Aboriginal Leaders Disppointed No Lightsview Streets Have Been Given Aboriginal Names

INDIGENOUS leaders and Port Adelaide Enfield Council have branded the company behind the Lightsview housing development “fearful” and “naive” for not using any Aboriginal words as street names.

But the developer – CIC Australia – has put the blame squarely back on the council for not supplying it with suggestions.

Billed as the new “eastern suburb”, the first 50 streets have all been fitted with names significant to Colonel William Light and local history – but not Aboriginal history.

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Councillors, Aboriginal leaders and the mayor say indigenous words must be considered for future street names at Lightsview.

Port Adelaide-Enfield Council Aboriginal Advisory Panel member and Aboriginal leader Michael O’Brien said indigenous words should be considered in future.

“I am disappointed,” Mr O’Brien said.

“If you couldn’t name one street a Kaurna name then they are being a bit naive and a bit selective and not inclusive of others.”

He said developers were scared to name streets words people could not pronounce.

“People tend to be fearful that if you put a Kaurna name up people won’t be able to pronounce it,” he said.

“We should be putting it up so people can try and learn it.”

Mr O’Brien – a retired Port Magpies footballer – said “little things” like naming a street go a long way.

“We live in a country with one of the oldest living cultures in the world but we are really sheltered and are not aware of that.”

Councillors voted at the ordinary February meeting last week to write to the developer, expressing their disappointment.

Mayor Gary Johanson said he wants 10 per cent of streets in Lightsview fitted with indigenous names.

CIC Australia project director Alan Miller said Aboriginal words would be considered in future if the council gave them suggestions.

“I have no issues whatsoever with that,” Mr Miller said.

“Street names are something we have never made much of an issue of and in all honesty the council never gave us names so we came up with our own.”

The development – built between Hampstead Rd and Fosters Rd – started in 2007 and has 1000 homes built on the site.

Work is set to finish on the site before 2018.

Cr Peter Jamieson said at the meeting all developments needed to give more consideration to our Aboriginal heritage.

“There needs to be some respect given to the people who owned the land before us,” Cr Jamieson said.

“Aboriginal names are not distributed throughout the area and they need serious consideration.”

The council’s street naming policy stipulates Aboriginal words from the local language can – but not should – be considered for new streets in the area.

The local Aboriginal community must be consulted when choosing names.