By Natalee Kerr
A Geelong reserve with more than 160 years of family history now has an indigenous name, City Hall has announced.
Council had decided to rename Armstrong Creek’s Stewarts Reserve to Dooliebeal as part of National Reconciliation Week, City Hall.
Namesake family member John Stewart said his great-great-grandfather, who was also named John Stewart, bought around 65 hectares of land opposite the four-hectare reserve in the mid-1850s.
Mr Stewart said local indigenous people camped in the adjacent reserve.
“It was the only place they could call camp because all the surrounding land was in private hands,” he said.
“The Stewarts spent around 25 years with the last of the Aborigines, and by all accounts they shared a good relationship.”
Dooliebeal,a word of the local Wadawurrung traditional owners, refers to the district’s red gum trees.
The Stewarts first picked up the name when they settled in the area, Mr Stewart said.
“Originally one of the family members suggested that they call the reserve Dooliebeal because they had quite a bit to do with the early Aborigines who camped there,” he said.
But authorities adopted the Stewarts Reserve name despite the family’s preference for the indigenous term, Mr Stewart said.
“I’m not sure who exactly but someone earlier on decided to name it as that.”
Mr Stewart said discussions around renaming the reserve had been ongoing for around 20 years.
The discussion only became “more serious” in recent times, he said.
Mr Stewart spoke with council about adopting the Dooliebeal name while still recognising the family history.
“The Stewart family, including half a dozen cousins, had no objection at all to it being an Aboriginal name,” he said.
“While we were supportive of the name change, we didn’t want to lose the family name completely as my great-great-grandfather was one of the original pioneers, so it was decided the family name will be retained through a naming of a walkway next to the reserve.
“It provides a good memory of the relationship between my family and the early Aborigines.”
