Three well-known parks in Central Australia are being re-branded to reflect their traditional Aboriginal names.
The ABC reports that West MacDonnell National Park, Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature Park, and the Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve will now be known by a mixture of their traditional Aboriginal names and the current names.
The national broadcaster says that, for the next 10 to 20 years, the parks will be respectively known as Tjoritja/ West MacDonnell National Park, Yeperenye/Emily and Jessie Gaps Nature Park and Napwerte/Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve.
It is believed that the three parks will eventually be known only by their Aboriginal names.
“The names have been changed to reflect each park or reserve’s deep and long-standing Aboriginal cultural associations,” said the Northern Territory’s Parks and Wildlife Minister Bess Price in a statement. “It will take time for people to adjust to the new names, but Uluru and Nitmiluk are good examples where the Aboriginal place names have become commonly accepted and adopted around the world.”
Tjoritja has no specific meaning, but is how the MacDonnell Ranges have been known for a long time by the Western and Central Arrente people.
Yeperenye is the name for one of the three caterpillars traditional owners of the East MacDonnell Ranges associated with important cultural sites and rock art.
Napwerte is the name for a rocky outcrop in the rock carvings conservation reserve, but as the entire name is a sacred men’s site any association with the name remains secret.
Central Land Council chairman Francis Kelly said including the traditional names helped maintain the culture and keep song lines alive, but he told the ABC the European and Aboriginal names should always be part of the official titles of the parks.
“I think it is best to have both names there to be recognised,” Mr Francis said. “People from all over are coming in and recognise the two worlds, sharing things.”
I grew up knowing it as Ayers Rock, and I will Die Calling it Ayers Rock,I do not mind name changes ,for specific reasons or to Honour someone or some event, But only if it is voiced by a majority of the people, NOT because some Bureaucat thinks its politically correct to do so.
so if one feels it must be changed, Well do so, !! Because i will still go there as i go to a Place not a name but surely there are more important issues facing the indeginious people today ??
You make a good point, Daryl. I also have never signed up for political correctness, but am happy to accommodate a joint name, as they have indicated in the story. But, as you are with Ayres Rock, I will continue with the European name because I can pronounce them :). I note also that “Tjoritja has no specific meaning”. Does not seem to make sense to me, but it must have done so to the bureaucrat who jumped onto this one.