A process has been put in place for the naming of a building that will house the art gallery, information centre, Aboriginal interpretive centre and Pioneer Settlement entry.
The item was raised and unanimously passed at last month’s ordinary council meeting, with council director development and planning Heather Green telling councillors interest in using an Aboriginal name for the building meant a mandatory state government naming process would need to be followed.
“Initially, the process to select a name for Our Place (will be) through a call out to key stakeholder networks,” Ms Green said.
“The rationale being early ownership of a name would be advantageous in developing community ownership and pride in the facility.
“The process would see the Our Place stakeholder group shortlist several names from the community’s contributions before presenting to council for a final decision which may include a community vote. “
Ms Green said council had already approached the Wandarrah Action Committee (WAC) with a request to provide a number of suitable Aboriginal names for ‘Our Place’.
“WAC commenced consultation with Elders and the wider Aboriginal community during NAIDOC Week,” Ms Green said.
“The consultation proved quite difficult to achieve, as there was no formal naming process in place, and the time frames were too short to conduct a thorough consultation with the Aboriginal community.”
Further consultation was put on hold until a clear naming process could be identified by council.
“Other factors to be considered in deciding on a name, include potentially negative nicknames and acronyms,” Ms Green said.
“Conversely, the opposite applies — opportunities for brand recognition exist with the ability to easily pronounce, spell and read the name.”
Ms Green said the WAC had agreed to using the state government naming rules for Victoria, to allow for all necessary community members to be part of the consultation process.
Ms Green told councillors it was likely the process would take in excess of six months.
Cr Chris Jeffery moved the motion that, through the Wandarrah Action Committee and Our Place stakeholder groups, the community and traditional owners be invited to identify a list of possible names for Our Place.
The names are to be considered and then shortlisted by council.
The preferred name will then be developed into a naming proposal using the state government naming rules for places in Victoria to complete the process.
Cr Jeffery said while the process was clearly “complex”, he believed the prospect of utilising the Aboriginal language to name the building was a worthwhile one.
Cr Jade Benham also spoke to the motion.
“I’m all for it,” Cr Benham said.
“It looks to be a lengthy process given the naming rules document is a lengthy one itself….I think it’s a terrific step in recognising the Aboriginal people in the Swan Hill region and I believe we can come up with an iconic name for an iconic building.”
