Ben Boyd Road Renaming Survey

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Consultation has concluded

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2021

All submissions received were collated, analysed and reported to Council at its meeting of 27 September 2021. Council resolved:

1. THAT Council retains the name of Ben Boyd Road due to the majority of respondents opposing a name change, the overwhelming opposition to a name change from Neutral Bay residents and the practical and financial burden of change that would entail for those people.

2. THAT Council reconfirm its resolution of 24 May 2021 to install a third interpretive plaque near the original two.

The full consultation outcomes report is available in the Document Library or from Council’s website.

SURVEY CLOSES 18 JULY 2021

On 26 April 2021, the North Sydney Council resolved to seek community feedback on the proposed renaming of Ben Boyd Road. This decision responds to opinions expressed formally and informally to Council regarding the need to consider renaming Ben Boyd Road.

Ben Boyd was a colonial entrepreneur and Neutral Bay resident who, in the 1840s, pioneered the practice of securing cheap labour from the South Sea Islands known as blackbirding. The recent heightened public awareness of Boyd’s activities and legacy has led to questioning the appropriateness of the ongoing honouring of Boyd.

  • Some people within the community would like Ben Boyd Road to be renamed as they do not believe that Ben Boyd should continue to be honoured in this way.
  • Some people in the community believe the name should remain the same because they do not believe that the history, regardless of whether it is good or bad, should be expunged.
  • Council is consulting the community, especially those who live on Ben Boyd Road and would be impacted by the change, to gauge community views.

In accordance with the Council resolution (see documents) we seek community feedback via a survey, as to whether there is support for a road name change, and if there is support for change, the preferred new name from the following options:

Option 1 - name derived from the indigenous history of the area


Barangaroo Road - Barangaroo was a Cammeraygal woman. Her country therefore spanned present-day North Sydney. She was the wife of Bennelong. A woman of strong personality, she was frequently mentioned in early colonial accounts. The headland at Darling Harbour is named after her. The name Barangaroo Road acknowledges that North Sydney was her place.

Option 2 - name derived from the non-indigenous history of the area

Neutral Bay Road - This name simply refers to the location and destination of the road. It is a major thoroughfare through Neutral Bay and down to the Bay itself.

Option 3 - other

Reconciliation Road - There are some 60,000 descendants of South Sea Islander people brought to Australia, often under duress, to work as cheap labour on sugar plantations in northern Queensland. It was Ben Boyd who pioneered that practice of indentured labour or ‘blackbirding’. The commemoration, and indeed celebration, of Ben Boyd is deemed hurtful by many of the descendants of those transported to Queensland. The name Reconciliation Road acknowledges that feeling.


HAVE YOUR SAY

Feedback closed 18 July 2021

For further information contact Council’s Historian or A/Director Community & Library Services on 9936 8100.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2021

All submissions received were collated, analysed and reported to Council at its meeting of 27 September 2021. Council resolved:

1. THAT Council retains the name of Ben Boyd Road due to the majority of respondents opposing a name change, the overwhelming opposition to a name change from Neutral Bay residents and the practical and financial burden of change that would entail for those people.

2. THAT Council reconfirm its resolution of 24 May 2021 to install a third interpretive plaque near the original two.

The full consultation outcomes report is available in the Document Library or from Council’s website.

SURVEY CLOSES 18 JULY 2021

On 26 April 2021, the North Sydney Council resolved to seek community feedback on the proposed renaming of Ben Boyd Road. This decision responds to opinions expressed formally and informally to Council regarding the need to consider renaming Ben Boyd Road.

Ben Boyd was a colonial entrepreneur and Neutral Bay resident who, in the 1840s, pioneered the practice of securing cheap labour from the South Sea Islands known as blackbirding. The recent heightened public awareness of Boyd’s activities and legacy has led to questioning the appropriateness of the ongoing honouring of Boyd.

  • Some people within the community would like Ben Boyd Road to be renamed as they do not believe that Ben Boyd should continue to be honoured in this way.
  • Some people in the community believe the name should remain the same because they do not believe that the history, regardless of whether it is good or bad, should be expunged.
  • Council is consulting the community, especially those who live on Ben Boyd Road and would be impacted by the change, to gauge community views.

In accordance with the Council resolution (see documents) we seek community feedback via a survey, as to whether there is support for a road name change, and if there is support for change, the preferred new name from the following options:

Option 1 - name derived from the indigenous history of the area


Barangaroo Road - Barangaroo was a Cammeraygal woman. Her country therefore spanned present-day North Sydney. She was the wife of Bennelong. A woman of strong personality, she was frequently mentioned in early colonial accounts. The headland at Darling Harbour is named after her. The name Barangaroo Road acknowledges that North Sydney was her place.

Option 2 - name derived from the non-indigenous history of the area

Neutral Bay Road - This name simply refers to the location and destination of the road. It is a major thoroughfare through Neutral Bay and down to the Bay itself.

Option 3 - other

Reconciliation Road - There are some 60,000 descendants of South Sea Islander people brought to Australia, often under duress, to work as cheap labour on sugar plantations in northern Queensland. It was Ben Boyd who pioneered that practice of indentured labour or ‘blackbirding’. The commemoration, and indeed celebration, of Ben Boyd is deemed hurtful by many of the descendants of those transported to Queensland. The name Reconciliation Road acknowledges that feeling.


HAVE YOUR SAY

Feedback closed 18 July 2021

For further information contact Council’s Historian or A/Director Community & Library Services on 9936 8100.