Australia Post Will Now Use Traditional Place Names Thanks To Indigenous Woman's Campaign

Australia Post will now accept Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander place names when people send parcels, mail and packages.

The newly designed Parcel Post and Express Post satchels have a nominated line found below the recipient's name to include a Traditional Place name above the street address and postcode. Traditional Place names can also be used on letters, provided they appear above the street address and postcode.

These satchels also include an Acknowledgment of Country.

This epic achievement couldn't have been done without the hard work and consultation from First Nations Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail.

Rachael kickstarted the conversation when she launched an online petition that racked up more than 20,000 signatures. She called for more representation of First Nations place names that existed for thousands of years before European settlers arrived in the 1700s.

"This is about paying respect to First Nations people, and their continuing connection to Country. If everyone adopts this small change, it will make a big difference," Rachael said.

Ms McPhail added that it's an awesome step forward for visibility and hopes to see Aussies take up the new initiative.

Australia Post's National Indigenous Manager and Noongar man Chris Heelan said: "We not only listened to Rachael, but to the overwhelming feedback from thousands of Australians who supported this fantastic concept to recognise traditional Country on their mail.

"Including the Traditional Place name as part of the mailing address is a simple but meaningful way to promote and celebrate our Indigenous communities, which is something Australia Post has a long and proud history of doing."

The new satchels have been launched at the start of NAIDOC Week, seeks to raise awareness for Aboriginal and Islanders issues and celebrates Australia's indigenous history before colonisation.

It comes after 10 News First used one of its weekly weather forecast to replace some of Australia's cities with Traditional Place names.

Sydney was 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.

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

Featured Image Credit: Australia Post

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