Jim Bunny's proposal to change the names of some of Tauranga's streets set me thinking. Why stop at streets? The most obviously inappropriate name is Tauranga itself. Hardly anyone knows what it means and its pronunciation can be confusing. Most New Zealanders say ‘TOWER-wrong-a', stressing the first syllable, while visiting Continentals say ‘Ta-RONG-a' as in Sydney's Taronga park/zoo. Should a go-ahead city of the 21st Century be saddled with such a name?

Since most Tauranga residents are of British descent and all of us speak English it seems unfair not to give this beautiful city a more mellifluous and pronounceable name. My suggestion for a new name is Seamount, thus incorporating its two main geographical features in a way that all of us can understand and relate to.

John McLean, Wellington.