Town of Cambridge officially endorses renaming Lake Monger to Galup

The Town of Cambridge has officially endorsed renaming Lake Monger to Galup after overwhelming community support to revert the urban wetland back to its traditional Aboriginal name.

The decision at Tuesday night’s meeting was unanimous. The next and final step requires an application to Landgate to formally request the name change.

If approved, the renaming process will take five years, during which the site will be officially referred to as Galup — which translates to “place of fire” in Whadjuk Noongar language.

Mayor Gary Mack said consultation on the lake’s draft management plan, masterplan and potential name change was thorough, involving multiple stakeholders and resulting in 1128 survey responses.

“The community showed strong support for all proposed actions, including the name change. This marks a significant step in our reconciliation journey,” he said.

The draft plan and masterplan were developed in consultation with traditional owners and registered knowledge holders.

Ballardong woman and Whadjuk elder Lois May was one of the advocates who have been campaigning for the lake’s name to be restored over the past year.

“Our way of living is about caring and sharing and we want to share the cultural heritage of Galup with everyone and protect it for future generations,” Ms May said on Tuesday.

“We want to have our history recorded and accessible in a tangible way for our families and as a part of truth-telling and healing.”

For thousands of years, Galup was home to Whadjuk Noongar families, where they raised and nurtured communities for countless generations prior to British settlement.

It is believed between 30 and 40 Noongar people were killed at the site in 1830.

Both State and Federal MPs have thrown their support behind the campaign, including Churchlands MLA Christine Tonkin and Curtin MHR Kate Chaney.