CALL FOR VOTE ON SUBURB NAME

Name change push

A GEELONG councillor has lent his support to a potential “all of suburb vote” on renaming Bell Post Hill due to its hurtful history for many of the region’s indigenous people.

Community leaders last week called for a conversation to be held around rethinking the name of the suburb, which is named after a bell erected on a once prominent hill in the area in the 1830s, rung by settlers to sound a warning when Aborigines came near.

Historical documents and stories suggest the indigenous people were then either chased away or slaughtered by the pastoralists.

Northern suburbs councillor Anthony Aitken last week said the suburb name was a scar on the city’s relationship with its indigenous community and “may have to change”.

Cr Aitken yesterday said he’d be happy to see a name change sparked by Victoria’s treaty process, but would also support an “all of suburb vote” if there was enough community backing for the move.

“Personally I would welcome it,” Cr Aitken said.

“If it came through a treaty process I think it would be fantastic. If the community wanted to fast track it and do it without coming through a treaty process, I’d be open to consider a process to find out what the community believes and what they are comfortable with — and to educate them about what does reconciliation really mean and how they can participate in it.”

Cr Aitken said it had been encouraging to see conversation in the community regarding the history of the suburb’s name “and that education alone has been pretty priceless”.

“It reinforces my view that we really have a lack of understanding of our indigenous heritage and history and I think we do have to develop a more permanent and ongoing way that we tell those stories in Geelong,” he said.

Bell Post Hill sporting clubs will be open to discussing club name changes, if the suburb is renamed.

Bell Post Hill Cricket Club president Mark Brady said an “extraordinary meeting” of Bell Post Hill sporting clubs would be called to discuss a name change if the suburb was renamed.

“If it comes to it, we’ll have to look at it,” Mr Brady said.

“You’d call an extraordinary general meeting and have all clubs come in. It would be chaired through a central committee and the decision would rest with the clubs.”

Bell Post Hill Football Club president Bill McAuliffe said he was personally against changing the club’s name, but said it would be a decision to be made by the entire club.

“It’s something that would have to go to a committee meeting and you’d have to get all the clubs involved,” Mr McAuliffe said.

“Personally, I don’t want to change the club’s name.

“Some probably wouldn’t care, but to me I’m a traditionalist.”

Many of Geelong’s indigenous community leaders last week supported the call to begin rethinking the name.

“The hurt is still there, it still hurts,” Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative chair Craig Edwards said.