Aboriginal or dual naming of a geographic feature
Aboriginal place names from more than 100 different languages and dialects covered the Northern Territory (NT) before colonisation.
While many continue to be used today, others were replaced by non-Aboriginal place names.
Aboriginal and dual naming provides an opportunity to:
- restore Aboriginal names to geographic features
- incorporate traditional Aboriginal language and culture into everyday communications
- increase the knowledge and understanding of the whole community about the connection of Aboriginal people with country.
In the NT, generally a dual name has two distinct name parts (separated by a solidus (/)):
- one is an Aboriginal name
- the other is a non-Aboriginal name, usually given and recorded by an explorer some time since European settlement.
The Committee recognises that there may be more than one Aboriginal name for a particular geographic feature. It therefore seeks to maintain flexibility in how dual naming can be implemented in the NT context.
The dual name should be used in full in all official documents and publications, however in other publications either name part can be used individually.
The order of the name parts is determined by the Minister following consultation with interested parties, and with consideration of the Place Names Committee’s recommendation.
Find out more about the guidelines that apply to place name requests by reading how places are named.
Improving information about processes
The Committee is currently developing an Aboriginal and dual naming policy to improve existing processes and increase awareness of the opportunity to apply Aboriginal names to places, through approval of both standalone Aboriginal place names and dual names.
This does not prevent Aboriginal or dual naming requests from being progressed in the meantime.
In 2019, the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL) hosted Aboriginal Place Names forums in Alice Springs, Katherine and Darwin to hear from the community about the opportunities and challenges for Aboriginal place naming in the NT.
Read the consultation's outcomes report PDF (6.4 MB).
Places that can't have a dual name
Dual names cannot generally be given to places other than geographic and topographic features and some parks.
Dual naming is not supported for any place name that forms a part of an address such as:
- roads
- suburbs
- localities
- towns.
This is to avoid potential confusion for emergency services such as police, fire and ambulance and other service providers.
Find out more about generic terms that are commonly used in the NT to describe geographic or topographic features.
History of dual naming in the Territory
The NT was the first Australian jurisdiction and a world leader in officially incorporating dual naming in its naming practices and approving dual names for geographic features.
The most well-known example is Uluru or Ayers Rock.
Uluru / Ayers Rock
In 1873, Ayers Rock (and Mount Olga) were named by the South Australian Government (recorded in South Australian Parliamentary Paper 48 of 1873).
Since 1894, the names Uluru (and Kata Tjuta) in varying forms have been recorded, though not as widely as their English name equivalents.
On 15 December 1993, the first official dual named feature in the Northern Territory was registered - Ayers Rock / Uluru.
In 2002, following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs, the order of the dual names was officially changed to Uluru / Ayers Rock.
Read more about Uluru / Ayers Rock in the Place Names Register.
In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal languages have been used consistently over time in many communities and contexts.
Many continue as active living languages today. Aboriginal and dual naming provides an opportunity to:
- incorporate traditional Aboriginal language and culture into everyday communications
- increase the knowledge and understanding of the whole community about the connection of Aboriginal people with country.
The Committee is currently developing an Aboriginal and dual naming policy to improve existing processes and increase awareness of the opportunity to apply Aboriginal names to places, through approval of both standalone Aboriginal place names and dual names. This does not prevent Aboriginal or dual naming requests from being progressed in the meantime.
In 2019, the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL) hosted Aboriginal Place Names forums in Alice Springs, Katherine and Darwin to hear from the community about the opportunities and challenges for Aboriginal place naming in the Northern Territory. Read the consultation's outcomes report PDF (6.4 MB).
Dual naming
Dual naming is way of recognising and showing respect for the names given to geographic and topographic features by different cultural and language groups. In the Northern Territory, generally a dual name has two distinct name parts (separated by a solidus (/)); one is the traditional Aboriginal name and the other is a European (or English) name, usually given and recorded by an explorer some time since European settlement.
The Committee recognises that there may be more than one Aboriginal name for a particular geographic feature and therefore seeks to maintain flexibility in how dual naming can be implemented in the Northern Territory context.
The dual name should be used in full in all official documents and publications, however in other publications either name part can be used individually. The order of the name parts is determined by the Minister following consultation with interested parties, and with consideration of the Place Names Committee’s recommendation.
The Principles for the Consistent Use of Place Names published by the Permanent Committee on Place Names includes Principles for the use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Place Names and Dual Naming Depiction Principles. This is one of the documents that the Committee refers to when considering requests submitted to officially register a place name.
Dual names cannot generally be given to places other than geographic and topographic features and some parks. Dual naming is not supported for any place name that forms a part of an address such as roads, suburbs, localities, towns. This is to avoid potential confusion for emergency services such as police, fire and ambulance and other service providers.
More information on generic terms that are commonly used in the Northern Territory to describe geographic or topographic features can be found here.
The Northern Territory was the first Australian jurisdiction and a world leader in officially incorporating dual naming in its naming practices and approving dual names for geographic features. The most well-known example is Uluru or Ayers Rock.
Uluru / Ayers Rock
In 1873, Ayers Rock (and Mount Olga) were named by the South Australian Government (recorded in South Australian Parliamentary Paper 48 of 1873).
Since 1894, both Uluru (and Kata Tjuta) in varying forms have been recorded, though not as widely as their English name equivalents, named by the SA Government.
On 15 December 1993, this feature was the first officially dual named feature in the Northern Territory was registered - Ayers Rock / Uluru.
In 2002, following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs, on 6 November 2002 the order of the dual names was officially changed to Uluru / Ayers Rock. For further information on Uluru / Ayers Rock, visit the Place Names Register website.
