The new Geelong Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCEC) will be called Nyaal Banyul, a name gifted by the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.
Revealed on Friday, August 11 at an event on Cunningham Pier, the official name Nyaal Banyul means ‘open your eyes to the hills’, a reference to the landscapes of Wadawurrung Country.
The assembled crowd included Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing, member for Geelong Christine Couzens, Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan and future operator Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre chief executive Natalie O’Brien AM.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners presented a Welcome to Country ceremony and representatives of the organisation including interim chief executive Liam Murphy and Wadawurrung woman Corrina Eccles spoke on the importance of the waterfront site and the process undertaken to decide on the name.
“Naming in Wadawurrung language is a process only Wadawurrung Traditional Owners can do and we are grateful to have been given the opportunity to return language to Country,” Mr Murphy said.
“We also appreciate being invited to provide design principles to inform the concept of the GCEC on this part of Country, as the Western Beach cliffs hold special cultural value to Wadawurrung.”
Minister Shing said the Victorian government was honoured to the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners had gifted the name to the new centre.
“It is profoundly important that as we work to develop any sites, whether they be in the middle of Geelong or at the edges of our state, we are in conversation and partnership with traditional owners on everything from language through to design, visibility of culture and connection to country,” she said.
“These… are central components to an enduring reflection of the oldest continuous culture on earth.
“Making sure that the spaces and the places and the precincts that we develop are inclusive (and) tell the stories that are here already mean that as communities we are thriving and growing together.”
The purpose-built convention and event centre is being funded through the Geelong City Deal, with the Victorian government providing $260 million along with $30 million from the Australian government and $3 million from the City of Greater Geelong.
Construction is slated to begin soon and is expected to be completed in 2026.
