PLANS to name the city's newest suburb after a renowned indigenous elder have been dropped by the City of Ballarat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ballarat councillors voted to reject a proposal to name the area bounded by Wiltshire Lane, the Ballarat-Carngham Road and the Glenelg Highway "Mullawallah" following a heated council meeting on Wednesday night.
The suburb was to bear the name of much-respected Aboriginal elder William Wilson ("King Billy") or "Mullawallah" as he was generally known.
He was one of the Wathaurung (Wadda wurrung) men who lived in the Ballarat region.
A flood of outraged residents made public submissions on the issue, vehemently refuting claims that any objections on the proposal had racist intent.
More than 50 people crowded into the Town Hall to voice their opposition to the proposed name.
Yorkdale Estate resident Steve Bray said the lengthy process was impacting residents and their families.
"For anyone to brand us racist is totally unfair," Mr Bray said.
"Not once has there been a racist slur in any of the submissions. Our concerns are based on the safety of residents in emergencies and valid reasons that have been outlined about pronunciation and spelling of the name."
Delacombe resident Mark Smith said residents wanted to work alongside the Aboriginal community to reach an agreement.
Mr Smith said the community wanted to honour the area's historical ties 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.
Cr Des Hudson called for the matter to be deferred as no public submissions were presented by the city's indigenous community.
The chamber heard that a representative of the Wathaurung people had been unable to attend the meeting.
"I'm calling for it to be deferred on the basis that not everybody who wants to make a submission can attend tonight," Cr Hudson said.
His motion was met by public outcry from residents and opposed by Cr Amy Johnson who said there had already been extensive consultation on the matter.
Cr Belinda Coates raised concerns that the indigenous community may not have attended because of the overwhelming opposition to the name.
Cr Coates outlined some may have found situation "hurtful or confronting."
"The Wathaurung people have been very gracious about it," Cr Coates said. "That's why they have been willing not to push the issue strongly."
The decision comes after the council was inundated with 109 submissions from residents living in or near the new suburb, opposing the name.
Most 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.
A motion put forward by Cr Coates to defer a decision was rejected.
All councillors with the exception of Cr Coates voted in favour of abandoning the name.