The council voted on Wednesday night to dump the proposed suburb name after residents voiced concerns it had too many syllables, was difficult to say and spell, and was too similar to other Australian towns and suburbs which could confuse emergency services.

However, on Thursday Cr Coates said Mullawallah – named after respected Aboriginal elder William Wilson – was completely compliant with the Guidelines for Geographic Names.

She also said, even if it was difficult to spell or pronounce, it would be exempt under the guidelines because it was indigenous, and also that the Office of Geographic Names had ruled it distinct enough from other town names to avoid any mix-ups.

Cr Coates said the residents’ “weight of numbers” influenced  the recommendation and final decision to abandon the name.

“My motion to defer, based on a direct request from the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative, was in view of the fact that supporters from the affected area, the broader community and indigenous community would not have realised how much weight was given to the affected residents’ views,” Cr Coates said.

“I voted against abandoning the proposal because I fully support the principle of adopting a suitable Aboriginal suburb name, the name Mullawallah is fully compliant with the guidelines ... and it would have been fairer to defer and allow supporters from within and outside of the affected area to come forward.”

Cr Peter Innes said residents were deeply offended they had been portrayed as racist for not wanting the Mullawallah name.

“Their concerns were listened to in the chamber and I thought they were quite relevant,” Cr Innes said.

Cr Samantha McIntosh said a “very strong message” was sent in the chamber Wednesday night.

“There were a great number of people expressing their views as residents and their thoughts on what they would like and it’s our job as a council to listen to all the arguments, all the debates, all the views and come up with an informed view,” Cr McIntosh said.

Cr Vicki Coltman is on sick leave and was unable to comment.

Cr Joshua Morris is also on leave awaiting the final state election results of the Western Victorian seat in which he stood as a Liberal candidate.

Mayor John Philips and councillors Des Hudson, Amy Johnson and Glen Crompton did not respond to The Courier’s request for an explanation of their vote.

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, which co-ordinates emergency service responses, was also contacted for comment but did not respond.

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au