has not stopped the use of Whanganui and it is common
practise for either spelling to be used based on the preference of the
user.
This website believes that common usage by future
generations will resolve this issue so both www.whanganui.info and
www.wanganui.info are both pointing to this same site.
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