ASK AN EXPERT Naming of streets a cultural guidepost

Q: How are Townsville’s street names decided?

A: We don’t often think of street names as anything more than a necessary part of a community’s map.

As a result, the names given to streets are often presumed to lack cultural or historical meaning.

Yet, street naming is a powerful medium for historical commemoration, writing into a community’s map both locally and nationally significant peoples and events.

In this regard, we need to think of historical commemoration not just as isolated to explicit sites – think Anzac Memorial Park or the Robert Towns statue adjacent to Victoria Bridge – but rather, written into the city space at every (literal) street corner.

Specifically, street naming is often used to celebrate heroes and heroic moments in “our” history.

The heroic character of street naming-based commemorations is clearly seen in the naming practices of Townsville.

We see various streets named for European explorers, British monarchs and war heroes.

We see local “heroes” – those who have made significant contributions to the local history of Townsville – and Queensland politicians. This fits with what is commonly taught in schools and what is frequently echoed in documentaries and national celebrations.

Why does this matter?

The decision to name streets this way is a consequence of how natural these types of “heroes” are to the history of Townsville and Australia broadly. Yet, the decision to echo this pattern means that we limit ourselves to commemorating select peoples and events that fit neatly with what we are often told is the “official” history of here.

It’s worth paying attention to the heroic commemoration of our community to see who is missing.

Why, for example, are most streets named after men and non-aboriginal peoples?

What does this say about what is worth commemorating in Townsville?

Dr Bryan Smith is from James Cook University’s College of

Arts, Society and Education.