A report to be considered by councillors on Wednesday night recommends that the council abandons the current proposal and goes back to the drawing board.

The move comes after the council was inundated with 109 submissions from residents living in or near the new suburb, opposing the name.

Under the proposal, the area bounded by Wiltshire Lane, the Ballarat-Carngham Road and the Glenelg Highway was to bear the name of the much-respected Aboriginal elder William Wilson (“King Billy”) and “Mullawallah” as he was commonly known.

He was one of the Wathaurung (Wadda wurrung) men who lived in the Ballarat region.

Respected Aboriginal elder Ted Lovett said he was extremely disappointed by the council’s “backflip”. 

“It’s very upsetting. We talk about reconciliation, but we seem to be moving further and further away from it,” Mr Lovett said.

“He was one of the traditional owners of this land – you just have to read his story to see what he did in history and it speaks for itself.”

Mr Lovett said the area was also deeply sacred to the indigenous community, following the discovery of Aboriginal artefacts alongside Kensington Creek in recent years.

The proposed name has been shrouded with controversy since it was first considered by the council earlier this year. 

The majority of objections submitted to the council outlined concerns the proposed name was multi-syllable and difficult to pronounce and spell. 

Other objections argued there were too many other similarly-named towns and suburbs throughout Australia which could cause confusion when  emergency services were called for assistance.

However, another eight submissions supported the name and outlined they felt the name was appropriate and respectful.

Delacombe resident Mark Smith welcomed the report and said he hoped it would be the first steps to finding a resolution for the whole community. 

“It shows the council is acting on the interests of the community and they are prepared to listen and also help the community take steps in the right direction,” he said. 

He has maintained it was not a racist issue and that the resounding majority of residents were “disgusted” by the racially offensive comments that had surrounded the proposal. 

Mr Smith has said residents were open to other names honouring “King Billy”, including Wilson’s Rise or Wilson Heights.

He said he still wanted to see council pay hom-

age to the indigenous community by naming the nearby creek or the reserve between the Yorkdale and Kensington estates after the elder, or even consider renaming Kensington Creek to Mullawallah Creek.

But Mr Lovett said naming a creek or park after the respected elder was a “cop-out” and did not go far enough to acknowledge Mullawallah’s legacy.

Ballarat councillors will vote on the issue at Wednesday's meeting.

melissa.cunningham@fairfaxmedia.com.au