Wiradjuri Traditional Owners have welcomed a decision to approve a dual-title for the Macquarie River.
Wambuul, the traditional Wiradjuri name for the river, has been approved by the Geographical Names Board after support from a local movement and the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council.
CEO of the Bathurst LALC, Toni-Lee Scott, welcomed the decision, which now awaits final sign-off from the NSW minister for customer service, Victor Dominello.
"It's a positive start to recognising Aboriginal heritage. It's a powerful community healing, being able to recognise traditional names."
Wambuul means 'winding river' and is a fitting title for the significant tributary to the Murray-Darling catchment.
Ms Scott says a long process of community consultation with Aboriginal organisations across the region, as well as support from the local council, got the application across the line.
"I've had support from many stakeholders across the Central West, where the Wambuul river runs. I've worked with many other Aboriginal Land Councils, writing and calling, to help support the application.
"We hope to see more of it!"
Director and Public Officer of the Wiradjuri Traditional Owners Central West Corporation, Yanhadarrambal Jade Flynn, agreed.
"It's a way to bring honour to the oldest living culture on the planet," he told NITV News.
"We're really happy about it."
Yanhadarrambal said the push to recognise Wambuul was a long-running campaign and some of the Elders who first proposed the idea have passed.
"I think it's about time, and it does honour those Elders that have passed."
The dual naming follows other moves in places around the country, including another on Wiradjuri Country, Wahluu - Mount Panorama.
"There are many more places that have high cultural significance to the Wiradjuri and other First Nations peoples that live in the region. And there should be more, because it shows respect for the culture," Yanhadarrambal said.
However, he did caution against tokenistic change, instead hoping that the traditional name is enthusiastically embraced by the community.
"Let's not... make it some fluffy exercise, let's really use those dual names for what they're meant for," he said.
"(With) Wahluu -Mt Panorama, we seem to drop the Wahluu part a fair bit. It is dual named. We hope the commentators at the (upcoming Challenge Bathurst) race at Wahluu embrace and use both names.
