Renaming the Maroondah Hospital

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following article contains content that may cause distress.

The decision to rename a public hospital in Melbourne after Queen Elizabeth II has sparked outrage, with peak Indigenous bodies slamming the decision as a backwards step to British Imperialism.

On 18 September 2022, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced plans to expand and redevelop the Maroondah Hospital in Ringwood.

Also announced, was the intention to scrap the name ‘Maroondah’ in favor of renaming the hospital after the late monarch.

'Maroondah' is an Indigenous word from the language of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, which means ‘throwing leaves.'

The decision was quickly met with backlash from prominent Indigenous bodies including the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria. Marcus Stewart, Co-Chair of the Assembly and a Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, said that the name change would turn the hospital into a culturally unsafe place for Indigenous people.

We’ve lost enough of our culture, our history and our people thanks to colonialism. It would be a real misstep to erase an Aboriginal name to make room for the very symbol of colonialism."

There has been growing recognition of, and encouragement to use, Traditional Owner languages in place naming in Victoria. In late 2022, Moreland Council was formally renamed Merri-bek Council, which means 'rocky country' in the local Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung language.

Despite this, the decision by the State Government to remove an Indigenous name and replace it with a tribute to a British monarch, is perhaps, unsurprising, when considering Australia's tether to its colonial history.

It's been 24 years since Australian's voted against becoming a republic, which would have removed a British monarch as the Head of State in Australia. Jill Gallagher, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), says that reminders of colonialism are omnipresent in Australia.

“Whilst we are surrounded by British culture in this country – Aboriginal culture, and the Aboriginal way of life is almost invisible. There are already countless statues, landmarks and venue names, dedicated to colonial-era British people.” 

Map: Melbourne Hospitals named after the British monarchy

Records gathered by the Ringwood and District Historical Society, reveal that the name of the Maroondah Hospital can be traced back to colonial Australia in the 1800's. In what was, perhaps, one of the earliest attempts to restore Aboriginal place names.

James Dawson (1806 – 1900) settled in Australia in 1840 from Scotland.

In 1881, construction of an aqueduct to extend Melbourne's water supply was announced. It was named 'the Watts scheme.'

Dawson was a prominent advocate for the recording and retention of Indigenous place names. When he heard of the water supply scheme, Dawson spoke with local Indigenous people who advised that the name of the valley selected for the aqueduct was 'Maroondah.'

Dawson wrote several letters to the Argus newspaper, detailing the shameful colonial origins of the Watt's name and campaigning for the Indigenous name 'Maroondah' to be restored.

His efforts were successful, and in February 1891 the Maroondah Aqueduct was officially opened.

...It is deeply to be regretted that the opportunity for securing the native names of places has, in many districts, gone for ever.... How much more interesting would have been the map of the colony of Victoria had this been attended to at an earlier period of its history."

The naming of the Maroondah Aqueduct in 1891, had a historical flow-on effect when naming other landmarks in the area. Including the Maroondah Hospital.

Despite considerable backlash to the name change, the Andrews Government has remained silent to opposition.

On October 7 2022, the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria delivered a petition with over 50,000 signatures to the Victorian Parliament, urging the government to retain the hospitals Indigenous name. A representative of the Assembly has confirmed that, to date, no response has been received.

The 2023-24 Victorian State Budget was delivered on 23 May 2023, eight months after the announcement of the proposed renaming.

As the Victorian Government had remained silent to criticisms of the proposal, reference to the Maroondah Hospital as 'Queen Elizabeth II Hospital' in the State Budget, is the first unequivocal confirmation that the name change will proceed.

Aiv Puglielli MP is a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Victorian Greens. In Parliament on 23 February 2023, he posed a question to the Premier, asking whether the government would reverse its decision in the wake of staunch opposition by peak Indigenous bodies and leaders.

Mr Puglielli MP confirmed that a response from the Premier was finally received four months later, after the State Budget had been released. The Premier’s answer confirmed that the name change would proceed.

Last week, the Victorian Greens party introduced a motion into the Upper House of Parliament, condemning the 'inadvertent confirmation of the name change in the budget,' and calling again on the state government to reserve its decision.