Australia’s revered Mount Panorama has been officially gazetted as Wahluu, but will continue to be recognised by its European name.
The move orchestrated by the local Aboriginal Land Council has now been made official in the NSW Government Gazette.
Mount Panorama will now also be referred to as Wahluu, the aboriginal name which has changed its spelling from Waluu, which means ‘to watch over’.
The co-naming applies to the mountain itself, leaving the Mount Panorama Circuit name unchanged.
The proposal was supported by both V8 Supercars and Yeehah Events, which promotes the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Significantly, the dual naming which had been sought by the local Wiradyuri people for decades, comes as Bathurst celebrates its bicentennial year.
“Mount Panorama means many different things to many different people,” said Bathurst mayor Gary Rush.
“Co-naming the area is not about making one element of that history more significant than any other but merely recognising that the history of this very special mountain, goes back much further than the last century.
“The co-naming is an opportunity for us to expand on all the stories that we know, its journey from tourist drive to motor racing circuit or the local competition to name the track as well as to explore a part of its history that has not received as much attention.
“It is an opportunity to recognise the special significance of Mount Panorama/Wahluu to the original inhabitants of this land, the Wiradyuri people.
“This ensures that Aboriginal place names are recognised as part of our heritage and it helps facilitate the preservation of that heritage,”
The move follows a similar development with one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, Ayers Rock which was gazetted in 1993 as Ayers Rock/Uluru before the names were reversed in 2002.
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