Do you know the traditional Indigenous name for the land you are standing on? Well, you'd better find out here, because it is becoming quite common in modern Australian society to know the Indigenous names for the land our cities are built on, as well as our rivers, lakes, mountains and other natural phenomena.
As awareness grows around the history and experiences of Indigenous Australians, more people and organisations are showing support and respect for these communities by acknowledging or using the traditional names for places around Australia or, in some cases, by removing names which may be offensive.
The purpose of such name changes is to respect the face needs of Australia's First Peoples, and also to signal the cultural and political values of the people or organisations making the change.
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This discussion contains several examples of organisations who have chosen to use traditional Indigenous place names in order to acknowledge and show respect for Australia's First Peoples.
Right: In December 2021, the AFL released a social media post featuring the traditional land names for each stadium in which games are played throughout the season.
Spreading awareness of these names is the first step to familiarising fans with their use, and it will be interesting to see whether the use of these names becomes more commonplace in future years.
Left: In 2021, Australia Post announced that they would accept the use of First Nations place names on their postage.
You can read more about this on the Australia Post website.
One particularly popular Indigenous place name is 'Narrm', which is the traditional name for the lands of the Kulin Nation, on which the city of Melbourne is built.
In May 2022, Melbourne Football Club showed their support for Indigenous communities by replacing the proper noun 'Melbourne' in their club name with 'Narrm' for the Indigenous round. During this period of time, all of their club media and communication was sent out with the 'Narrm' branding.
Left: Melbourne Football Club coach Simon Goodwin explains the significance of the name change for the club.
Below: The Australian Open, held in January 2022, also used 'Narrm' in their branding for the event.
Here, winner Ash Barty stands in front of a sign reading 'Wominjeka Naarm' (Welcome to Melbourne). Note that the spelling is not standardised, as Indigenous languages do not necessarily have set spelling rules.
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But using traditional place names is not the only way of demonstrating respect towards Indigenous communities. In some cases, people are showing support for traditional owners by removing anglicised names whose origins are deemed to be offensive.
This is most commonly seen in the substitution of proper nouns originating from British colonisation. For example, Uluru was named 'Ayers Rock' by white settlers, but this anglicised name is falling out of use due to its association with invasion. (Read our post on 'Australia Day vs Invasion Day' here.)
In October 2021, Hepburn Shire Council announced that they were considering a name change to local waterway 'Jim Crow Creek,' whose name is linked to racism and slavery.
Read more about this story here:
Similarly, in December 2021, Moreland City Council announced that they would be officially changing their name. You can read more about the reasons behind this here:
Moreland Council website: Council support change of 'Moreland' municipality name
While there is a lot of support in Australian society for the use of traditional place names, there is also some resistance.
Many people believe that the usage of such names is 'politically correct' and therefore represents the speaker's progressive political values, threatening the cultural status quo.
It is likely that we will see and hear more of these names popping up in everyday use over the coming years, so keep an eye out!
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Aside from place names, organisations are also reconsidering other labels that have links to our history of colonisation.
Left: In June 2022, Rugby Australia announced that Captain James Cook's name would be replaced on one of their trophies, which would instead be named after famous Indigenous player, Mark Ella.
The article below discusses some controversy around this change, which was opposed by those who felt the decision was too 'politically correct.'
Fox Sports Australia: 'Can't erase history': Captain James Cook scrapped from Australian rugby trophy
Discuss: 'Changes in language reflect changes in society; how do we see this in attitudes to the use of Indigenous words in English?'
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