Tyrant’s name to be removed from Kimberley with new name proposed for King Leopold Ranges locality

A tyrant’s name for an area of the Kimberley may soon be replaced. The Shire of Derby/West Kimberley has endorsed asking Landgate to rename the locality of King Leopold Ranges. The physical ranges were named by Alexander Forrest in 1879 after Belgian King Leopold II, who was responsible for atrocities, brutal oppression and the enslavement of African people. The Ranges are nearly 600km long and cross several native title areas, with each language group referring to the range by a different name. After consultation with the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation and Bunuba Native Title Corporation, in 2020 the name Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges was chosen. The name incorporates the Ngarinyin (Wunaamin) and Bunuba (Miliwundi) traditional names. But the area they were within kept the name King Leopold Ranges, which a shire report said caused confusion in emergency situations. Landgate engaged NyikBar Consulting to consult native title holders and other stakeholders about renaming the locality. It proposed Bularl di Wunami as the new name, which was endorsed unanimously by the shire council at its meeting last month. Landgate will make the final decision on what the locality, which is about 34,700sqkm, will be called. NyikBar Consulting’s report said the new name comprised a Ngarinyin word from members of the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation and a Bunuba word approved by the Bunuba Aboriginal Corporation. Bulari di means “rocky country” and Wunami means “big range country”. “Geographically contextual, ancient names for locations bestowed by the people who have lived there for thousands of generations make our nation genuinely Australian,” NyikBar Consulting’s report said. “Renaming is a way of capturing traditional language and stories for posterity. “The new names are linked to the traditions behind them and are the foundations of our nation’s culture.” Wilinggin had proposed Dorron Mangunggu but combining this with a Bunuba word would have made it too long. Proposed new names for features in the area include Mumdamah for Poulton Pool, Muludja Waterhole for the Margaret River Crossing, and Liymba for The Bench. A Landgate spokesperson said the department was aware the shire had endorsed Bularl di Wunami as the new name for the King Leopold Ranges locality. “There will now be a formal process undertaken by Landgate before the official renaming occurs,” they said. NyikBar Consulting’s report said the renaming project also yielded traditional stories and plants. Gooniyandi traditional owners shared a story during a field trip on September 11 about how the moon sang out to a star, which fell to earth and slid across the land, leaving a black soil plain and creating the area known as Moon And Star. Various endemic plants were harvested and collected during a field trip for medicinal use and fabric dying. The resulting products were then sold at community events. “Traditional stories and plant names, the naming of culturally significant places and plants gathered during field trips are welcome additions that make up an important part of the project legacy,” NyikBar Consulting’s report said. In 2020, then-lands minister Ben Wyatt said it was important to acknowledge and promote the long history of the Aboriginal peoples’ connection to this land, and the proud place it had in WA’s shared history. “It has troubled me for years that an extraordinary area of WA should be named in honour of a person who is widely regarded as an evil tyrant with no connection to our State,” he said.