Aboriginal alternatives offered for offensive Tasmanian place names

Suicide Bay and Victory Hill are Tasmanian places with bloody histories and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) wants them replaced with Aboriginal words in the spirit of reconciliation.

The TAC has chosen 11 new names in palawa kani, the revived Tasmanian Aboriginal language, as dual and replacement names for sites around the state, under a proposal being put to the state’s Nomenclature Board.

Palawa kani language program co-ordinator Annie Reynolds said the TAC had carried out extensive consultation with the Aboriginal community, local councils and government representatives about the 11 proposed names.

Read on to find out more about the proposed changes and the importance of Aboriginal place names in Tasmania.