A community group is considering challenging the Indigenous name given to the Kangaroo Flat aquatic centre, arguing council had mismanaged the consultation process.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The multi-million dollar facility was provisionally named the Kangaroo Flat aquatic centre the “Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre” following a unanimous councillor vote at a meeting on Wednesday.
“Gurri Wanyarra” means Kangaroo Waterhole, which references the creek close to the facility, and was a name submitted by the Dja Dja Wurrung.
Director of the Kangaroo Flat Community Enterprise Geoff Bowyer said Gurri Wanyarra should form the name of the overall precinct, which included a dog park, sporting ovals and other infrastructure, and the pool itself should be named after Bendigo’s only Olympic Gold medalist in swimming, Faith Leech.
Executives of the group, which is attempting to contribute $1 million via fundraising to help build the facility, will meet early next week to see if there is an appetite to put the proposal forward, Mr Bowyer said.
“Our view is that the Dja Dja Wurrung name should be respected, but we should be able to recognise the achievements of someone who has inspired a lot of young women to try and achieve their goals,” he said.
The decision to name the learn to swim pool the “Faith Leech learn to swim pool” was a “slap in the face”, according to Mr Bowyer.
“There has to be a way we can sincerely accommodate both names,” he said.
“We don’t think the council has done a terrific job – there’s been an absolute gap in consultation.”
Faith Leech’s son Adam Tuohy said his mother’s achievements needed to be recognised properly, not “second rate”.
“Naming the learn to swim pool after a legend of the pool? No thanks, mate, we don't support that at all,” he said.
“Aged five my mother was told she would be in a wheelchair and by 12 she was the fastest swimmer in the world.”
Mr Tuohy said Ms Leech was diagnosed with a double curvature of the spin and was told the best sport to strengthen her spine was swimming.
The rest is history, he said.
The older generation saw his mother as a “rock star”, but younger cohorts were in danger of not knowing who she was, according to Mr Tuohy.
A petition to name the facility after Ms Leech will be placed in the family’s jewellery store in Hargreaves Mall – J.M Leech jewellers.
Mr Tuohy’s comments follow former Liberal candidate Jack Lyons’ claims an Indigenous name for the facility would be a backward step, arguing it is “not appropriate”.
“We don’t need to name every new venue with a traditional name - that's going backwards, not forwards,” he said.
Related: Peaceful pool debate sought
“We should be naming the centre to what’s appropriate in the area and to the existing street names we have, which are all former Olympians.”
An Indigenous leader then called for a peaceful debate over the name, suggesting the council had approached the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation to submit a name.
“We want to move forward with this and make sure it's peaceful, we don't want to bring hostility to the argument,” said Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chairman Trent Nelson.
Members of the public will be able to provide feedback to council on the provisional name over the next month before it is formalised.