New Zealand - Wanganui - Wanganui - Circa 1910 - F. G. R. - Real Photo Post Card Format #333013 Whanganui - Whanganui, also spelled Wanganui, is a city on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. - Although the city was called Wanganui from 1854, in February 2009, the New Zealand Geographic Board recommended the spelling be changed to "Whanganui". In December 2009, the government decided that while either spelling was acceptable, Crown agencies would use the Whanganui spelling. - Whāngā nui means big bay or big harbour in the Māori language. - Europeans initially called it Petre (pronounced Peter), after Lord Petre, an officer of the New Zealand Company, but the name did not persist. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whanganui)