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Calls Grow To Rename Sydney Streets With British Heritage To Traditional Names

Calls Grow To Rename Sydney Streets With British Heritage To Traditional Names

The hope is to start with Victoria Road and replace it with something more Indigenous.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

A Sydney Greens councillor wants to see streets that have British heritage changed to a more traditional name.

Colin Hesse has taken particular issue with Victoria Road in Marrickville.

He wants it to be replaced with Gumbramorra Road, which is the Indigenous name for the wetlands where the suburb now rests.

Mr Hesse requested the local council look into the alteration last month and claimed it linked back to Queen Victoria, who reigned while the British Empire inflicted 'catastrophic' physical and cultural damage 'to indigenous Australians'.

His official motion to the local council stated, according to the Daily Telegraph: "For Aboriginal peoples the invasion of the British Empire was catastrophic.

Colin Hesse/Facebook

"The British stole their lands, fouled their waters, took their food, and Aboriginal peoples were murdered or died of imported diseases. A new name may be a small token of reconciliation."

While the request was contained to just that one street, it's understood Sydney's Inner West will be looking at other streets with colonialist heritage.

Colin's bid has the support of Greens councillor Louise Steer, who believes the name changes are 'overdue'.

Mr Hesse said his campaign isn't meant to wade into ideas of erasing history but more so to update the area's cultural identity.

"This is not political correctness ... I'm not interested in culture wars, it's a matter of decency and respect," he said.

"There are challenging things about identity politics in the world but why wouldn't I treat any individual with decency and respect no matter their politics, gender or whatever."

One person who isn't the biggest fan of the proposal is Liberal councillor Julie Passas, who believes the ratepayers will be concerned with a boatload of other issues.

"We have a deficit, our council is in turmoil and a councillor who isn't standing at the next election wants to change the name of a street," she said.

The call to rename streets has been going on for years, however found a particular resurgence in the last 12 months.

There was a viral social media post that highlighted the growing support of renaming outback areas to traditional names.

Aboriginal-led not for profit group Common Ground Australia uploaded a photo of a road sign that is found at Larapinta Drive in the Northern Territory.

The places of Alice Springs and Hermannsburg were crossed out with white spray paint and the traditional names of Mparntwe and Ntaria have been etched into the sign.

Common Ground Australia argues it's more appropriate than the names given to the region by colonial settlers.

They wrote on Facebook: "Across Australia there is a growing movement of reclaiming traditional place names in First Nations languages.

"Using traditional place names in conversation, on signs and any other references is an amazing step towards recognising the sovereignty First Nations people still hold across Australia. When we recognise and embed language, we centre First Nations people, culture and Country."

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Featured Image Credit: Alexander Bassano (Creative Commons)

Topics: Australia