Dual names for sites of cultural significance

City of Mount Gambier has adopted a Dual Naming Policy that will see Boandik language featured alongside the place names of six local sites of cultural significance – Umpherston Sinkhole, the Cave Garden, Leg of Mutton Lake, Brownes Lake, the Valley Lake and the Blue Lake.

Council has committed to a shared vision for reconciliation and is working with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to foster a strong cultural identity for Mount Gambier. This includes the acknowledgement, celebration and preservation of cultural practices, traditional sites and significant places.

The implementation of dual names for sites of cultural significance is detailed as a key action in the ‘Yerkalalpata’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which was adopted in early 2020.

“We all share a relationship with the land and the names we give to places convey their significance, sense of history and identity,” City of Mount Gambier Mayor Lynette Martin said.

“Dual naming is recognised as an important step towards reconciliation and the truth-telling process for our Boandik Peoples.”

The policy was developed in collaboration with members of Council’s Yerkalalpata RAP Community Reference Group including Boandik Elders, local First Nations community leaders and senior representatives of Aboriginal controlled community organisations.

In 2021, Council sought the advice of Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation and the Bunganditj Language Reclamation Committee to confirm the agreed names and spelling of key local sites of cultural significance and the approval to pursue the shared use of language through dual naming.

“The dual naming process will incorporate both the known European place name and the place name in Bunganditj – the reclaimed language of the Boandik Peoples. When referencing the areas both names will be used and displayed on signage throughout the city, for example: Blue Lake/Warwar,” Mayor Martin said.