Signs re-instating the name - Pākaraka - at a settlement on the outskirts of Whanganui have been ripped out of the ground just hours after being installed.
Ngāti Maika hapu says the act of vandalism is 'gut-wrenching' but it will not stop the name change or poison the spirit of reconciliation it represents.
Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin has more.