Making a Submission Proposal

Here you can learn about how you can make a proposal for a new or altered name and what evidence you need to support your submission to the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB).

Note: If you want to make a submission to object or support a submission on a proposed place name, refer to the NZGB's decisions & public notices.

The role of the NZGB

The process of accepting or rejecting geographical names within territorial New Zealand and the Ross Dependency of Antarctica is the responsibility of the NZGB.

The NZGB's legal and administrative processes are outlined in Frameworks of the New Zealand Geographic Board.

Consultation

When making decisions on place names, the NZGB takes into account various views and weighs these against its naming rules, criteria, standards and guidelines.

Views may come from:

• local community
• local authorities
• general public
• local iwi
• other affected parties.

Note: Some Māori place names of special significance are processed through Treaty of Waitangi claims. Refer to the Office of Treaty Settlements website.

How to make a submission for a new or altered place name

The NZGB recognises that place names should be the product of careful and informed decisions.

A proposal for a new or altered name should be in the form of a well documented submission. Therefore you may need to gather information and resources to support your proposal.

Use the following steps and tools listed below as a guide to help you compile your submission.

1. Check the decisions & public notices

The NZGB publishes a list of place names that it is proposing, as well as those that are final, so check these out for any of interest in the decisions & public notices.

2. Fill in the NZGB submission form

Download and print out a copy of the form (available in Māori and English).

• Te reo Māori version: Tāpaetanga Puka Tono Mo Te Ingoa Wāhi (pdf 178KB)
• English language version: Submission Form for a Place Name Proposal (New Zealand) (pdf 186KB).

Refer to notes on making a submission (pdf 171KB) and the process for New Zealand place names (pdf 100KB).

See the Protocol for Māori Place Names (pdf 173KB).

To propose a place name for New Zealand's area of interest in Antarctica, you should use the Submission Form for a Place Name Proposal (Antarctic) (pdf 178KB).

3. Include a map

Use a LINZ map or chart, if available, and include on your map or chart:

• location of the feature and its extent
• map scale
• map grid reference or
• latitude and longitude.

Find out where to find maps.

4. Include the history of the name

Submissions should include:

• the history, origin, meaning and significance of the name or feature, if known
• documentary evidence.

5. Consultation

Consultation is not mandatory but is encouraged by the NZGB. If you consult other people or groups about your proposal, be sure to include any documentary evidence of their support or views. Oral evidence or histories may also be important, particularly for Māori place names.

Groups that you may wish to consult with may include:

• the local community
• Department of Conservation
• local Council
• local Māori authorities to determine whether an original Māori name already exists for the feature.

6. Optional items

You may also include:

• copies of any research material gathered
• references to any appearance of the name in publications
• a photograph of the feature or place.

Due date for submissions

The next full meeting of the Board is likely to be held around March/April 2009. Check the public notices for when the NZGB will next meet and when submissions must be received by.

The deadline for making submission proposals will be notified once a date has been confirmed for the next full Board meeting. The deadline is likely to be 6 weeks prior to the Board meeting date, in order to allow sufficient time to process submissions (including investigation and research), and in order to include all submissions with agenda papers for photocopying and disseminating to Board members at least two weeks before the meeting date, for their preparatory reading.

Late submission proposals will not be considered until the following Board meeting, usually 6 months later.