By Ethan Benedicto
The renaming of a local reserve in honour of Victoria’s Sikh community has been met with strong opposition by residents, as Berwick Springs Lake faces its second hurdle of identity.
Announced on Saturday 9 November, Berwick Springs Lake was renamed in honour of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who, by the same name, was the first Guru and founder of the Sikh faith.
The Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ingrid Stitt, announced on Saturday $600,000 in funding for Langar celebration events across Victoria, as well as Berwick Springs Lake’s change of name.
“I’m delighted to be recognising the significant contributions of our Sikh community in Victoria by naming a landmark after the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak,” Stitt said.
Criticisms from the local residents have been strong, with a petition to change the name amassing roughly 700 signatures as of Tuesday 12 November.
The main sentiment revolves around consultation, with the locals stating that there has been no word or notice that this change was to go through, or even occurring to begin with.
This renaming is part of the State Government’s Name a Place campaign, which sees public input of over 6000 new places over the next three years for naming.
This story is developing, and Star News is endeavouring to gather information and comments from all parties involved as soon as possible.
