Alice Springs residents to rename street named after colonial-era killer William Willshire
A NEW name for a street in Alice Springs will be in the works soon after a resident renewed calls to rename the street, which commemorates a colonial-era killer
Northern Territory
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A NEW name for a street in Alice Springs will be in the works soon after a resident renewed calls to rename the street, which commemorates a colonial-era killer.
Councillors Jimmy Cocking and Jacinta Price put forward a motion on Monday night to support renaming Willshire St in The Gap as well as consulting the community to come up with a new name for the street.
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The motion was carried unanimously by all councillors at Monday night’s council meeting.
The street is named after William Willshire who was the first policeman in Australian history to be charged with murder after his men attacked and killed two sleeping Aboriginal men in 1891.
The Gap resident Suki Dorras-Walker wrote to Alice Springs town councillors this month urging them to support renaming the street.
Mr Cocking thanked Ms Dorras-Walker for the letter.
Willshire often failed to report his activities and by 1890, Aboriginal deaths associated with his actions exceeded the official number of 13 according to a biography published by the Australian National University.
Arrernte elder and historian Pat Ansell-Dodds said it was “depressing” to see the street name and she would like to see more public places named with local Aboriginal language which has existed for thousands of years.
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“It’s terrible. He just shot people like dogs and he didn’t care about who they were or what they did,” she said.
“Authorities should be changing names and asking about the Aboriginal names of places because it has a lot of meaning for us.”
Originally published as Alice Springs residents to rename street named after colonial-era killer William Willshire