On Indigenous place names and why they matter

 I live and work on the land of the Walbunja people of Yuin nation. This is important. Knowing the traditional name of the place where I have made my home anchors me to the history of my country: a history that stretches back thousands of millennia before my forebears arrived here, less than two centuries ago. As a descendant of immigrants, I have no ancestral ties to the land to which I was born. This is the case for the vast majority of Australians. Our ancestral ties are elsewhere. 

So what is it that gives us a sense of belonging? A sense that this land is, after all, home?

The Indigenous map of Australia
Traditional place names matter. When the British colonised the land mass they named New South Wales (despite its bearing no resemblance at all to old South Wales), they brought with them, and bestowed upon the newly colonised country their place names. Whether this was due to an arrogant claim of ownership, homesickness or just lack of imagination will never be known. 

Places like Tamworth, Penrith, Newcastle, Perth, Wellington, Epping, Ballina, Killarney, Richmond, Scarborough, Liverpool, Holland Park and so on ad nauseum dot our cities and landscape like confetti.

Then there's the dead white blokes. Many of these were intrepid explorers who went forth and rediscovered places that had been known for thousands of years and had names that meant something, but no, let the map show names like Leichardt, Ayer, Simpson, Cunningham, Tasman, Flinders, Bass, Oxley. Let the map also record for posterity the names of long-forgotten British government officials and minor nobility. Seriously, does anyone remember who Brisbane* was named after? Hobart?** 

The highest mountain in Queensland was named for Sir Henry Bartle Frere. He was an imperial administrator in India and Zanzibar, appointed Governor of the Cape Colony in 1877. He attempted to create a confederation of South Africa, whereby the British territories and Boer republics would be brought together as a single dominion. He failed. But, hey, let's name a mountain after him in a country he never visited!

But here's a thought: let's call the highest mountain in Queensland by the name it's been known by for millennia by the Noongyanbudda Ngadjon people: Chooreechillum. Sounds way better, no?

Adhering to the names given to places by the British settlers and colonisers is exclusive. Many people in this country do not have Anglo-celtic heritage. They have no ancestral ties to the places on the map named after British or Irish towns or landforms.


Traditional place names are unique to this country and are inclusive. These place names belong to everyone who has chosen to make Australia their home, whether they arrived on the last jumbo jet or they can trace their ancestry back to the beginning of European settlement. They denote landmarks and songlines and a tradition of naming that predates any of our recorded history. These names also sound great: they are lyrical and roll off the tongue almost like songs.

The good news is that we're starting to wake up to the uniqueness of our traditional place names. What's
even better is that this has happened without any official edict from government or anywhere else. This has arisen from community. There is no excuse for not knowing the traditional owners of the land we live on. It takes nothing away from those of us descended from immigrants but rather, gives us a place on an ancient land. 

At a recent ceremony in the town where I live, the Yuin elder present declined to welcome us to country. Instead, he said, "I'm not going to welcome you to country because this is your country!" Acknowledgement of place from a descendant of the people who have lived and worked on this land for thousands of years gives us an anchor. No, we're not guests on this country, so let's ditch the imported place names and embrace the heritage we all share.

*Brisbane is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773-1860), who was the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825.

** Hobart is named after Robert Hobart, the 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire, who was the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1804.

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