Jim Crow Creek officially renamed

Jim Crow Creek has been renamed in the Victoria Government Gazette and will now be known as Larni Barramal Yaluk, meaning home or habitat of the Emu Creek in the Dja Dja Wurrung language.
Following years of campaigning from Hepburn Shire Council alongside project partners Mount Alexander Shire Council, North Central Catchment Management Authority and DJAARA, Geographic Names Victoria has gazetted the renaming of Jim Crow Creek.
The name Jim Crow is a pejorative term used for people of African American descent and was used to form the racial caste system that enforced racial segregation in the southern states of America between 1877 and the mid 1960’s.
Historical sources indicate that the name Jim Crow was given to the area of Lalgambook (Mt Franklin) by Captain John Hepburn in the 1830s and was used by squatters, government representatives and miners when referring to the mountain, the Aboriginal People’s, the creek, the goldfields and the district.
Mount Alexander Shire Council Mayor Cr Rosie Annear said that changing the name is important for many reasons.
“It recognises and honours the traditional owners of our region, is inclusive, and connects us to our Aboriginal heritage,” commented Mayor Annear.
“It also reinstates Dja Dja Wurrung language into the landscape, which is an action in council’s Reconciliation Action Plan.”
After consulting with the community and local Indigenous elders, Hepburn Shire Council and Mount Alexander Shire Council both resolved to request Geographic Names Victoria to rename the creek, which runs 26 kilometres from Breakneck Gorge in Hepburn Regional Park to the Loddon River below the Guildford Plateau at Strangways, at their Ordinary Council Meetings in April 2022.
Hepburn Shire Council Mayor Cr Brian Hood said the decision by Geographic Names Victoria was most welcomed.
“The term Jim Crow has its origins in racial segregation and anti-black racism and is therefore unacceptable,” Mayor Hood said.
“This change ties in with council’s ongoing reconciliation and recognition work. We are very pleased the creek is now formally renamed.”
A historic reference to the name Jim Crow Creek will be included in the VICNAMES register and will remain a part of the region’s history.

Jade Jungwirth
Jade is the former Editor of the Tarrangower Times and has lived in the region for over 16 years.