Perth Voice Interactive

RENAMING Banks Reserve to the Noongar name “Warndoolier” has won strong support from the public.

Vincent council’s consultation late last year saw 276 people respond, with 154 submissions in favour of Warndoolier, 62 supporting a dual naming of Wardnoolier/Banks Reserve, and 55 opposed to changing the name.

The park runs along the Mount Lawley foreshore and was named for former Perth councillor Ronald Frederick Banks in 1963.

Warndoolier

“Warndoolier” (also spelled Warndulier in some sources) is the name preferred by Vincent’s Boordiya Reference Group elders who advise the council.

Warndoolier doesn’t have an exact translation and the constituent words can have a variety of meanings. Whadjuk Noongar elder Len Collard advised the council that ‘warn’/’wana’ is a digging stick, ‘dool’ is a spirit or misty fog, and ‘doolya’ is big leaves. The name could refer to a place related to the spirit of women, or a place where spirit mist dwells. 

While Vincent has adopted a few dual-namings around town, asking the public about a sole Noongar name was suggested by former mayor Emma Cole.

Ronald Frederick Banks’ descendants were asked to comment on the name change, and some called for his name to be retained alongside the Noongar dual-name.

Vincent councillors considered the feedback on the name change at this week’s council briefing. 

Cr Ron Alexander raised a concern the number submissions in favour of the change were a small drop in the bucket compared to the 38,000-odd Vincent residents. 

“258 surveys were done, and in Vincent we’ve got over 38,000 residents,” Cr Alexander said.

“I just have some problem with very few people commenting, and us making the change… I’m certainly supportive of maintaining Aboriginal heritage, but when we look at this one, Warndoolier seems a very doubtful name in the end.”

The location referred to by Warndoolier differs from source to source, maybe partly due to colonists’ misunderstandings when recording the names. 

A newspaper article from 1833 describes Warndoolier broadly as “the northern, or main branch of the river”. 

Twisting path

Other accounts describe Warndoolier as being the whole of the river’s bend encompassing the Burswood Peninsula, of which Banks Reserve is a small segment. The bend is significant as it’s said to be a mark of the twisting path of the sacred Wagyl water snake.

Vincent CEO David MacLennan said the proposal, which was advertised in the Voice, council’s website, social media, and signs in the reserve, actually got a comparatively high number of responses for a council issue.

“That might be in the top five or 10 responses we’ve had in the past 12 months,” Mr MacLennan said.

Mayor Alison Xamon said plans were underway to boost their community engagement response rates in general, with discussions to occur shortly.

At their February 13 meeting Vincent councillors will decide whether to heed the 154 submissions and go ahead and endorse the name, which would go to Landgate for a final decision.

“It is time we acknowledge the history of our spaces, and pay respects to this history pre-colonisation. My family has lived at the border of Banks reserve since 1946. We have experienced the changes in the parkland area over the years, I grew up swinging under those big trees, as did my own children. Change the name so as a community we can acknowledge the past and start learning more about the history of the area.”

“A dual name will be tokenism and no one will use the Aboriginal name. A complete name change recognises the long history of the location and its importance to the Noongar peoples as well as its continuing importance.”

Some submissions supporting a Warndoolier/Banks Reserve dual-naming:

“The Historical journey aims to provide a comprehensive representation of its entirety, avoiding the omission of critical parts in the greater story by isolating it to only one segment. Therefore, adopting a joint name is the most practical and common sense way forward.”

“This is a needless change and tone deaf in light of the referendum result. People are not interested in this pandering and your time, money and attention are better spent elsewhere.”

by DAVID BELL