Places and their names can hold different meanings for different people, but what happens when those in a community are uncomfortable with a historical figure or the association a place is named after?
In recent years, there have been concerted efforts nation-wide to clear sites and landmarks of offensive or archaic slurs.' Chinaman ' place names , after a new resident called for it to be changed because they considered it offensive.
Between 1857 and 1863, more than 17,000 Chinese migrants walked from the seaside town of Robe to Ballarat. Some wouldn't survive. "Needs to be changed. Doesn't change your history — shows that you acknowledge your history and the problems of it," another commented on Instagram. "It is on par with the N-word. In 21st century multicultural Australia and multicultural WA, this word is no longer acceptable, and that's why we don't hear this word often.
"I just would have liked to have known his name to maybe change it to represent his name rather than just this generic term," she said.Australia 'decades behind' "If you look at New Zealand there's only 13 places, in the United States there's 21, and in Canada right now there's only a single place because there has been a concerted effort to change place names."
Osmond Chiu said places could be renamed in a way that respects both the history and people associated with them.Mr Chiu said he believed "greater awareness" was key to ensuring Australia could follow a similar path of successful name changes like other countries. "Education is going to need to be the first step because many people don't understand why placenames need to change and I think we saw that in Penola."ABC Western Qld: Craig FitzsimmonsMs Poon said there were all sorts of different names that needed to be reconsidered in Australia, not only those which referred to Chinese people.
Whadjuk-Noongar elder and professor in Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia, Dr Len Collard, said places named after "despots", such as the former King Leopold Ranges, never belonged in Australia."If people actually knew who King Leopald was … he murdered millions of Africans, how did his name get on our country?," Mr Collard said.
Chinamen Place Names Penola Chinamans Lane Gold Rush South Australia Name Change Locations Sites Places Osmond Chiu Kaylene Poon Len Collard Indigenous Aboriginal Massacre Sites Debate
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