City council votes NO to giving a river an Aboriginal name, leaving high-profile Indigenous elder 'completely shattered': 'Shame on you'

Moves to add the Indigenous name of a Western Australian river to its official title have been blocked by a council following opposition from the local community.

The dual naming proposal for the Blackwood River in the state's south-west cannot go ahead after being rejected by the Shire of Boyup Brook.

Advocates for change wanted the Blackwood to also be known by its indigenous name Goorbilyup, but the suggestion needed the support of five councils.

In addition to Boyup Brook, the river flows through the counties of Augusta Margaret River, Nannup, Bridgetown-Greenbushes and West Arthur.

The refusal to use Blackwood's Aboriginal name has angered Noongar elder Sandra Hill, who felt she had been “kicked in the guts” after pushing for the recognition for more than a year.

The Boyup Brook council announced its decision in a Nov. 6 Facebook post, which drew mostly negative reactions.

“Can someone take a moment to explain why the 'inclusion' of the original name was not supported?” wrote one person. “Cultural wisdom is an asset everywhere, right?”

Another wrote: 'How would it hurt anyone? Say? Why wouldn't they want double naming?'

A third person replied: 'Shame on this shire for neglecting Noongar culture… Sadly this lack of spirit will give the Shire of Boyup Brook a bad name.'

But one person was particularly happy with the result. “Hip hip hurray,” they wrote.

The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes had sought Boyup Brook's support for the dual naming of the Blackwood in December 2022.

Bridgetown-Greenbushes, which formed a cultural inclusion advisory committee, had identified the dual naming as a “priority project.”

The Blackwood (above) runs for approximately 300 km from the junction of the Arthur and Balgarup Rivers at Quelarup in a south-westerly course through Bridgetown and Nannup and empties into the Southern Ocean at Augusta

Boyup Brook council minutes from October 23 show that a motion to support the request for dual naming of the Blackwood River passed by a vote of six to two.

The request had been put out for public consultation 'to gauge the thoughts of the community' and 10 of the 16 submissions the council received were against the dual naming.

The Western Australian Land Information Authority, known as Landgate, does not condone the double naming of parts of geographical features that cross county boundaries.

“It is for each local authority to individually support Landgate and request that the dual naming of the part of the Blackwood River that runs through their local authority boundary be approved,” the council minutes said.

The Blackwood runs for approximately 300 kilometers from the junction of the rivers Arthur and Balgarup at Quelarup in a south-westerly direction through Bridgetown and Nannup and empties into the Southern Ocean near Augusta.

Nearly 80 percent of the 28,100 km² watershed is used for agriculture, including grazing and grain production.

The town of Boyup Brook is located 269 km south-east of Perth and the area has been inhabited by the Noongar people for 65,000 years. The county covers 2,829 square kilometers and had a population of 1,834 at the last census

The town of Boyup Brook is located 269 km south-east of Perth and the area has been inhabited by the Noongar people for 65,000 years. The county covers 2,829 square kilometers and had a population of 1,834 at the last census.

The first European explorer reached the area in 1845 and the first colonial settler arrived in 1854.

Boyup Brook President Richard Walker declined to discuss the council's decision

According to the county's website, Boyup Brook was originally inhabited by the Bibbulmun people and the name is derived from the Aboriginal word Booyup, meaning 'place of great stones' or 'place of great smoke'.

“The large stones refer to the large granite rocks surrounding the Upper Blackwood area and the large smoke refers to the smoke from the burning of grass trees once called blackboys,” it reads.

Ms Hill, an acclaimed artist from Balingup, said on social media she was 'completely devastated' by the council's decision not to add Goorbilyup to Blackwood.

“There's a limit to how many times someone can get kicked in the gut in one lifetime, and I feel like I've reached mine,” she wrote.

Mrs. Hill commented Good meant 'intestine or bowel', Bilja was 'river or waterway', and 'place of' was represented by 'up' in the river's native name.

Augusta Margaret River shire president Julia Meldrum and Nannup shire president Tony Dean told Daily Mail Australia their councils supported the dual naming of the Blackwood (above)

“The Goorbilyup is the gut that runs through the entire landmass of the Southwest,” she wrote.

'It is fed by creeks, streams and streams along its entire length, starting at Dumbleyung Lake and ending at Taalinup (Augusta).

“It is the most precious, important and cultural land asset known to the Bibbulmun people; through its waters it provides continued nourishment for all the forests, flora and fauna of south-west WA.”

Augusta Margaret River shire president Julia Meldrum and Nannup shire president Tony Dean told Daily Mail Australia their councils supported the dual naming of the Blackwood.

West Arthur President Neil Morrell was contacted for comment.

Boyup Brookshire chief executive Richard Walker said that despite claims that only his council blocked the dual naming, other councils along the river's course had not voted on the proposed move.

“I think there has been some very destructive and divisive reporting on this,” Councilor Walker said.

“I've spoken directly to people in the community and I think it's best done that way. It's not something I would have a conversation about in the media.'

Ms Hill thanked the counties that wanted dual naming of the river in her social media post.

“Historically, the dual naming would have been one of the most important and respectful gestures that would have given incredibly positive recognition to each of these county councils that actively supported the dual naming signage,” Ms. Hill wrote.

“Shame on you, Boyup Brook, you just missed the perfect opportunity to shine the light on your somewhat insignificant town and show the nation how generous you are for recognizing and implementing this very small change.”