I SHARE the disappointment of Ballarat's respected Aboriginal elder, Mr Ted Lovett in the rejection of the name Mullawallah.
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For me, the disappointment is in the lack of leadership shown at council level; for him it is more profound.
It takes me back to the controversy surrounding attempts to change the name of the Grampians range from something borrowed from Scotland to something taken from Aboriginal people. We couldn't bring ourselves to do it.
I wonder if the councillors reflected for a moment on the names of their own provincial city and three of its surrounding towns Buninyong, Bungaree and Warrenheip. Despite our predilection for naming some of our major streets after gold commissioners of dubious quality or Queen Victoria and her dubious offspring, the name Ballaarat prevailed. Well almost.
It suggests to me that we are too easily swayed. Would names like Wangaratta or Manangatang have survived public consultation. I think not. If consulted, it is inevitable that the majority will reject what is at first new or strange.
Yet Mullawalla has a pleasant musical ring and we might even get to love it in the same way as those around Woolloomooloo love their place. And they have to pass a much harder spelling test than we would. So what about some fortitude councillors, and these days your computer can even run a spell test for you.