Palmerston North is a city (since 1989 the only official city) in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name of the city was "Palmerston", bestowed in honour of the third Viscount Palmerston, Henry John Temple, a former Prime Minister of Great Britain. The suffix "North” was added in 1871 to distinguish the settlement from Palmerston in the South Island. Locals frequently refer to the city simply as "Palmy".