During the last decade many community members, the traditional owners of the land - the Dja Dja Wurrung - and more recently members of Hepburn Shire Council's Reconciliation Action Plan Committee have called for Jim Crow Creek to be renamed due to the racist and derogatory connotations of the name.

While the creek originally had an Indigenous name, it was renamed around the 1840s, according to professor Barry Golding AM.

Around that time the term was widely used to describe black and enslaved people in America, with a popular song resulting in the term 'Jim Crow' being widely adopted elsewhere. It also featured in the since repealed 'Jim Crow Laws, which became part of several US state constitutions, and mandated the segregation of black and white people from 1877 until the 1950s.

The creek, which begins just outside of Hepburn and runs through small townships such as Franklinford and north to near Newstead - where it joins the Loddon River - is more than 20-kilometres long.

Golding's research indicates the term 'Jim Crow' was also sometimes used to refer to the Loddon Aboriginal Protectorate Station at Franklinford and the individuals who lived within it.

Related coverage: Continued push to change creek's racist name

The sign was placed at the creek, at Shrives Bridge in Shepherds Flat, about a fortnight ago.

The Courier has contacted numerous agencies including Hepburn Shire Council, VicRoads and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - all who have denied placing the sign there.

In an email seen by The Courier, the North Central Catchment Authority also denied installing the sign, saying it was committed to renaming the creek with an Indigenous name.

It understands the sign was placed by a community member, which is in line with the belief of many local residents.

Community member Joan MacKenzie has been campaigning for the name to be changed since 1994.

She said other areas had changed place names from using the Jim Crow term very quickly, with some within a couple of months.

"We've been at this for so long. We can easily go to our graves before seeing the name changed."

Ms MacKenzie said she had great respect for first nations people and seeing the name broke her heart.

"I actually get physically sick seeing the sign," she said.

Living near the Aboriginal protectorate site at Franklinford, she said the land in the area was "screaming for recognition and for the truth telling of the history of this area".

She said changing the name in respect of Aboriginal people was incredibly important.

"To acknowledge the memory there was a clan and a tribe once on this land. We ignore it - our history is warped."

The campaign to change the name has sparked fierce debate in the community, with some people stating they have a connection to the creek as it is currently named.

Djaara Group Chief Executive Officer, Rodney Carter, said he had been contacted by "distraught and upset" community members who had seen the sign.

While the process to change the name has been a long one, he said it would be comforting if it is changed to Dja Dja Wurrung language.

"From a healing point of view, that's a key positive. People will be able to move on from historical disadvantage and trauma," Mr Carter explained.

"For a Dja Dja Wurrung person to hear someone else use their language will be really positive."

He said while the discussion was topical, the current name traumatised his people living in the community.

Despite this, he would like to learn more about the community connection to the current name of the creek.

"I really believe that to move forward together we need to at least hear what other people's concerns are," he said, adding he believed it would help to move towards a "more positive future".

He said putting Aboriginal language back into the landscape would be restorative, given his people had been alienated from the creek and its significance due to its name.

"For my people, [it would say] you are welcome again, you can be present and you are appreciated.

"Putting language into landscape will not rob people of what they currently possess, it's reframing it and making it beautiful again. I hope people can appreciate that."

Last year he told The Courier that as the land can mean 'the home of the emu', the board would like to see the creek's name changed to 'larni barramal yaluk'.

Mr Carter said the Dja Dja Wurrung understood how difficult it could be for a community to change place names and grapple with the pronunciation of Aboriginal language.

He said one positive example was the naming of a community bike park in Harcourt, named La Larr Ba Gauwa Park, but as people understood it was embraced by the community.

A Hepburn Shire Council spokesperson said the council was unsure who had placed the sign there.

But despite calls from the community, they said the sign would not be removed.

"As the current creek name is still correct Council does not intend to remove the sign."

As part of its commitment to reconciliation, the council has proposed to rename the creek.

"This is a complex process which requires several levels of approval, requiring agreement across multiple agencies to meet statutory requirements."

The council will soon begin a community engagement process regarding the proposed renaming of the creek.

Our team of local journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the Ballarat community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: