 The Royal Geographical Society of London was responsible for place names until 1894 when authority was given to the governor of New Zealand.The future Prime Minister Joseph Ward moved an amendment in 1894 that gave preference to Māori names for any new features and allowed the alteration of misspelt names (although this did not always occur).In 1924 the Honorary Geographic Board of New Zealand was set up the government to advise on place names, and in 1946 the New Zealand Parliament established the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) and gave it power to change or implement Māori and English names.