Guided by a renewed impetus for reconciliation, the Municipality of Darebin has recently embarked on a path toward multicultural recognition and inclusion.
The naming of squares, gardens and streets undoubtedly plays a significant role in representing a community’s values. As well as providing information of historical and cultural value, it also ensures that geographical places and entities are uniquely identifiable.
At the last Darebin City Council meeting, a partnership strategy with a number of local organisations was approved, one which will finally recognise the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the many local multicultural communities, through the renaming of select public spaces, most of which are still under construction, “to embrace diversity and ensure that everyone is included in our society.”
Back in 2018, the City of Darebin attempted to change the name of Batman Park in Northcote to Gumbri, in honour of the elder Wurundjeri also known as Jessie Hunter, the great-granddaughter of activist William Barak and the last Aboriginal woman born in Victoria's Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve.
However, the new name, approved by the Wurundjeri people, was opposed by Gumbri's sons, Ian and Gary Hunter, as they had not been involved in the consultations.
The proposal was then rejected by the Office of Geographic Names.
"The time has come, however, to make our civic spaces more welcoming, more inclusive," said Lina Messina, who has come to the end of her term as mayor of Darebin City Council and is now a city councillor.
"It is our duty to reflect and respect First Nations peoples and our long migratory history, so that everyone can feel that they belong. The Anglo-Saxon names, which we encounter in every corner of the municipality, simply do not reflect our community anymore.”
Former Mayor of Darebin City Council, now City Councillor, Lina Messina.
For next year, the City Council has already proposed the name Patricia Ockwell ― a Wurundjeri woman and athlete in the 1956 Olympics ― for the Show Court area under construction at Narrandjeri Stadium, a choice which would dually promote women's participation in sport.
Also on the agenda is the renaming of the municipal libraries and Batman Park with a Woi-wurrung name, the total expenditure of which would fall within the framework of the resources provided for in the annual budget as specified in the municipal agenda, published on November 28.
"It is time for our history to be recognised. Whatever project is underway ― a street, a district or a building ― names that reflect First Nations and CALD communities will be considered," Messina added.
Darebin City Council has meanwhile developed an 'engagement plan' to allow residents of the municipality to choose names directly; contact will be made through online surveys, social media posts, newsletters and printed material, as well as the targeted involvement of local community groups.
"These are people who have sacrificed so much for this country. It is important that their story is recognised," Lina Messina continued.
Meanwhile, the former mayor already has plans for the new Festival 86, scheduled for November 2023, an event that will provide a platform for live music, but more importantly, for the municipality's businesses, and for multiculturalism.
