Cultural ‘appropriation’ by firms of Aboriginal names condemned in Tasmania

Outrage in Tasmania as official Aboriginal name for Mount Wellington is trademarked.

Mt Wellington, also known as Kunanyi, above Hobart.

It took decades for Tasmania's Aborigines to win dual naming rights for Mount Wellington but little effort for several companies to appropriate their name, ­Kunanyi, for hundreds of new products.

Kunanyi, the widely used official dual name for Hobart’s majestic backdrop, has recently been trademarked by three firms, for hundreds of products that range from whisky and beer wort to clothes, bags, station­ery, stubby holders and dog poo bags.

The state’s Aboriginal community is outraged, particularly as only one of the companies, the provider of an all-weather bus tour of the mountain, consulted it before registering the trademarks.

Heather Sculthorpe, chief executive of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, said the approp­riation of Kunanyi was “shocking” and akin to walking over Uluru.

“Our language was taken from us, together with our land, many of our ancient cultural practices and most of our old people,” she said. “Gradually we are rebuilding our community’s cultural connections with our past.

“The original names of signif­icant geographical features is essentia­l to this endeavour. It puts our people back in the landscape and it requires a recognition by white Lutruwita/Tasmania that our people are the first people of this island.

“The use of place names like Kunanyi divorced from their contex­t strips those names of meaning, without returning any social, cultural or economic benefi­t to the community whose language is being expropriated.”

She urged companies wanting to use the name to consult with the community and where possible employ or involve local indigenous people in the venture.

A 2018 independent report commissioned by the federal government and IP Australia, which administers intellectual property rights, recommended the adoption of protocols, training and amended guidance for trademark examiners, language databases, and legislation to protect indigenous languages.

Sydney developer John Ibrahim, who is building a new whisky distillery at Callington Mill at Oatlands, in Tasmania’s midlands, trademarked Kunanyi for a range of whiskies.

He said it did not occur to him to consult the Aboriginal community. “I just thought it was a nice name,” he said. “I’ve never given it any thought … I guess I’d have to respec­t their feelings and not use it, but I’d like more information on (their concerns).”

He did not believe all Aborig­inal words should be off-limits for commercial use. “To simply say we can’t use any Aboriginal word, anywhere, I would argue against that,” he said.

Creswell Investments has ­secured the trademark on Kun­anyi for several hundred products, including textiles, bags, clothes, cups, stationery, crockery and beverages. The company’s listed phone numbers have been disconnected and it could not be contacted.

IP Australia approved the Kun­anyi trademarks within seven to 10 months of application, listing no objections.