Batman Bridge: Launceston councillor revives push to rename

A Tasmanian council is to consider the motion put forward by a councillor, which reignites an issue put on the backburner previously due to no alternative name being put forward.

A northern Tasmanian councillor wants to reignite debate about the appropriateness of naming an important river-spanning bridge after a “colonial murderer”, a week after Hobart City Council voted to remove a statue of a former premier.

The City of Launceston will debate Councillor Tim Walker’s motion on Thursday, with Mr Walker’s recommendation that they partner with West Tamar and George Town councils in setting up a consultation process to ultimately submit a new name for the Batman Bridge for consideration by the Nomenclature Board, likely to be voted down due to cost.

The Batman Bridge, which spans the Tamar River and connects Hillwood and Sidmouth, is named after John Batman, the pastoralist who founded Melbourne after earlier relocating from his native NSW to what was then known as Van Diemen’s Land.

Batman participated in the notorious ‘Black Line’ in 1830.

Batman Bridge (AAP Image/Diana Plater)

All three councils have previously made moves in this direction, but former premier Peter Gutwein responded to overtures by noting “that as no proposal for a change of name has been suggested, there is no decision to be made”.

The recommendation from Mr Walker is that the City of Launceston “agrees to write to the George Town and the West Tamar councils to invite them to partner in a Tamar Valley wide community consultation that will provide educational historical context, community feedback and a citizen assembly or jury in each of the municipalities to agree on a recommended name to be submitted to the Nomenclature Board”.

Mr Walker’s report presented to his fellow Launceston councillors noted council had “already agreed that his name should not be celebrated”.

Mr Batman was described by Mr Walker as a “colonial murderer”.

“We… have a significant Aboriginal population who would like to see an end to the celebration of John Batman, along with many non-Aboriginal people,” he said.

“Ultimately this has to be a decision that is made and owned by the community, to ensure that the state government take it as a meaningful change.

“It is important that this cannot simply be a vote of residents, or of councillors, as this could be seen as a judgment upon racial or cultural grounds.

“If a consensus is reached, all councils would need to agree to support the next step of nominating a name change.”

Council’s chief executive Michael Stretton recommended the motion be voted down by council as the “organisation does not have the available capacity to deliver the project at this time”, either financially or in terms of the council officer manpower required, estimated to be north of 400 hours.

Mr Stretton instead recommended Launceston, George Town and West Tamar councils “utilise the engagement framework included in the City of Launceston Aboriginal Partnership Plan to consider the potential for a project to develop and submit a change of name for the Batman Bridge to the State Government’s Place Names Office and the Register of Place Names for inclusion in the 2023–24 Annual Plan and Budget”.

The push by Mr Walker comes less than a week after Hobart City Council voted to remove a statue of former premier William Crowther from Franklin Square in an Australian-first.

The federal electorate of Batman was changed to Cooper in 2018, named for Yorta Yorta activist and leader William Cooper.