Council approves proposal to rename Coon Island
Council approves proposal to rename Coon Island
A locality north of Sydney derided as having a “genuinely racist” name won’t have it for much longer. However, not everyone is happy with the change.
A locality north of Sydney slammed for having a racist name won’t have that controversial title for much longer, it’s been confirmed.
Coon Island, located in Swansea 25kms south of Newcastle, had been living on borrowed time since earlier this year after a local councillor said the name was “genuinely racist”.
On Monday night, councillors at Lake Macquarie City Council voted 8-5 to rename Coon Island.
Rather than having a single name, the area will now have two with both an Indigenous and non-Indigenous name.
The council has submitted a proposal to the Geographical Names Board that the island should be renamed Pirrita Island and the adjacent Coon Island Point to Miners Point.
A leading Indigenous campaigner said “common sense had prevailed”.
However, a survey done by the council found a small majority of the more than 2000 people who responded actually wanted to keep the Coon Island name.
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Coon Island Point in Swansea, NSW.Source:Supplied
Coon Island a ‘genuinely racist’ name
Liberal councillor Kevin Baker led the move to rename the island.
“Coon Island was a name that was genuinely racist and genuinely hurtful to a lot of people in our community,” he said.
“It was a name that stopped people within our community from being able to enjoy what is a beautiful part of the world and it was not in line with community expectations.
“This outcome, renaming the places Pirrita Island and Miners Point, balances the recognition of the European history of the island and the significant contribution miners have had to our area, but also the 60,000-plus years of Indigenous history that the places have.”
The controversial name of the island and the spit came to the fore after the maker of Coon cheese announced late last year the grocery staple would be renamed.
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The Coon name has now largely disappeared from supermarket shelves replaced by Cheer cheese instead.
However, the history of the two names is quite different. Whereas Coon cheese was named in honour of US cheesemaker Edward Coon, Coon Island was, from the very beginning, a racial slur.
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The Coon Island name change comes hot on the heels of Coon cheese’s renaming. Picture: Benedict Brook.Source:news.com.au
Mr Baker told news.com.au that Coon Island and Coon Island Point were both named after Herbert Heaney who, in 1915, was the first recorded permanent resident on the island.
“Herbert Heaney was a white guy who worked in coal mines and would come out with coal dust on his face and got the nickname ‘coon’; it’s just not appropriate in this day and age,” he said. “This name is very offensive to some in our community and I think there is a better way to represent the history of this island.”
Mr Baker originally suggested the island could be renamed Heaney Island together with an Indigenous name.
However, discussions with the Heaney family and representatives of the Awabakal traditional owners led to the current proposal.
Pirrita is an Awabakal word that means oysters that grow from mangrove trees.
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Lake Macquarie councillor Kevin Baker spearheaded the change. Picture: Supplied.Source:Supplied
Not everyone supports name change
The name change did not win support in all quarters. The Newcastle News reported that while Mr Heaney’s grandchildren supported the renaming, his daughter did not.
In addition, a community consultation, which saw 2120 responses, saw 56 per cent of people argue against renaming Coon Island.
“With something like this there will always be people on both sides and people who are disappointed, whichever way it goes,” he said.
“Nasty things have been said and I’ve had feedback that in some cases, the comments and trolling have prevented people from wanting to publicly support the change,” he told the Newcastle News.
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Current signage on Coon Island which will be changed. Picture: Google Maps.Source:Supplied
The Indigenous activist behind the renaming of Coon cheese, Dr Stephen Hagan, welcomed the news that Coon Island would soon be no more.
“I’m pleased that common sense has prevailed and that even a Liberal councillor has seen fit to support the community push for the name change,” he told news.com.au.
“I’d like to see this action replicated all around the country if there is genuine concerns by First Nations people about a local name.”
The naming is not quite done yet with the proposals going to the Geographical Names Board for final sign off, although the council expects the process to be relatively swift.
The renaming will coincide with planned upgrade works on the island.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw...320b8655e89ea5
