Indigenous names, prominent women for new, renamed City of Melbourne streets

Indigenous names and prominent women will be the number one choice for new and renamed streets under a plan signed off on by City of Melbourne.

Prominent women and Indigenous names will be prioritised for new and renamed streets and place names in the City of Melbourne.

The plan “will give priority to Aboriginal language names and the recognition of historically significant women” for the “naming or renaming of roads, council buildings and facilities, features and localities.”

Any proposal to name a street or landmark something that does not match the set criteria would need to come back to council and be voted on.

Town Hall passed the plan at the council meeting this week, with the only vote against the proposal coming from Councillor Roshena Campbell.

City of Melbourne has passed a plan to prioritise Indigenous language and women in renamed streets.

“The reason I can’t support that is because my view is that if a person has given back to their local community they shouldn’t fall to the bottom of a pile just because they are a bloke,” she said.

“We should be open to recognising all Melburnians, and there are no shortage of them who are women.

“We have a female lord mayor, our state has a female premier – before them there are countless who are deserving of recognition.”

Mrs Campbell said she believed any future street or place name should be done solely on merit.

“I don’t believe for a second that if we were presented with women who should be recognised in appropriate places that this council would hesitate to do that,” she said.

“I have no doubt that their merits, women would be recognised in place naming.”

Deputy Lord Mayor Nick Reece said it was important for the council to focus on this policy now as urban renewal areas such as Arden and Fishermans Bend get developed and new streets and parks are created.

“For too long we have airbrushed out of our city an important part of our history and it’s time to set thing right,” he said.

“In the last 20 years, there have been 50 new roads named after men - and less than half named after women.

“So even in modern times women continue to be underrepresented in our place names.”

As part of the plan, community members will have a more formal engagement process and be able to provide alternative suggestions.

The council plan will still comply with the Naming Rules for Places in Victoria as issued by the state government.