Contents
1. Selection of a Name of a Place
2. Recording Indigenous Place Names
3. Naming of Schools
4. Alteration of Boundaries and Names of Suburbs and Localities
5. Names not covered by the Geographical Names Act 1991

GUIDELINES FOR THE SELECTION OF NAMES AND BOUNDARIES OF PLACES ASSIGNED OR RECORDED UNDER THE GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991

The Geographical Names Act 1991 governs the naming of places in South Australia. The Act defines a place as:

any area, region, locality, city, suburb, town, township, or settlement, or any geographical or topographical feature, and includes any railway station, hospital, school and any other place or building that is, or is likely to be, of public or historical interest;

This document outlines the guidelines adopted in assigning and recording names and boundaries to places in South Australia in accordance with the legislation.

1.   SELECTION OF A NAME OF A PLACE

The following general criteria apply for the selection of a name to be applied to a place.

• The selected name should relate to the European or Aboriginal history and / or heritage of the locality or place, or to the topography or physical attributes of the locality or place to be named.
• If selected, Aboriginal words should be representative of the vocabulary of the original inhabitants of the area, and the meaning of the selected word must be appropriate for the intended use.
• Duplication of a name, or similar sounding names within the State must be avoided, and should be avoided within Australia when possible.
• Naming of places after living people is not generally acceptable.

1.1.  Naming principles

• Acronyms will not be accepted for place names
• Where a name is derived from the name of another place or a person, the correct spelling must be used
• With the exception of River Torrens and River Murray, the term "river" when used as a generic term is to succeed the specific name of the feature.
• The use of variants of one name for individual features within a group is not acceptable. An example of this was an unsuccessful proposal to name a number of lakes on the Tallaringa 1:250 000 mapsheet as Kokata, Kotit ta, Gogada or Cocatah, being variant spellings of the name of an Aboriginal tribe.
• As a geographical feature is not "owned" by the person after whom it is named, the use of the possessive "s" is discouraged. Where a previously recorded place name has a possessive "s", the following criteria apply to the treatment of that name:
• In all cases the apostrophe is to be deleted.
• The "s" may be retained in the following instances:-
• where there is any possibility that the "s" is an indication of the plural - eg. Blackfellows Cave.
• where there is any possibility that the "s" is part of the name - eg. Jacobs Creek.
• where the removal of the "s" could indicate a different source of the name - eg. Browns Hill - if altered to Brown Hill could give the impression that it was named after the colour rather than a person named Brown.
• where a feature has been named because of similarity or connection with a mythological, legendary or real person, places etc - eg. Aladdins Cave, The Devils Elbow, The Dutchmans Stern, Hawks Nest.
• where to removal of the "s" would affect the euphony of the name - eg. Malcolms Barossa Mine.
• For pastoral properties where the name is recorded on official documents.
• The use of descriptive names eg Salt Creek, Gum Creek etc is discouraged.
• Duplicate names (ie. names already recorded in the State Gazetteer) are discouraged however if they are widely used in the area they may be recorded or assigned as geographical names.
• With the exception of naming mountain ranges, the name of a single feature within a group of features should not be used as the name of the group as this has potential for confusion in communication, particularly in the area of emergency servicing. For example the name "Coongi Lakes" is occasionally used to cover a large group of unrelated lakes in the north east of the State. Coongi Lake is one of the lakes in this area, many of which have names of their own.
• The convention of naming a mountain range after a single mountain is well accepted because the feature is usually singular and the name of the range taken from the highest or most significant part of the range (eg. Mount Lock / Mount Lock Range).

2.   RECORDING INDIGENOUS PLACE NAMES

Consultation with and the agreement of the Aboriginal community is an essential pre-requisite in determining indigenous place names.

In order to retain and record both the Aboriginal and European nomenclature heritage of South Australia, the Geographical Names Act 1991 provides for a dual geographical name to be assigned to a place. In practice, dual geographical names will be assigned to geographical and topographical features that have both a traditional Aboriginal and other name

For example, the feature known as Mount McKinlay, on mapsheet 6736 IV (Nepabunna) at grid reference 317500 East and 6622100 North, is also known by its Aboriginal name Wayanha.

When assigning or recording a name to a previously unrecorded natural feature, priority shall be given to assigning or recording the traditional Aboriginal name for that feature.

When assigning or recording a name to a previously unrecorded natural feature that has an unrecorded European name in local usage, every effort will be made to determine if an Aboriginal name exists for that feature and a dual name will be assigned or recorded.

If a feature with an assigned or recorded European name is determined to have an unrecorded Aboriginal name, the feature will be dual named.

2.1 Spelling of Aboriginal Place Names

The following guidelines shall be followed in determining the correct spelling (orthography) of Aboriginal place names:

For newly recorded names where an accepted orthography for the language exists.

If a writing system has existed for a number of years (eg. as with the Pitjantjatjara language) any previously unrecorded name will be recorded in the form dictated by that established writing system. Where more than one language group has named a feature, all alternative names will be recorded in the appropriate form. Subject to approval from the relevant Aboriginal community, the name to be used in the public domain will be the name from the language group within which the feature is physically located.

For newly recorded names where no accepted orthography for the language exists.

To achieve the most accurate pronunciation of the name from the written form using standard Roman characters, a linguist or anthropologist acceptable to the Aboriginal community should establish a practical orthography.

For previously recorded names where more accurate spellings are recorded.

The decision whether or not the spelling of a name is to be changed is to be assessed on an individual basis.

• the views of the Aboriginal community
• the extent of the alteration required.
• the projected affect of the name change
• the best method to alter the name in a non threatening manner.

2.2  Use of Aboriginal names

The use of traditional Aboriginal place names is encouraged, subject to authorisation from the relevant Aboriginal communities.

The use of a word from an Aboriginal language as a place name, subject to its derivation from a local language and suitability of translation, is also acceptable.

Names of sensitive Aboriginal historical sites will not be recorded on publicly available information.

2.3  Cartographic Placement

Where possible, both parts of the dual name should be shown in all official documents / signage. The name most commonly used by the local community should be shown first. Examples are as follows:

• River Torrens / Karrawirra Parri is the form used for this feature as River Torrens is the more commonly used name.
• Ngaratjuranya / Mount Woodroffe is shown in that manner as Ngaratjuranya is the name used more often locally.

3.   NAMING OF SCHOOLS

A school is a 'place' under the Geographical Names Act 1991. Requests to name new schools or alter the names of existing schools must be endorsed by the Minister for Education or delegate.

3.1  Selection of a School Name

The preferred option when selecting a name for a new school is to adopt the name of the suburb, township or locality in which the school is located.

Alternatives that can also be considered are: -

• those established for the Selection of the Name of a Place in this document
• Names of places with historical connection to the area serviced by the school (eg early homestead names) unless there is conflict with an existing locality or suburb name.
• The name of the road on which the school is located.

3.2  Altering School Names

To alter the name of an existing school, the following points are to be satisfied:-

• Support from the Education Department and the School Council for the proposed alteration
• The new name selected must conform to guidelines for Selection of a School Name.

4.   ALTERATION OF BOUNDARIES AND NAMES OF SUBURBS AND LOCALITIES

Suburbs and rural localities have been established covering the settled areas of the state and outback towns.

The names assigned form part of the official property address and are utilised widely within business and the community.

Using assigned suburb and locality names is important in ensuring the effective provision of emergency services such as ambulance, fire and police and the delivery of postal and other services.

Section 11B of the Geographical Names Act 1991 details the process to be followed when assigning a geographical name to a place or altering the boundaries of a place that has a geographical name.

Generally changes to suburb and locality boundaries occur when the existing boundaries impede the efficient delivery of services to an area, often as a result of land development or the construction of new arterial roads such as the Southern Expressway.

Requests to alter suburb and locality names and boundaries my come from members of the public, the local council or a number of government departments.

There is a cost to business and the community in changing address information and a disruption to the delivery of services. As a consequence there must be a significant benefit to the general community before a change will be considered.

Submissions to change names and boundaries are assessed by the Surveyor-General's Office. Matters that are considered as part of this assessment are:

• The views of Police, Emergency Service Providers and Australia Post
• Difficulties by the community in access to and from the area
• The costs associated with the change
• The impact on local businesses
• The level of support from residents and Council
• The benefits of the proposal to the community as a whole
• The size of the area and the proposed boundaries
• If a new name is proposed, the name and its links with the area

Submissions seeking changes for reasons of perceived status or financial benefit will not be supported.

If following this assessment the proposal is considered to have merit, the Surveyor-General will commence a formal process under the Geographical Names Act 1991.

5.   NAMES NOT COVERED BY THE GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991

The naming of Local Government Authorities and wards, Council Reserves and public roads are the responsibility of local government.

The naming of Highways is the responsibility of the Commissioner for Highways.

The naming of Electoral Districts is the responsibility of the Electoral Commission.

Peter Kentish
SURVEYOR-GENERAL Department for Transport
Energy and Infrastructure

April 2008