Moreland Council to change name after discovering slavery link

Moreland Council has been told the municipality home to 180,000 Melburnians was named after a slave trade plantation and is now planning to change its name.

Moreland City Council is set to change its name after learning last week it was named after an 18th century Jamaican sugar plantation that had hundreds of slaves.

Moreland was made aware of its namesake by Indigenous elders and community representatives and will consider a report on the issue at its next council meeting in December.

The council in Melbourne’s inner north is home to more than 180,000 people.

The land Moreland is on was sold to Farquhar McCrae in 1839, who named his new estate after his father and grandfather’s sugar plantation in operation from 1770 to 1796.

The plantation’s business was sugar, rum and slave trading with 500 to 700 slaves imprisoned there at any one time.

Farquhar McCrae is the pivotal character in the Moreland name.

Moreland Mayor Mark Riley, who was elected only last week, said the council was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn that Moreland was named after a slave estate.

“The history behind the naming of this area is painful, uncomfortable and very wrong. It needs to be addressed,” Mr Riley said.

“Moreland stands firmly against racism, we are one community, proudly diverse. Council is committed to working with Wurundjeri people and we take the request very seriously.

“This important issue aligns with our commitment to reconciliation and human rights.”

The report being considered at the council meeting will explore the idea of embarking on a community engagement process to determine a new name for Moreland City Council.

However, the council is ultimately unable to change its own name, with that power reserved for the state government.

Mr Riley said at this stage it is not considering renaming any other features, such as schools or roads.

In 1994, the local government areas of Brunswick, Coburg and part of Broadmeadows were amalgamated, with the Kennett government dubbing the new local government area Moreland.

Former Premier Jeff Kennett told the Herald Sun on Thursday he had no memory of how Moreland, or any other local government areas, came to be named during his time in office.

A website dedicated to the name change said Moreland is “doubly loaded with racism”.

“This name was imported to commemorate the Moreland estate slave plantation in Jamaica, by an opportunist land speculator who actively contributed to the dispossession and displacement of traditional owners,” the website reads.

Sydney Rd in Coburg, one of Moreland’s main drawcards. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“He chose the name to celebrate slavery globally, and dispossession locally.”

The website alleges the Kennett government was alerted to the name’s “racist links” at the time of the amalgamation.

“In 1994, this name was declared by the state government upon amalgamation of the Brunswick and Coburg councils, despite alerts to its racist links,” the website continues.

“The Moreland name is now known to be insensitive and disrespectful, and its retention is untenable.

“This provides a timely opportunity for the City, community and stakeholders to demonstrate and celebrate respect and recognition, through selecting a new name that embodies awareness, acknowledgment and healing.”

A photo of a Moreland street sign ciculating on social media suggests the community already knew the council was named after McCrae’s grandfather’s plantation - but were potentially unaware it was a slave estate.

Below a street sign which reads “Moreland Rd”, another reads: “Moreland farm occupied land between Albion St, Reynard St & Sydney Rd.”

It continues: “Owned by Dr Farquhar McCrea (1807-50) and named after his grandfather’s estate in Jamaica.”