thing like "'Wanganui", hard to reproduce by non-locals. Until recently it was generally written as "Wanganui" and pronounced with a w by non-speakers of M?ori and a wh (often [f]) by those M?ori 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 in Wanganui in 2006, where 82 percent voted for Wanganui without an 'h'. Turnout was 55.4 percent.
In February 2009, the New Zealand Geographic Board received a proposal that the city's name should be spelt "Whanganui", and in late March found there was a good case for the change. The public was given three months to comment on the proposed change, beginning in mid May. About equal numbers of submissions supported and opposed the change. Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws spoke strongly against the proposed change. Another referendum was held in Wanganui in May 2009 and residents again rejected changing the city name 77-22. Turnout was 60%. The Geographic Board decided in September 2009 that the name should be spelled "Whanganui", but the decision waited for review by the Minister for Land Information.
In December 2009 the government decided that while either spelling was acceptable, Crown agencies would use the Whanganui spelling
