It has taken several years of discussion, public input and at least $10,000 in various expenses, but the New Zealand government has finally decided that the formal names of its North and South Islands should be what everyone has been calling them for generations: the North and South Islands.
After considering 2,608 public submissions, the New Zealand Geographic Board decided to plump for the existing names, with an addition of formal Maori names, Te Ika-a-Maui (North) and Te Waipounamu (South).
