Moreland council in Melbourne to change name over links to slave labour

The council was named in 1994 when the City of Brunswick, City of Coburg and parts of Broadmeadows were amalgamated by the Victorian state government. The council now represents one of the most progressive parts of not only Melbourne but the country.

The name Moreland is taken from land between Moonee Ponds Creek and Sydney Road that Farquhar McCrae acquired in 1839. McCrae named it after a Jamaican slave estate his forebears had run, which traded in slaves, sugar and rum. At its peak in 1827, the estate held 700 enslaved people.

At a special meeting of the council on Monday night, the council voted six to three, with the support of Greens, Labor and socialist councillors, to change the name.

The request to change the name came from the traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung elders, and other community leaders in a letter in November.

The council has allocated $500,000 over the next two years to change the largest signs in the city, but will update smaller street and park signs, and other items bearing the existing name within existing budgets over ten years as those need replacing.

He argued it would cost much more than the $500,000 allocated, and the money could be better spent on improving Indigenous disadvantage.

Greens councillor Adam Pulford said in his speech to council on Monday night that reflecting on the impact of the same-sex marriage postal survey, a public vote on whether to change the name would hurt the community.