Petre or Wanganui?

Petre or Wanganui?

The Wanganui settlement was named Petre by the New Zealand Company, after company director Lord Petre. In this 1844 petition, settlers ask for the former name of Wanganui to be reinstated, noting that the new name is ‘universally disliked’. They were successful, but not until 10 years later.

In the early 2000s, debate recurred over the town’s name – in this case, whether the spelling should be Wanganui or Whanganui.