Context: there are NZ glaciers that have been historically misspelled: Brückner, Hesse, and Penck. There was a proposal to rename them, but it was denied by the responsible Minister, Chris Penk, with the rationale “we have managed for over a century”. reasons
Tēnā koe Minister Pench,
I was looking at some glacier names recently and found your decision from last October to not approve the correction of historical misspellings of the Brückner, Hesse, and Penck glaciers. I find that decision quite disappointing and the rationale unsatisfying. Just because we have managed for over a century is no reason for us to continue making the historical mistake; we have had a number of interested parties do the research to try to set the record straight. I sure would find it annoying if my name were to be misspelled.
Ngā mihi,
Patrick Lam
Response from the Minister:
Dear Patrick
Thank you for your email, dated 7 April 2026, regarding the decision not to correct the spellings of the three glacier names in Mount Aspiring National Park.
I acknowledge your disappointment at the decisions and your desire to correct such historical misspellings of these personal names.
However, the formaer Minister for Land Information’s decisions are final under the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Tauhana o Aotearoa) Act 2008.
Thank you for taking the time to write and express your concerns, which I have noted.
Sincerely
Hon Mike Butterick Minister for Land Information