Residents push to change street named after colonial-era killer

COMMUNITY members are pushing to rename an NT street which commemorates a notorious police officer who was responsible for the deaths of Indigenous people during the colonial period

COMMUNITY members are pushing to rename a street in Alice Springs which commemorates a notorious police officer who was responsible for the deaths of Indigenous people in Central Australia during the colonial period.

Willshire St in The Gap was named after William Willshire, who established a police station at Heavitree Gap but complaints by missionaries led to its abandonment after three chained prisoners were shot in the back by police.

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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.

Willshire 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 week urging them to support renaming the street which she thinks will enrich history rather than erase it.

“When people walk past a street sign and see a name, they think the person has done a good deed,” she said.

Suki Dorras-Walker with a letter she has written to the Alice Springs Town Council requesting that the name of Willshire St be changed. Picture: EMMA MURRAY

“It’s symbolic if we change the street name of an officer who was charged with murdering Aboriginal people.”

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.

“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.”

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Councillor Jimmy Cocking said a motion was put forward in Council to discuss renaming the street.

“It’s important for Council to support that as a process towards reconciliation and ensure we acknowledge terrible things that happened in our colonial history,” he said.

Feedback can be sent to the Place Names Committee:

placenames.nt.gov.au/contact-us