Liars! Berwick Springs Lake Was Renamed!

So we know that Berwick Springs Lake was renamed to Guru Nanak Lake recently by the Victoria State Government, without consultation from the local residents. The residents created a petition titled: “Stop Berwick Springs Name Change – A Worrying Precedent for All Victoria!” Well, a counter petition was recently set up, “Appeal on behalf of entire Australian Multicultural Communities”. In the petition, they state, “This petition seeks to address recent concerns and foster understanding about the decision to officially name a lake in Berwick Springs for the first time (this is not a renaming, as the lake never previously had an official name).” Well that’s just a demonstrable lie. I’m not a local resident, but even the Government are saying it’s a renaming.

In the link they’ve provided to the Premier’s announcement, “Celebrating Victoria's Sikh Communities”, “The Allan Labor Government is supporting Victoria’s Sikh communities with the renaming of a landmark in honour of Guru Nanak”. On the physical sign that the Government erected in the actual Wetlands, it reads, “We’ve renamed this site Guru Nanak Lake”. It’s right there in the first sentence! So what are these petition creators smoking by saying that this is not a renaming, as the lake never previously had an official name? I think they’re trying to play word games by saying that the previous name was not “official”, but obviously, if local residents refer to this as Berwick Springs Lake, and here’s a real estate agent that clearly labels it, Berwick Springs Lake, then I’m sorry, that’s the name. The Government have clearly renamed it without community consultation, which unsurprisingly has caused division in the community.

Look, as I’ve said, this is not me attacking the Sikh community. This is not me saying that Guru Nanak wasn’t a nice guy. But you can’t just rename established place names without also upsetting a lot of people. The division in Victoria continues.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn