Perth Voice Interactive

BANKS Reserve could return to its traditional Noongar name “Warndoolier” after a prolonged renaming process. 

This week Vincent councillors voted to ask the public whether to rename Banks Reserve entirely to Warndoolier or to use a dual-name.

Back in 2012 a group of traditional owners, local elders and Noongar consultants agreed that the area was widely known as Warndulier, and a plaque was put up featuring that name.

The name comes from historic maps marked with names by Noongar woman Fanny Balbuk Yooreel (1840-1907). 

The translation is inexact, but ‘warn’ means digging stick, ‘dool’ means spirit or a misty fog, and doolier (doolya) means big leaves. It roughly translates to women’s spirit, and indicates a place where spirit mist dwells.

Apart from the plaque the renaming stalled for a few years until Vincent council revived the Banks Reserve Masterplan in 2018. Then came five years of consulting, discussing, and confirming the place name had wide support.

Vincent’s Boordiya (bosses) Reference Group endorsed the name (but with their preferred “Warndoolier” spelling) in February this year. 

This week mayor Emma Cole proposed they go a step beyond the originally planned “dual naming” to see if there was public support for outright returning Banks Reserve to the Warndoolier name.

It’ll go out for advertising for 21 days of comment and the council will need to demonstrate community support if Landgate is to give approval.

Banks Reserve is named after former Perth councillor Ronald Frederick Banks.

by DAVID BELL