Among all of the letters protesting at the very thought of erecting a gondola on Mauao, no-one has sugggested it could be dangerous putting a gondola on a hill - for that is what Mauao is not a mountain.

Anyone who has seen the film ‘The Man who Climbed a Hill and came down a Mountain' would be aware a mountain, to be recognised as such, has to be 1000 feet or 300 metres in height Mauao is only 761 feet or 232 metres high, so is well below mountain status.

Early Maori could not be expected to differentiate between a hill and a mountain but as they are so fond of changing names, perhaps they would like to rename Mauao ‘Puke', which is Maori for hill.

I'm sure Maori affinity with Mauao will not be affected by the knowledge it is a hill. After all, a rose by any other name.

M Brooks, Tauranga City.