The recent proposal on fb about renaming National Park village to Waimarino is interesting. While this “Maorification” of place names has become increasingly popular throughout New Zealand, it could be a good opportunity for a hard critical appraisal of Turangi and find a much more exciting new name that should guarantee its economic future as a tourist destination. It is certainly worth exploring. Fortunately, TRM has already reported on this so this is an update of the last investigative blog from May 2022.

Trout fishing Paradise?

During the recent flooded or windy conditions, suffering too much leisure time, SWMBO’s concentration was diverted by the inmates’ praise about the wonderful world-class trout fishing in the cute scenic village we live in, on the eastern side of SH1 where the original housing was established along the west bank of the Tongariro River.

For the summer ‘cicada season’ TRM is anticipating an invasion of enthusiastic fishos from West Island and other places including a couple of fishing guides from that other island down south. SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Manager of everything at TRM) enjoys hearing their opinions as they continually remind us of just how precious our quaint little village is, but more alarmingly, how under-sold it is in fishy tourist terms.

They are constant reminders of how lucky our anglers are to have such a robust wild fishery available all year round. But to survive and prosper in the future it needs better international recognition. So many place names or street names throughout NZ have been changed recently to reflect their local history or special character or for no reason at all (i.e. Link Road to Piri Road outside the motel), so SWMBO is just following this modern trend. She really is a visionary!

These fishy inmates have a much more mature appreciation of the need to change. They have traveled all over the world and can draw on many other successful precedents, so She listens carefully and takes particular notice to learn from them – more than the usual flighty school holiday tourists who have all gone home. The one thing they have remarked on so often is they cannot understand why the trout fishing potential is not promoted better. Accordingly, in Her usual sneaky female way, SWMBO has given this some thought by applying dangerous female intuition and women’s logic.

As a result, She has now decided on a new promotional strategy plan for Toe-paw Council which we will share with you and other fishos first, to invite your feedback. This is how the Council and Government operate too. They determine a new policy and direction and then ask for public opinion to show their transparency and caring attitude, not that they intend to change their policy direction. You understand…

Sadly, after many years without any real effective promotion of trout fishing – apart from more recent valiant efforts by DGLT (Destination Great Lake Taupo [Love Taupo] who are the tourist promotions office for the council (who strangely have not consulted with SWMBO – yet) we cannot rely on those who manage the fishery (DOC) or the council or government for help. Turangi needs to do it ourselves.

The following is Her new exciting formula to “Make Turangi Great Again”… It is stupefyingly so simple.

To prove Her theory works, we understand the need to convince you with a suitable precedent of another world-famous tourist town that recreated itself by adopting a similar rebranding strategy.

Surfers Paradise…

Did you know that once upon a time this was a tiny inconsequential sleepy village called Elston. To generate future tourism progress they ambitiously renamed it “Surfers Paradise”. It was that simple. All the other towns along the east coast were forgotten – tourists flocked to Surfers Paradise which became world-famous, like Australia’s version of Florida.

SWMBO is not suggesting that our pleasant riverside hamlet will end up dominated by glitzy high-rise condos. The name-change will better reflect the location advantages of why we live here, the essential element that residents enjoy.

Readers also need to be aware that the town boundaries of Turangi cannot expand the way that other coastal towns (i.e. Mt. Maunganui) have, as all the surrounding land is multiple-owned by Maori tribal trusts and will never be offered for sale. It is effectively land-locked. As such, any solution for future expansion is restricted to within existing town boundaries.

Turangi was developed by the Government ‘Ministry of Works’ over fifty years ago as a permanent town primarily to provide housing for employees involved in the massive hydroelectric scheme. At the time it was a state-of-the-art urban design. It must have been extremely successful to have lasted this long without hardly any changes. Indeed, it did not need any physical changes but is desperately in need of an update to enhance its image as a trout fishing destination.

When tourists enquire about the town SWMBO usually amuses them with Her more remarkable promotional history version – that it was originally an “Edward Gibbon Wakefield settlement” to try to enhance our place in history. Tourists particularly cherished the mature English deciduous trees that provide a leafy residential setting more reminiscent of a tourist town in Sussex than NZ. If they fall for that, She then suggests the landscaping architect was “Capability Brown”. That complicates the historic confusion and enhances the “wow” factor even more. Then it is easier for Her to convince tourist inmates from West Island to appreciate the many curved streets surrounding the parks and town centre were designed as a tiny NZ replica version of Canberra. The tourists never question SWMBO!

All the streets are linked by walkways and parks to provide an almost perfect relaxed spacious suburban environment. The house sites averaged about quarter of an acre (1000m2) in 1960’s jargon. Turangi was the genuine original half-gallon quarter-acre pavlova paradise. Then She reinforces their image of residential perfection by advising it was even the first town in NZ with underground power reticulation – true!

(Sadly, some of the essential attractive character of the town was destroyed recently by Toe-paw Council removing hundreds of the original deciduous trees, but that is another story. We will try to confine this report to the more exciting “rebranding” issue.)

Renaming streets and towns is not new. Originally, historically, the fishing village was restricted to the eastern side of SH1 and was known as “Taupahi”. It was renamed by the MOW in the 1960’s as “Turangi”. Accordingly, it has already experienced name changes in the recent past without any obvious problems. Nevertheless, with any renaming proposal in election year, we understand the need to be “culturally sensitive” to more recent changes to street names and town names, from British to Maori names.

Immediately outside TRM, the road between SH1 and Taupahi Road was renamed Piri Road. Taupahi Road was previously known as River Road. Many other local street names were also changed. So SWMBO’s initiative fits in with recently established precedents.

Therefore to avoid stepping on cultural toes or creating any friction, the existing “new” main town to the west of SH1 will remain “Turangi” and the quaint old fishing village east of SH1 will henceforth be rebranded “Trout-fishing Paradise”.

This maintains the signage pattern over many years proclaiming and confirming it as the “Trout Fishing Capital of the World”.

OK? SWMBO looks forward to your feedback…