By Luke Voogt
The name of Geelong’s new civic precinct will pay tribute to the region’s Indigenous history, council has announced.
Council’s new headquarters will bear the name Wurriki Nyal, pronounced WUU-ruh-kih nee-YAHL and meaning “speak and talk together” in Wadawurrung language.
The second commercial building in the precinct will be known as Ngytan Koriayo, according to owner and developer Quintessential Equity.
Pronounced nee-YAHT-ern kohr-ri-AY-yoh, the words mean “look over the water, see all around Corio Bay” in the Wadawarrung tongue.
Wadawurrung woman Corrina Eccles described the collaboration between traditional owners and the precinct’s project team as unprecedented.
“This is the first time in the Geelong region that a major project has had such a depth of collaborative engagement with our people into construction, design, story, place and language,” Ms Eccles said.
Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher said the name of the new precinct emphasised the importance of community dialogue and engagement in civic life.
“It’s a wonderfully fitting name and a reminder that lively, respectful community discourse is at the heart of everything we do as a council,” Cr Asher said.
“We hope the community will embrace the new name and the celebration of community spirit and togetherness it represents.”
In the past Wadawurrung people built structured circles, sometimes referred to as yarning circles, as places of ceremonial business, gathering and celebration.
Paying tribute to this tradition, the precinct will include a yarning circle in its new public space, named Gayoopanyoon Goopma (gye-OO-pahn-yoon GOOP-mah) meaning “gather”.
Council’s new offices and the precinct’s new community space are expected to be completed by mid-2022.
