Wānaka township has officially been endowed with a macron.

A macron, or tohutō, is that short line written above a vowel which denotes a long vowel sound.

The macron was officially notified by the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) last week (August 26).

This means official documents will now be required to use ‘Wānaka’ once the New Zealand Gazetteer is updated.

Lake Wānaka was once named Te Waihakaata - the water of dancing reflections.

The macron makes the town’s name consistent with the name of its lake, Lake Wānaka, the macron for which was approved in mid 2019 by the NZGB in collaboration with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Wānaka town was earlier known as Oanaka, and was named Pembroke by early colonial settlers until 1940.

Wānaka is believed to be named from the South Island form of wānanga, meaning sacred knowledge or a place of learning.

Early Waitaha iwi named the lake Te Waihakaata - the water of dancing reflections - according to historian William Anderson Taylor in his text “Lore and History of the South Island Maori”.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App