THE renaming of one of the region’s highways in honour of the state’s largest Aboriginal area is well worth considering.
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While the Welcome to Country ceremony is becoming just a little trite, the re-branding of the Mid-Western Highway is a reasonable proposition.
The plan is to call it the Wiradjuri Highway.
The proposal has been mooted by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to recognise the Aboriginal culture and heritage of central and south west NSW.
The highway runs from Hay to West Wyalong and then onto Bathurst.
To be quite frank, the Mid-Western Highway name is bland and really it is time for a change.
Local Aboriginal leaders are very supportive of the new plan.
They say the push to rename the highway began 20 years ago and talks have been ongoing ever since.
Elders believe it will give the Wiradjuri country the recognition it deserves.
However, not everyone is happy about the name change.
Carrathool mayor Peter Laird is quoted as saying he’s in favour of the status quo.
He says when you start changing names you start confusing people.
“It’s been that way forever and a day and there’s simply no reason to change it.”
But in this case, Cr Laird is wrong.
Yes, there will be some confusion, but the state government has just completed a major re-branding program for many of the state’s major highways and that has been completed without too much drama.
The secret is to educate travellers through a comprehensive publicity campaign.
The RMS now wants more feedback from people who live along the highway, emergency services and government agencies.
The organisation says the move will create tourism opportunities through information boards in rest areas and themed signage along the highway.
It really is a good idea.
Submissions close on November 28.
