Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Ms BLANDTHORN (Pascoe Vale—Leader of the House, Minister for Planning) (15:15): I rise today to support Moreland City Council’s endeavours to change their name from Moreland to Merri-bek, ‘rocky country’ in the Woiwurrung language. Moreland council was named as such in 1994, when Jeff Kennett as Premier merged the LGAs of Brunswick, Coburg and Broadmeadows. The name ‘Moreland’ traces back to a Jamaican slavery plantation, and it was acquired from the name of a local property owned by Farquhar McCrae in the 1830s. He named his property after a family-run sugar plantation in Jamaica which operated using slave labour—indeed which facilitated the use of slave labour. The name ‘Moreland’ is offensive to many in our community who have a profound sense of social justice, and it does not reflect my community’s interconnectedness and proud multicultural heritage. The name of our council should be one that we are all proud of and one that does not stem from a racially prejudiced past, a name that allows us to deepen our connection with the traditional owners of our land and their history, allowing us to join with 11 other Melbourne councils the names of which have Indigenous language origins.

Merri-bek reflects my electorate and the broader local council area’s connection to the Merri Creek and the rocky earth landscape which makes up our local city council area. It pays respect to our natural landscape and even pays homage in a way to the social history of our community, from the bluestone quarry that now forms the Coburg Lake and the bluestone which was used in so many of our local laneways through to the building of Pentridge Prison. This is an opportunity for us to continue our path to healing, recognition and reconciliation.