Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung elder Uncle Andrew Gardiner told Moreland City Council, in Melbourne’s Inner North, that the residents of the region lived in the shadow of “catastrophic dispossession” during a Council meeting on Monday. Addressing the meeting over webcam, he said “we have two examples of racism on display here, global slavery and local dispossession”. He said these examples “come together in one word, and that is Moreland”.

Councillors listened to his plea to change the name, and voted to support the motion in principle. Deputy Mayor Lambros Tapinos, whose parents migrated to Australia in the 1960s, said that Greek people over many centuries have experienced dispossession. “I understand the pains of the past. I understand the pains of dispossession,” he said, pointing to the pain as being cross-generational and acknowledging the wishes of the Wurundjeri community in supporting a name change.

Cr Angelica Panopoulos also supported the motion “as the granddaughter and great granddaughter of Pontian refugees”. She encouraged the community to look into its own family histories. “I think you know we can all look into our own family history and see these really traumatic events of being pushed from your land and prevented from practising your religion and seeing those inter-generational effects,” she said.

The motion, which also includes plans for a community education program, was voted  for during a special meeting. It had the support of Moreland Mayor Mark Riley, Deputy Mayor Lambros Tapinos and councillors Angelica Panopoulos, Adam Pulford, James Conlan and Sue Bolton. While six supported the motion, there were three councillors who voted against the proposal. These were Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos, Oscar Yildiz and Helen Davidson who cited concerns about the cost and speed of the decision. They showed a preference for letting the community decide.

READ MORE: Moreland Council: Should it adopt a Greek Name?

Cr Pavlidis said that the community is “proudly diverse” and a decision has been made without allowing the community to have a say. She wanted views to be sought.

The council documents that the land between Moonee Ponds Creek and Sydney Road was named Moreland by Farquhar McCrae during the transfer of land acquired in 1839. He named the area Moreland as a tribute to his family’s Jamaican plantation which held 500 to 700 slaves over the course of a hundred years.

In 1994, the council was created following the amalgamation of the City of Brunswick, City of Moreland and part of Broadmeadows. The area is home to more than 190,000 people of which 10 per cent are believed to be of Greek heritage. A strong indicator of the large Greek population are the five Greek Orthodox churches in the region and three Greek-Australian councillors: Pavlidis-Mihalakos, Panopoulos and three-time mayor Tapinos.

Uncle Andrew was pleased with the decision, describing the historical act as “genocide by paperwork”, stressing it did not represent the “diverse and tolerant community” that is Moreland today.

Cr Riley made it clear that only Moreland City Council would be renamed.  “Changing the corporate name of our council is symbolic and that’s our focus. We’re not considering changing suburb names, road names or the train station name. They’re not ours to change, but others may choose to,” he explained.

The motion has earmarked $500,000 over the next two years to update the council’s digital platforms, significant buildings and other facilities to accommodate the name change, while acknowledging that more expenses would be incurred over the next ten years.

Following community and stakeholder engagement, the preferred name would be presented to the Minister for Local Government for consideration in 2022. The Minister, The Hon. Shaun Leane, has declared the State Government’s in principle support for the name change subject to Council and community support.

https://www.facebook.com/morelandcitycouncil/videos/684520579180261