A proposal to name a Ballymanus park Djila-tjarriu (pronounced Jilla-ja-roo) has been adopted.
Ballarat City Council voted tonight to adopt the name, which means Place of Play in Wadawurrung, for the Ballarat West Growth Area's first central park.
The City of Ballarat collaborated with the Wadawurrung to get language permission for the use of Djila-tjarriu.
The naming proposal underwent a community and public consultation process in accordance with the current Naming Rules for Places in Victoria.
Twenty submissions were received, with 13 for the proposal and seven against which were mainly based on concerns the name Ballymanus Central Park or an Irish name were not considered given the area's Irish/Anglo-Saxon historical links.
However, the City of Ballarat supports the use of Aboriginal names where possible, which is consistent with its Reconciliation Action Plan, and the Naming Rules for Places in Victoria do not support estate features to be named after the estate to avoid possible address issues.
There was also significant support for the name through the City of Ballarat's mySay page and social media posts.
The naming proposal will now be forwarded to the Office of Geographic Names for final approval.
