Eight new names wanted from Poowong to Venus Bay

RESIDENTS have a chance to put their stamp on the South Gippsland map with eight unnamed sites across the shire now open for naming proposals.

The sites stretch from Poowong to Venus Bay and take in three new roads, a laneway, a footbridge and two walking paths.

South Gippsland Shire Council says each was chosen because it is newly constructed, tied to a planned road upgrade or was put forward as a community request.

Mayor Nathan Hersey said he wanted proposals that drew on the history and character of the area.

“I encourage South Gippsland locals to submit naming recommendations with consideration of names that are important to our local history, culture and identity,” Cr Hersey said.

Three of the eight are new road names, covering an extension from Elmores Road at Korumburra, a section of Simons Lane at Leongatha South and the western section of Treadwells Road at Poowong North.

Council is also seeking names for the currently unnamed roads in the Korumburra Rail Precinct and for the laneway running between Commercial and Little Commercial streets in the same town.

The footbridge connecting the Leongatha Rail Precinct to Bair Street needs a name, as does the walking path between Burchett Drive and White Birch Close at Poowong, while the eighth site is a proposed walking path at Venus Bay running between Bradley Avenue and Canterbury Road.

The council has published maps for six of the eight sites alongside the proposal form on its website.

As a naming authority under Victoria’s naming rules, council is responsible for creating and changing the names of places, streets and roads across the shire.

Those rules also require council to work towards balanced representation of Indigenous Australians, gender equality, local historical events or figures and a multicultural present.

Cr Hersey urged residents to make a case for their choice rather than simply putting a name forward.

“We ask the community to think carefully about their proposal and provide as much detail as possible about why you think that is the best name, remembering that the names will become a visible and public part of our future,” Cr Hersey said.

Proposals close on Sunday September 27 and council will put its recommended names to the October council meeting before going back to the community for feedback.

Council will then weigh that feedback and take a final list to the December meeting for endorsement, after which the names go to Geographic Names Victoria for processing.

Submissions can be lodged at www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/naming-opportunities.