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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (14 November) . . Page.. 3659 ..
Eva West Street | Evelyn (Eva) Maud West (1888-1969) | Accountant. Eva West was born and educated in Traralgon, she was one of the first women in Australia to qualify as an accountant. She became a member of the Society of Accountants in 1918. From 1934 to 1946 she was the Shire Secretary of Traralgon and Secretary of the Water Trust, Sewage & Gas Works. Eva was devoted to organisations that promoted the welfare of women and girls. She pioneered the Girl Guide movement in Traralgon and worked endlessly to raise funds for the War Effort, the local Hospital and Bush Fire Relief. For services to the community Eva was awarded the MBE in 1958. |
Map included on hard copy on the Notice Paper as circulated in the Chamber.
On 24 September 2002 I moved a motion of disallowance for disallowable instrument 2002-171, which named 19 new streets in Gungahlin. I moved that motion of disallowance because all 19 streets had been named in honour of men, although two streets were named after men and their wives-neither wife being recognised in her own right.
I moved the disallowance because I could not allow the instrument to go through unchecked. Of the last 29 streets named after people in the ACT, we had only been able to name two after women. For the Gungahlin Town Centre, possibly the last town centre in Canberra, we were presented with 19 pioneering men who were deemed worthy of having their name on our city's landscape, but not any individual women.
Children learn about street names, and the intention of naming is to tell people who built Australia, and our region in particular, so it is unfortunate to give the impression that men built this country unassisted by women.
Instead of just moving that disallowance motion, I have worked to bring an amendment to instrument 171 to replace four of the male names in the group of the 19 new streets with names that honour and recognise women. I am glad to report that the Minister for Planning permitted the Place Names Committee to assist me in selecting the names of female industrialists to honour. I thank him and the committee for their assistance in this matter.
There are many, necessary conventions guiding the naming of places and street names. For example, places are only named after deceased people, the names of streets should not be so long that they do not easily fit on a map and every effort is also made to avoid duplicate names so as to avoid confusion when emergency services are called.
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