Renaming Sydenham Park with an Aboriginal name could take up to 18 months and cost about $20,000, according to a report to Brimbank council.
Council is considering changing the park’s name to reflect the area’s Aboriginal history.
A report to the November 15 council said the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation would need to be consulted about the change, as would Geographic Names Victoria and the Brimbank community.
According to the council report, officers anticipate =council will need $20,000 in funding for the project, while updating signage, wayfinding and communications materials with the new name and officers’ time could add to the bill.
“It is anticipated that a renaming process could take in the order of 12-18 months, noting it will depend on the stakeholder and community consultation process,” the report stated.
Council officers had recommended delaying the renaming until the 2023-24 financial year, stating that no money was allocated for the project in this year’s budget.
However, councillors decided to proceed with renaming the park this year.
Mayor Bruce Lancashire said the renaming was something the community had been proposing for a while.
He said the historical society and Friends of Sydenham Park supported the park being given an Aboriginal name.
Renaming the park would help educate the wider community about the local Aboriginal language and the park’s Indigenous cultural heritage, he said.
“Sydenham Park is council’s largest park. It has considerable significant from an Aboriginal cultural heritage point of view,” Cr Lancashire said.
“When the park is opened to the public next year, it will become, I believe, a major local and tourist attraction. Sydenham Park is located some distance from Sydenham.”
Deputy mayor Ranka Rasic supported bringing forward the park’s renaming, saying she thought it was an excellent way to pay respect to the Aboriginal community.
Cr Victoria Borg said while she supported giving Sydenham Park an Aboriginal name, she believed the project should be deferred until 2023-24 given there was no money allocated for the renaming process in the current budget.
