Tauranga could eventually have Maori and Pakeha place name signage.
Tauranga is considering dual place names. Photo: RNZ
The Maori Language Commission is urging the Tauranga City Council to support a campaign driven by local man, Pat Spellman, who wants the city to become Te Reo friendly by having bilingual signage.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said councillors were discussing the idea, and the council was working with iwi to reinstate place names in the city.
They were considering having dual place names because the city had lost some of its original landscape character due to developments in Tauranga.
The council envisaged putting up signage in some parts of the city as a way of recognising the history of Tauranga, and Mr Crosby said he had asked campaigners to draft a proposal regarding dual place names.
A decision was likely in the second half of the year, he said.
