The department has changed the name of our Hume Moreland area to Hume Merri-bek.
The name change follows Moreland City Council recently changing its name to Merri-bek City Council, from Monday 26 September 2022.
The decision was made in July 2022 following a community survey, with the majority of residents voting in favour of changing the name.
The state government named the area City of Moreland in 1994, when the Brunswick, Coburg and part of Broadmeadows council area merged. The area was originally named ‘Moreland’ in 1839 by Farquhar McCrae, a land speculator, who named it after a Jamaican slave plantation run by his family.
The department’s Hume Merri-bek area still covers the former Moreland municipality and Hume municipality.
We have changed the name of the area to reflect and support Hume Merri-bek community expectations, along with our own commitment to Dhelk Wukang, Aboriginal voice, knowledge and cultural leadership, and journey of reconciliation and healing.
The name Merri-bek (pronounced ‘merry-beck’) means ‘rocky country’ and reflects Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people’s connection to Merri Creek, the local landscape and the rocky earth of their own backyards.
You will see the new name being introduced across all department material, such as our signage, website and staff signatures.
Find out more
For more information about the council’s renaming process, refer to Merri-bek Council – renaming Moreland.
For more information or any questions, please contact the North-Western Victoria region by email: nwvr@education.vic.gov.au
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