Wollongong City Council needs to name at least six new suburbs – and we’re calling upon our community to help.
The new suburbs will be in the West Dapto area and come as the area undergoes significant growth and development. Over the past 10 years, almost 2,000 new housing lots have been approved with around 19,500 homes forecast for the area by 2040.
As part of meeting the needs of these residents, Council is reviewing the suburb boundaries of Avondale, Kembla Grange and Huntley, and seeking suggestions for names of newly created suburbs that will develop within those areas.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said the boundary review and community consultation for new suburb names was a new milestone for the West Dapto area.
“This is a history making process whereby the community are invited to share ideas for the naming of new suburbs.”
Information on the historical significance of the names Avondale, Kembla Grange and Huntley has been collated and as part of the consultation process Council is assessing if these names are still relevant to the community’s living in them and call for local knowledge for suggestions that may influence any new place naming.
Names proposed by the community will be brought together by a stakeholder working group made up of representatives from Aboriginal, Heritage and Dapto communities to establish a shortlist. This list will be further assessed by the Geographical Names Board with the recommended names anticipated to be considered by Council in early 2021.
The community consultation is the start of a longer process that takes place in association with the Geographical Names Board which will provide people a number of opportunities to share their thoughts and feedback.
“The boundaries of existing suburbs or locations need to be set and areas for future suburbs identified and named. Council would like the community to share ideas on appropriate names for new suburbs to reflect the history or character of the location,” Cr Bradbery said.
“I know we’ve already received a significant response to our recent Facebook post about the naming and boundary proposal and I encourage everyone who has jumped on and put their two cents worth into the mix on social media to share it on the Join the Conversation page so that we can incorporate it into our planning processes.
“We are keen to hear from everyone in our community and while some of the social media posts talk about new schools – which are a NSW State Government responsibility not Council – there is some really interesting feedback in the mix. As far as I’m concerned, the more feedback and ideas we receive the better.”
The community is specifically encouraged to provide name suggestions of local Aboriginal significance, local historical females and names that relate to the features of the suburb.
“I especially encourage local communities to get involved. It’s a great opportunity to be a part of history and create a naming legacy for new suburbs,” Cr Bradbery said.
Information on how to submit a name recommendation can be found on Council’s .
