Former premier Ted Baillieu backed Melbourne Ports renaming in honour of Sir John Monash

FORMER premier Ted Baillieu wants the Melbourne Ports electorate renamed in honour of a great Australian military leader.

Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, second from left, presenting the Victoria Cross. Picture: Australian War Memorial

A FORMER premier wants the federal seat of Melbourne Ports to be renamed after military hero Sir John Monash.

Ted Baillieu has told electoral authorities the current name is “an anachronism and meaningless in contemporary Australia”, and should change.

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“Born in West Melbourne and a prominent local figure from Federation until his death in 1931, Sir John Monash is a giant of Australian history who deserves recognition at a national level,” he said.

Portrait of Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. Picture: Australian War Memorial

Monash, considered one of the finest generals of World War I, was an engineer who helped design and construct dozens of bridges, including Princes Bridge over the Yarra River.

Mr Baillieu’s submission is among dozens to the Australian Electoral Commission relating to a redistribution of Victorian federal seats.

Ted Baillieu is backing the change.

Also backing the change is Committee for Monash chair Kate Ashmor, who said many redistributions meant Melbourne Ports barely resembled the original electorate. It was named for Port Melbourne and Williamstown but no longer includes Williamstown, now in the seat of Gellibrand.

“Sir John supervised the design, construction and funding of the Shrine of Remembrance, located within the electorate of Melbourne Ports,” Ms Ashmor says in her submission.

The sitting ALP member, Michael Danby, has said the name change was not a new idea, and he doubted the AEC would approve it.

“Monash is an imposing figure in Australian history, and has rightly been given the honour of having his portrait appear on our $100 note, as well as having a university, a ­municipality ... and even a freeway named after him,” he told the Australian Jewish News in 2015.

Sir John supervised the design, construction and funding of the Shrine of Remembrance. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Melbourne Ports has had only six members since Federation, and has been held by Labor since 1906.

Most other submissions relating to the redistribution involve suggestions to change the name of the regional seat of McMillan, named after Gippsland pioneer Angus McMillan, who has been linked to the killing of local Aborigines.

Other submissions include a call by Darebin council and indigenous groups to rename the inner Melbourne seat of Batman for Simon Wonga, a local Aboriginal leader in the 19th century.

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