Ben Boyd Road: North Sydney Council asks residents about renaming

An under-pressure council will install an ‘interpretative sign’ explaining the historic practice of blackbirding next to a plaque remembering a local slave trader.

Residents will get to have their say on whether to rename Ben Boyd Rd on Sydney’s lower north shore after an online petition called for the name of the “slave trader” to be wiped from the local landscape.

A campaign for the 1.8km long road connecting Neutral Bay to Cremorne to be given a new title has reached North Sydney Council this week with plans to put the potential name-change to a public survey unanimously supported by councillors.

Councillors also supported placing an “interpretative sign” with historical information about blackbirding near two commemorative plaques honouring Ben Boyd, located on the corner of Kurraba and Ben Boyd Rds.

Ben Boyd Rd is a key road on the lower north shore.

The move comes after an online petition to the council was started last year amid debate over Benjamin Boyd’s legacy as a 19th century businessman who is also known for forcibly bringing men from New Caledonia and Vanuatu to work as labourers and shepherds in Australia – a practice now known as “blackbirding”.

Renewed awareness about Ben Boyd has also fuelled plans to rename Ben Boyd National Park and Boydtown on the NSW south coast, while Neutral Bay Public School – located on Ben Boyd Rd – has recently renamed one of its four school houses from ‘Boyd’ to ‘Waratah’.

Memorial plaques of Ben Boyd have come under scrutiny.

A NSW Environment spokeswoman said a historian has been appointed to undertake an analysis of the history and role of Ben Boyd on the NSW south coast and a report is due to be released in mid-2021.

North Sydney Councillor Kathy Brodie, who put forward the idea for a community survey, said a poll would provide a chance to find out what the local community thinks.

The survey would ask residents if they are in favour of renaming the road, and if so, would have a chance to support three alternative candidate names – one of which would be derived from Indigenous history – and their own suggestion.

The plaques have been covered due to concerns over vandalism.

Ms Brodie said an interpretative sign near the 90-year-old Ben Boyd plaques – erected by the Royal Australian Historical Society in 1931 – would avoid a scenario where the council removes them.

Both plaques have been covered up for almost a year to avoid possible acts of vandalism, and one of the plaques is currently undergoing restoration works.

“They do represent our history, for better or for worse,” Cr Brodie said.

Jack Gough, who started the online petition last year, said a community vote on a potential name-change was a positive outcome.

He recognised the move had been met with resistance from some shop owners due to concerns the name-change could result in owners having to fork out for new shop signs, logos, business cards and so on.

“It’s a long road and changing the name would affect a lot of people – it’s therefore good to put it to the community so it’s not just shoved on people,” he said.

“For me involving the community in these discussions is really important – the point is about us looking square eyed at our history.”

Ben Boyd National Park is also subject to a proposed name change.

Benjamin Boyd was a shipowner, banker, grazier, politician and slaver in NSW. Picture: State Library of NSW.

Mr Gough, a former Greens staffer who grew up in Neutral Bay, believes changing the name should not be viewed as a “threat” or considered “woke”.

“I went to Neutral Bay Public and was in Boyd House and had no idea about that history until the Indigenous groups on the south coast raised the naming of Ben Boyd National Park,” he said.

“It’s not about covering up our history, it’s about expanding it and giving us a richer understanding.”

A North Sydney Council spokeswoman said staff are aiming to have the survey open by June.

She said the interpretative sign incorporating the historical information about the first instance of blackbirding in Australia in 1847 would either be placed beside the original Ben Boyd plaques or at the nearby Hayes St Beach.