Aboriginal place name row erupts as five councils go to war over push for change Blackwood River in WA to Goorbilyup: Here’s how the drama could put lives at risk

Several Australian councils will consider adding a river’s Aboriginal name to its colonial title, despite opposition from a community in the same part of the state.

At least three counties in western Australia’s south-west are still pushing for dual naming of the Blackwood River after a neighboring council voted against it.

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

The Western Australian Land Information Authority, also known as Landgate, does not normally approve the partial naming of geographical features that cross county boundaries.

Landgate says unofficial signage for such features can cause confusion for emergency services and pose a risk to personal safety.

The Blackwood flows through the counties of Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Boyup Brook, Augusta Margaret River, West Arthur and Nannup and is the longest river in south-west WA.

It was named in 1827 by the colonial administrator Captain James Stirling after Vice Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, under whom he had served in the Napoleonic Wars.

For millennia it was known as Goorbilyup to the original inhabitants living along the route and was sacred to people from the Noongar language groups.

The Bridgetown-Greenbushes Cultural Inclusion Advisory Committee had identified the dual naming of the river as a ‘priority project’.

It approached the four other counties about adding the traditional name of Blackwood and all agreed in principle except Boyup Brook, which rejected it.

Among those angry about that rejection was Noongar elder Sandra Hill, who felt she had been “kicked in the guts” after pushing for the recognition for more than a year.

Bridgetown-Greenbushes president Jenny Mountford told Daily Mail Australia her council would still consider using both names for the river on an informal basis.

“It’s definitely something we’re looking at,” she said.

“We haven’t dropped the ball on the project and it’s something we definitely want to achieve in some way.”

“Obviously we would prefer it to be official, but we understand that there are other options and we will certainly look at them.”

Councilor Mountford said Bridgetown-Greenbushes ratepayers had not yet been consulted about having duplicate names for the river.

“It’s obviously a very sensitive issue,” she said. “It’s absolutely not something we could do without the approval of the broader community.”

Augusta Margaret River President Julia Meldrum said her council would also consider informally giving the waterway two titles.

“Augusta Margaret River is already dual naming throughout our county, so the council would definitely consider that,” she said.

‘We have a Walking Together Strategy that we have developed in collaboration with our local Traditional Owners and which guides our recognition of their culture.’

Nannup shire chief executive Tony Dean said there was nothing stopping his council from erecting signs at the Blackwood to recognize both names for the river.

West Arthur President Neil Morrell was contacted for comment.

Councilor Mountford said her county could also revisit the issue with Boyup Brook, the only local authority to put the proposal to a vote.

“Maybe we can have a deeper conversation about it and maybe explain it more fully to the Boyup Brook community,” she said.

Boyup Brook council minutes from October 23 show that a motion to reject support for the Blackwood’s dual naming passed by six votes to two.

The proposal 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 it.

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 Blackwood’s 28,100 km² watershed is used for agriculture, including grain production and grazing.

Ms Hill, an acclaimed artist from Balingup, said in a social media post that she was ‘completely devastated’ by Boyup Brook’s decision.

“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.

Ms. Hill noted that goorbal meant “gut or bowel,” bilya was “river or waterway,” and “place of” was represented by “up” in the river’s native name.

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

A spokeswoman for Landgate told Daily Mail Australia the authority “recognises the importance of place naming and how it connects people to place, culture and environment”.

“Dual naming provides opportunities to recognize and preserve our unique history, both ancient and contemporary,” she said.

‘Where a feature such as a river crosses several local government areas, the change will in most cases require the approval of all affected local authorities.

‘However, name changes may be considered if there is wider community support or if the change is necessary to reduce confusion or for public safety reasons.

‘Landgate discourages the use of signage for names of geographical features that have not been officially approved as this could potentially pose a safety risk by causing confusion for emergency services.’