This tribute is rubbish! Kaurna anger at ‘insulting’ name for Eden Hills dump site sparks a rethink by Mitcham Council

The Kaurna people want a former rubbish dump in the southern suburbs to be renamed after Mitcham Council gave it an Indigenous name – without any consultation.

Mitcham Mayor Heather Holmes-Ross. Mitcham council will on Tuesday debate renaming a former toxic dump site known as Kaurna Views because Indigenous people say it is “insulting”. Picture: Dean Martin

A former toxic garbage dump site that was renamed as a nod to Indigenous Australians will be renamed again after they complained it was “disrespectful and insulting”.

Mitcham Council will on Tuesday night debate alternative names for the “Kaurna Views” dump site, which had been renamed from “Eden Hills Landfill Site” in 2005 without any Indigenous consultation.

The problem was highlighted by the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, which pointed out the renaming was an ongoing insult.

“KYAC board members confirmed they had not been consulted regarding the naming of the land. All board members expressed a view that naming a disused landfill site ‘Kaurna Views’ was disrespectful and insulting,” the corporation said.

Adding further insult, the site is uninhabitable – the council agenda for Tuesday night’s vote states: “Generally speaking, such sites would not be developed or built on in the future as there is no certainty about what lays underground, and what potential exists for secretion/combustion of toxic gases. Such sites often have the potential to be hazardous to human health.”

Mitcham Council will on Tuesday night debate whether to remove the offending Kaurna Views sign at the site, and consult with the Indigenous community about an appropriate name. It could return the name to Eden Hills, or come up with another non-Indigenous name for the dump site.

The council has been contacted for comment.

Kaurna Views on Shepherds Hill Rd in Eden Hills. Picture: Google Maps

The problem with the 2005 renaming did not come to light until elders met recently with council to discuss the naming of the Blackwood Community Hub Development as Tiwu Kumangka, which was not considered offensive.

The current administration has excused the 2005 council for the blunder, stating in the agenda: “While it is unfortunate no specific Kaurna consultation was conducted, council and its staff may have had limited understanding on how to engage authentically with First Nations Peoples in 2004/2005.”

“Reviewing the situation from a current day perspective, and incorporating the lessons of the

process to name Tiwu Kumangka, it is almost certain the process would have been handled

differently if it were instigated today,” the agenda states.

“Administration (on council’s behalf) would have sought direct input from KYAC which would have informed different recommendations about potential Kaurna names.”

Until 1995, the now bushland site was operated as a landfill site known as “Eden Hills Landfill Reserve”.

The site is between the Colebrook Reconciliation Park and the Lions Bargain Centre at Eden Hills.

Colebrook Reconciliation Park is already a permanent memorial for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children of the stolen generation.

During deliberations about the site in 2005, there were 32 names put forward by the community, including the options Kaurna Views, Kaurna Heights and Kaurna Park to recognise the traditional owners.