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Indigenous name could adorn Warby national park
Written by Trish Gallagher.
PARKS Victoria is investigating the possibility of a new name for the Warby Ovens National Park.
And Wendy Mitchell, who researched and wrote about the local Pangarang people for a book launched last year, strongly supports an indigenous name.
Parks Victoria Wangaratta ranger in charge, Geoff Barrow, said the name would be an overarching one for the new park, recently created by the State Government.
He said the existing locality names - the Warby Range, Killawarra Forest and Lower Ovens - would be retained within the overall park.
"I need to contact the Yorta Yorta community and get advice because this is an opportunity to introduce a name of indigenous and local significance," he said.
The national park naming has been discussed by the Rural City of Wangaratta’s place naming advisory committee, which noted that Parks Victoria had not indicated a timeframe.
The council, at its last meeting, resolved to consider making a submission on the naming once Parks Victoria instigated the process.
Ms Mitchell and Pangarang elder, Freddie Dowling, drove a community discussion on renaming the Warby Range the Pangarang Ranges after launching their book on local Pangarang history last year.
Ms Mitchell strongly supports a renaming process to reflect our indigenous heritage.
"The Pangarang people by all accounts were a very proud, beautiful and resourceful community," she said.
"They actually lived a sustainable existence, something we appear to struggle with in our daily lives.
"Their virtual demise is important for all of the community to understand and recognise and, importantly, to remember.
"In part, this can be achieved by the naming of significant natural assets after the Pangarang.
"I think this is a crucial step in reconciliation.
"We can’t change the past, we can’t make amends for the past wrongdoings of others, but we can acknowledge that this land was not originally the white settlers’ who simply claimed it, to the exclusion of all others.
"The Warby Range was significant in the eyes of the Pangarang and became more so when white settlers rumbled in, becoming a place to flee to for safety and refuge."
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