Thread: Flinders Ranges NP renamed

Originally Posted by Simon

Seems slightly mad, this urge to rename everything. Perhaps joint names make sense, as we progress into a joint future (hopefully without some of the errors of the past) just seems like a knee jerk cringe reaction when the European name is completely discarded as seems to happen in some cases.

NO Simon, you've got it wrong.

Everything already had a name.

In our ignorance we chose to name everything we saw after some failed explorer
or some reverance to England.

I love the fact that things are reverting to how they should be.

If only they had invented maps...

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

NO Simon, you've got it wrong.

Everything already had a name.

In our ignorance we chose to name everything we saw after some failed explorer
or some reverance to England.

I love the fact that things are reverting to how they should be.

Not quite that simple. Since the middle of the 19th century governments in Aus. have actively encouraged using the indigenous names for landmarks. However, this becomes difficult in the case of a river, for example. Each clan living along the river would have their own name for their section of river, so the Murray, for example, would have as many names as there are clans. To compound the problem, the name may have a sacred meaning, and must remain secret to every other clan. When you consider how many dialects there are in indigenous Australia, you get an idea of the complexity of using indigenous names in early Australian history.

Our Languages | Indigenous Placenames

Originally Posted by Eevo

If only they had invented maps...

Their maps were in their heads. Every important place [ waterholes, food sources] had a story. Stories were told & retold , in dance or song. The local people could travel the land, from water hole to food source, simply by remembering the stories. The poor old European had to rely on maps. So much for the primitive native.

like i said... if only they had invented maps....

They weren't as primitive as we were taught Bob, have a read of Bruce Pasco's "Dark Emus".

Originally Posted by bob10

Not quite that simple. Since the middle of the 19th century governments in Aus. have actively encouraged using the indigenous names for landmarks. However, this becomes difficult in the case of a river, for example. Each clan living along the river would have their own name for their section of river, so the Murray, for example, would have as many names as there are clans. ...

The Europeans would never have given the same river different names would they?

I'm thinking about the Hawkesbury / Nepean river, West of Penrith its the Nepean, at Windsor its Hawkesbury.

Rather than window dressing the indigenous names and welcome to country tokenism, wouldn't it be better to actually do something about their lives? The huge gap in health outcomes, education, and refusing to provide services and employment opportunities in remote locations (forcing them off their traditional lands)?.

Things are not going to go back to what they were. That is a very sad fact but true nonetheless. Even if we all upped and left how much traditional knowledge has been lost forever, preventing a return to how things were in many areas.

For better or worse it's a joint future, hence my comment re discarding the European name.

What to do about closing the gap, that's a whole different debate, one I don't feel qualified to really comment on. However I believe whatever is done has to be a mutual process.