Whanganui 
pronunciation (help·info), also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region.
pronunciation (help·info), also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region.Like several New Zealand centres, it was officially designated a city until administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by a District Council. Despite this, it is still regarded as a city by most New Zealanders.
Although previously called Wanganui, the New Zealand Geographic Board recommended that the name be changed to "Whanganui", and the government decided in December 2009 that while either spelling was acceptable, Crown agencies would use the Whanganui spelling.[2]
Wanganui is located close to the mouth of the Whanganui River, 200 kilometres north of the capital city, Wellington.
It enjoys a temperate climate, with slightly above the national average sunshine (2100 hours per annum), and about 900 mm of annual rainfall. Several frosts are experienced in winter.
Much of the city is on the river's northwest bank. The river is crossed by four bridges - Cobham Bridge, City Bridge, Dublin Street Bridge and Aramoho Railway Bridge (rail and pedestrians only). Close to the southeast end of the City Bridge is one of Wanganui's more unusual features, an elevator leading to a monument on the top of Durie Hill.
Key Facts
Population: Wanganui District: 42,639
The Meaning of Whanganui
Whāngā nui means big bay or big harbour. Europeans called it Petre (pronounced Peter), after Lord Petre, an officer of the New Zealand Company, but the name did not persist.
Source. Wanganuionline.
