Comment by Michael Giles
HAS ‘Melbourne’ officially become ‘Naarrm’ now?
We know the Aboriginal name for Phillip Island is ‘Milawul’ but ‘Wunmarrinh’? Did you know that is the indigenous name for Western Port Bay?
If you read the ‘Introduction and Context’ to the Draft San Remo Structure Plan, which is out now for public comment until April 28 this year, you’ll see that the Bass Coast Shire Council has included the old names for Melbourne, Phillip Island, and Western Port as reference only (in brackets).
The Bunurong name, however, is front and centre, included no fewer than 89 times in the 131-page document.
Also of interest to many will be the draft Vision for San Remo, supposedly how we would like the place to be by 2045, just 20 short years from now.
Here (in full) is the proposed Vision for San Remo that the shire wants you to comment on by survey, submission and at a community consultation session on Wednesday, March 26 or forever hold your peace:
“The 20-year vision for San Remo identifies the values and priorities of the community across all the various themes in the Structure Plan. By 2045, San Remo is a thriving and vibrant district centre in Bass Coast where the rich heritage of the area, including Bunurong bio-cultural values, is interwoven into the daily life of residents and visitors. Crucially, the Bunurong people’s rights to self-determination will be realised through transfer of relevant decision-making powers, so they can shape the future of their Country, waters and culture. Bunurong traditional and living knowledge will inform planning and management, ensuring protection of the area’s unique attributes, while the broader community deeply values and respects Bunurong cultural values, cultural heritage, places of significance, and connection to Country.
“Community life is centred around a community hub and the urban form has gently developed to continue to meet the changing needs of residents. As the town has developed, new buildings and infrastructure are climate-responsive, hazard-responsive, adequately accommodate the expected growth, give residents pride in their town and opportunities to rehabilitate natural habitats have been identified and acted upon.
“The local economy is robust and supports both residents and tourists year-round through services, goods and employment supported by a well-functioning transport network which provides both adequate capacity for all users and realistic alternatives to the private car that are more environmentally friendly.”
Is that the 20-year vision for San Remo? Really?
The two most important things about San Remo are its people and the absolute privilege of having a town so magnificently sited on the coast.
Therefore, you’d think that the vision for San Remo over the next 20 years would be, front and centre, about practical ways to improve the lifestyle of its residents and the amenity for visitors, while also enhancing and protecting the town’s greatest asset, its close relationship with the coast.
If the planners want the community’s support for having “Bunurong bio-cultural values interwoven into the daily life of residents and visitors” and to “transfer relevant decision-making powers to the Bunurong people” within the next 20 years, they’ll need to do a better job of educating the community about our Bunurong heritage and why these issues should receive the high profile they do in a plan that’s supposed to be about the present-day and future needs of a growing community.
