Hundreds of Berwick Springs locals rally against officially naming Berwick Spring Lake to Guru Nanak lake
The Berwick Springs community is standing firm in its protest against the “divisive” renaming of their local lake, calling it a political ploy to secure Sikh votes.
South East
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The Berwick Springs community is standing firm in its protest against the “divisive” renaming of their local lake, calling it a political ploy to secure Sikh votes.
Hundreds of Berwick Springs residents have signed a petition calling on the state government to reinstate the original name of the new Guru Nanak Lake.
An Australian Sikh resident told the Herald Sun she was against the new name because it seemed a “political move to grab Sikh votes”.
“I don’t support the name because the government has made this about religion,” she said.
“We, as a minority, now are facing racist comments, and people are questioning Guru Nanak — we never wanted this.”
Another Indian-Australian Berwick resident said: “No community should be given preference”, called the move an “appeasement”.
“The elections are coming and the government will want to go to a group that can be united and vote them back into power,” he said.
“Giving preferential treatment to one community while ignoring the rest — every other community will be upset.
“We have a lot of great people in Australia, many Aboriginal figures; why not name after them? And why change the name at all?”
Berwick state Liberal MP Brad Battin said he opposed naming any public assets like lakes after religious figures.
“We are so lucky to so many of the Sikh community who volunteer whenever we need them, feed people who need it, go out to the fires, help out in crisis — they continuously help out the community,” he said.
“I am a fan of ensuring the Sikh community is recognised; however, I don’t support any public asset named after a religion — I find it can be divisive, and we’re seeing it here already.
“We’ve got many different religions down here who are now asking what about us.”
Mr Battin — who organised a public consultation on Tuesday — said he wanted the Berwick community “to be heard”.
“We’ll pass it to the government in good faith. We’re not here to create divide … if at the end of this whole process the community want Guru Nanak lake we will be a hundred per cent supportive.”
Another resident, Monique — whose parents purchased 32ha of the original property of Springs in 1972 — said the name of the lake came from the original name of the Springs, which honoured the heritage of this land.
“We recently subdivided our land in the Kimberly Downs estate, and our wetlands and parklands. We put in our own lake that joins the Berwick Springs Lake, and it adopts the name Berwick Springs Lake,” she said.
“The heritage and the history of this lake are very important. It’s a significant landmark, and that’s way more relevant than any new community. No disrespect to the Sikh community. They do amazing work, but it’s important to protect our heritage.
“It is the legal process and disregard to the history of Berwick Springs Lake that’s being questioned.”
Michael Ball said he and his neighbours “deserved” to be consulted.
“We deserve to be consulted. You can’t come into my home change my street, change the name of whatever it be without consulting me,” he said.
“When you change the name of the lake, you are changing the name of our home, changing our identity of where we live.”
Mr Ball said the Sikh community was “unfortunately dragged into” the issue.
“What should have been a joyous occasion for them has become a very divisive occasion, and it falls directly on the hands of the state government and failing to follow the process,” he said.
Mr Ball also questioned why the multiculture affairs minister was “playing segregation and dividing the community based on faith”.
“You don’t know what your portfolio is — I call on your resignation; I call you to apologise to the Sikh community and the broader Victorian community for the mistake you’ve made,”
City of Casey’s former young citizen of the year Jessica Vidic said it was disappointing and “inappropriate” that no people in the municipality were notified of the name change.
It comes after more than 2000 people signed an online petition organised in support of the official naming of a lake in Berwick Springs as ‘Guru Nanak Lake.’
The petition states the naming of the lake had been “politicised” and “misunderstandings” had led to “unrest” among the community.
“Is this dispute truly about the lake’s name, or is it about the process? If the concern is with the process, the community could accept the name and provide constructive feedback to the government and stakeholders for future policy making, rather than calling for a name change,” it states.
“But if the concern stems from unfamiliarity, fear or misunderstanding, we should remember that we live in a multicultural Australia.
“The Sikh community has demonstrated compassion and service, especially in times of crisis, be it the pandemic, bushfires or storm events, aligning with Guru Nanak’s teachings of love and sharing by caring.”
The petition comes in response to a community event organised by Berwick state Liberal MP Brad Battin to “discuss the concerning renaming of Berwick Springs Lake”.
“Were you consulted on the state government’s renaming of Berwick Springs Lake to ‘Guru Nanak Lake?” it states.
“Join Brad Battin MP and Ann-Marie Hermans MP for a public hearing to ensure residents’ voices are heard in state parliament on the renaming of their beloved lake.”
The Allan government unveiled the official renamingfor the Berwick Springs Lake to Guru Nanak Lake after the founder of Sikhism last week, days before Shri Guru Nanak’s 555th birthday.
“This name is another way we’re ensuring Victoria’s place names better reflect and celebrate our state’s rich diversity and history,” Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said.
Victoria has more than 91,000 Sikhs — the highest in the nation according to the 2021 Census.
However, senior Sikh figures say while they were happy with the name change, the process needed to have been done in a more democratic way in order for the wider community to be on board.
Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria committee member and practising Sikh Karan Ghandok said naming the lake to Guru Nanak was like a “thanks” to the Sikh community particularly for feeding thousands of Victorian during Covid lockdown and the horrific 2019 bushfire season.
Mr Ghandok said while the name was welcomed by the Sikh community he believed it was “wrong” the state government did not consult further.
“That is something the government should have done … the community is correct to say that there should have been a consultation — that’s what a democracy is all about,” he said.
“The problem in the world today is religion divides us all. The moment you mention any religious figure … even if you try and name a lake after Jesus Christ, today, people will object to that as well.
“But it goes back to the point if the community consultation was done, the government would have had a chance to explain why they feel (the name should be changed) because it’s thanks to the community.”
Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria chairman Jasbir Singh Suropada said the Sikh community was “honoured” and humbled by the officially naming the Berwick Springs Lake.
“Victoria is really living up to its multicultural diversity image,” he said.
But Mr Singh Suropada said the state government had a duty to explain to Berwick residents why and how they chose Guru Nanak as the new name.
“We want to live in harmony with everyone because Guru Nanak is all about inclusivity, not exclusivity. Guru Nanak is all about humanity,” he said.
“We want to be there in good faith. We want Guru Nanak’s name to be remembered for his philosophy, not in some form of resentment.”
In a press release announcing the name change, the Victorian government said it consulted with key Sikh community leaders and traditional owners about renaming the lake to celebrate the “important contributions” of Victoria’s Sikh community.
The Multicultural Affairs minister did not answer questions from the Herald Sun, instead her office sent a parliamentary speech made by Ms Stitt, where she slammed the opposition for opposing the move.
In her speech she also said the Berwick lake did not have an official gazetted name before it was named Guru Nanak Lake.
It comes after Berwick locals organised a petition criticising the move, saying the “sudden” name change “without proper community consultation” caused “enormous distress”.
Petition organiser Michael Ball said the lake’s name was “intrinsically linked to the identity” of the local community, and changing the name without consultation was a “betrayal of democratic principles”.
“(The lake) has been a defining feature of our neighbourhood and holds significant meaning for local residents … We find it deeply troubling that consultation with the local community has not occurred on the fundamental matter of the name change,” he said.
“Residents are anxious about what this unilateral decision means for our community.”
The Bunurong Land Council was contacted for comment.
