Kirrip Park was officially opened on 20 October 2018.

The City of Port Phillip and the Victorian Government have jointly purchased land at 2-4 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne to create a new community park. Located in the Ferrars Street Education and Community Precinct, the park will provide much needed open space for the whole community to enjoy.

Consultation seeking suggestions from the community for the permanent name for our new park closed on Friday 15 December.

All nominations were assessed against the selection criteria, and those meeting these requirements were reviewed by the Cultural Heritage Reference Committee on 20 February 2018.

The committee's preferred name, Kirrip Park, was submitted to Council by the Boon Wurrung Foundation as part of the initial naming consultation. The word ‘kirrip’ means friend or mate in the Boon Wurrung language. The name was presented to Council at the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 4 April 2018, and Council approved the recommendation to progress with the proposed name to community consultation.

Community consultation on the proposed name concluded on 25 May 2018. Following consultation, in July 2018 Council endorsed the name Kirrip Park at a Council meeting and submitted the name to the Registrar of Geographic Names for review and registration.

Fishermans Bend’s first new park was officially opened today with a family-friendly community day on 20 October 2018.

Find out more

• Read the media release
• Read the documents for more information about the history of the local area
• Contact the team via ASSIST on 9209 6777 or email fsecp@portphillip.vic.gov.au
• Visit Council's webpage for the latest information about the precinct and to subscribe to email updates

Do you support the name 'Kirrip Park'?

Thank you for your interest in this project. The submissions period has concluded and we are currently reviewing your feedback.

'Kirrip Park' was submitted to Council by the Boon Wurrung Foundation as part of the initial naming consultation. The word ‘kirrip’ means friend or mate in the Boon Wurrung language.

Selection criteria
Proposed names should:

• be relevant to the local area and site
• allow the location of the park to be easily identified (this is particularly important for emergency services)
• not be the name of a living person, commercial business, trade name, or not-for-profit organisation
• comply with the “general principles” of the Victorian Government Office of Geographic Names’ Naming rules for places in Victoria: Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities 2016(External link).

Naming priority
To address the imbalance of the types of names currently in use, the assessment panel will prioritise suggestions that:

• demonstrate the role or contribution of Aboriginal people to Australia or the City of Port Phillip
• demonstrate the role or contribution of women to Australia or the City of Port Phillip
• demonstrate the role or contribution of members of the multicultural community in the development of Australia and the City of Port Phillip
• recognise important social, political and cultural events and issues relevant to local growth and development
• recognise local flora and fauna.

Things to consider
The name could relate to:

• noteworthy people or groups
• events, issues or objects of significance to the site
• Aboriginal culture or occupation of the land
• European exploration and settlement
• Australian war contributions
• local geography, geology, flora and fauna
• the cultural diversity of inhabitants
• maritime or transport history
• land usage (e.g. industrial, mineral or agricultural production).

The use of Aboriginal languages for names is encouraged, subject to agreement from the relevant Traditional Owner group or groups
If naming after an individual, Council will not consider the inclusion of a person’s initials in the park’s name. If a person is commemorated, surname only is preferred, however consideration will be given to the inclusion of a first name.

Kirrip Park was officially opened on 20 October 2018.