Dispute over bridge name

A $9 million bridge connecting the Cenotaph and the Queens Domain deserves a name which is connected to the city, Hobart alderman Damon Thomas says.

Ald Thomas is pushing for the bridge to be named Gellibrand after Tasmanian soldier Sir John Gellibrand (1872 - 1945).

A Hobart City Council meeting will make a decision on what name to recommend to the Nomenclature Board at a meeting on June 18.

Ald Thomas said the alternative to Gellibrand that was being considered, Remembrance Bridge, was not recognisably Tasmanian.

He said that Sir John Gellibrand was the founder of the Legacy movement in Hobart in 1922.

“We have asked the public the name they wanted and they resoundingly chose Legacy with a 66 per cent vote and Remembrance was supported by 25 per cent,” he said.

Ald Thomas said Sir John Gellibrand was born in Ouse and was the member for Denison in the federal parliament.

“He had a significant service history in the World War I and then when he came back he started Legacy to support families who had lost members in the war,” he said. “Legacy Hobart became a global organisation.

“He was a son of Tasmania and very great supporter of Hobart whereas Remembrance is a name not directly identified with the city.

Ald Thomas said opponents of the Gellibrand Bridge name, the Friends of Soldiers Memorial Avenue and parts of the RSL, were supporting the more generic name Remembrance Bridge.

He said he would consider the merits of the names on the night of the vote.