By Luke Voogt
Wangala Primary School students celebrated their new name with their own makeshift tribute recently, in the absence of an official sign.
“I’ve actually got a meeting with the sign-writer in an hour,” said school principal Steven King last week, following the newly-announced name change.
The school, previously known Oberon South Primary, was one of nine across Victoria recently named after local Indigenous words.
“It means ‘to make good’,” said Mr King, who described the name as apt given the school’s move to a new location this January on its 50th anniversary.
The school moved to the former Oberon High School oval after that school relocated to Armstrong Creek.
“Our old facility was a bit run down,” Mr King said.
“This new location is significantly better.”
The school’s enrolment had since grown from 31 to 42, Mr King said.
“These are state-of-the-art facilities for modern-day teaching with plenty of room to move. We’re in the process of landscaping and we’ve got new playgrounds coming too.”
State authorities chose the new names for the nine schools in collaboration with their communities and Geographic Names Victoria.
Parents, teachers and students helped chose the name Wangala Primary School from three options, Mr King explained.
“They love it, and I think it’s a positive name,” he said.
Wadawurrung man Norm Stanley was at the school last week to help celebrate the new name.
“He’s going to work on a piece of art that tells the school’s story and we’ll actually work that into our uniform,” Mr King said.
