10 News Praised For Showing Australia's Capital Cities In Traditional Names For NAIDOC Week

Australia's 10 News has broken ranks with its counterparts during the weekly weather forecast.

While you might wonder how much you can switch up a forecast, the Aussie news network wanted to kick off NAIDOC Week with a bang.

NAIDOC Week seeks to raise awareness for Aboriginal and Islanders issues and celebrates Australia's indigenous history before European settlers arrived in 1770.

10 News First decided to honour First Nations people by changing all the city names listed on the national forecast with traditional names.

Sydney has been translated to Warrang, Melbourne to Naarm, Canberra to Ngambri or Ngunnawal, Hobart is Nipaluna, Adelaide is Tarndanya, Perth is Boorloo, Broome is Rubibi, Alice Springs is Mparntwe, Darwin is Garramilla, Cairns is Gimuy and Brisbane is Meanjin.

Channel 10 journalist Kate Doak responded to a question on Twitter about the move and whether it would be confusing for people who aren't familiar with geography.

She said: "Amanda Jason (10 News' weather presenter) talked about the importance of NAIDOC Week, and that those were the First Nations names of the capitols, while pronouncing both names for a few. Same meteorology maps were shown in the first weather segment in the first 30 minutes too.

"Respect costs nothing, though can make a huge difference for all of us, of any background.

"There's so much that we can all learn from each other, while the rich & vibrant library of knowledge from First Nations Australians should be treasured, preserved & embraced."

The move has been praised by people on social media as a brilliant display of solidarity witth First Nations people across the country.

One person wrote: "Groundbreaking moment for Aus TV. I hope we see much more of this."

Another added: "Loving the NAIDOC weather forecast so much. Don't even care about the weather, the traditional place names have made my day! Well done."

Others called it 'wonderful' and hope to see it more often.

Some viewers pointed at how New Zealand news broadcasts often use English and Maori place names interchangeably. Supporters of 10 News First's stunt are hopeful this will be a continuing thing even after NAIDOC Week is done.

The theme for this year's NAIDOC Week is all about healing.

The 'Heal the country, heal our nation' motto seeks to call 'for stronger measures to recognise, protect, and maintain all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and heritage'.

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Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie