How the state of Victoria could become a thing of the past
The state of Victoria could be renamed, with an Aboriginal activist saying anything “named after someone who’s caused harm or murdered people” should have its moniker stripped. It comes as a craft brewer was booted from a liquor chain over its branding.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Our state’s name could be changed under a treaty with Aboriginal groups, says a prominent indigenous activist.
Victoria was named after Queen Victoria, who ruled the British Empire, including the Australian colonies, until 1901.
However, Aboriginal activist and former Greens state MP Lidia Thorpe said a new name could be considered during treaty talks between the state government and indigenous groups.
“Anything that’s named after someone who’s caused harm or murdered people, then I think we should take their name down,” she said.
“It could even stay the same if that’s what people want, if that’s part of the negotiation outcome of a treaty where everyone gets to understand both sides.”
Premier Daniel Andrews has dubbed “ridiculous” a move to change the name of Victoria.
Calls to pull down statues and monuments linked to Australia’s colonial past have grown since the recent Black Lives Matters protests across the country.
Mr Andrews said the idea to dump the state’s name, which was named after Queen Victoria, was ridiculous.
“I’m not interested in symbols and divisive debates, I’m interested in action that sees Aboriginal people have far greater control over their lives and Aboriginal policy...and a shared future,” he said.
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said: “I thought I’d heard every stupid idea under the sun after 14 years in this place, but that takes the cake.”
Ms Thorpe, who is a candidate for the vacant Victorian Greens Senate seat, said now was a chance to tell the full truth about monuments from the “colonial invasion”.
Melbourne co-founder John Batman is honoured throughout the city in places such as Batman Ave and a monument at Queen Victoria Market.
City of Melbourne councillor Nicholas Reece said there were problems with Batman due to his involvement in the hunting of Tasmanian Aboriginals before he helped found Melbourne.
“There’s a number of monuments and statues to John Batman in Melbourne, and I think there’s a case to be made around perhaps them being given a less prominent place in our city,” he told 3AW.
The council’s Aboriginal Melbourne portfolio chairman Nicolas Frances Gilley said councillors had asked management for a report on the situation in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
“We’ve got marches in the city and we need to think about how we support, respond and keep those safe, and it is affecting globally the way people are thinking about statues and monuments,” he said.
Meanwhile, craft brewer Colonial Brewing Co has become the latest victim of a spiralling cancel culture with anti-racism activists calling for the brand to be removed from shelves for “creating nostalgia” for a time when indigenous people “were killed en masse”.
The Australian family-owned business, which has breweries in Victoria and Western Australia, has been forced to look into the possibility of a costly rebranding after receiving “significant” feedback about its name.
It comes after Melbourne liquor chain Blackhearts & Sparrows said it would no longer stock Colonial’s products across its eight stores.
Last night, Gippsland’s Wellington Shire Council was due to vote on the removal of two monuments honouring Scottish explorer and pastoralist Angus McMillan, who was accused of indigenous massacres in the area.
MORE NEWS
ADMINISTRATORS TAKE CONTROL OF VICTORIAN LABOR
FAILED ‘SUPER CITY’ BACKERS WANT MONEY BACK