Council goes into bat for Shirley – again

BY TIM HOWARD

Attempts to rectify a naming anomaly on the approaches and crossing of the new Grafton bridge that has shocked locals have hit a brick wall, but moves are afoot to have one more try.

Grafton residents were shocked when the wrappers came off the signage on approaches to the Balun Bindarray Bridge last December to see it named Shirley Way.

The name was in honour of former Grafton City Council mayor and community icon Shirley Adams and the community expected to see her full name on the bridge approaches.

Unfortunately, due to a new policy at the organisation which oversees this, the Geographical Names Board, this had been outlawed.

The policy forbidding the use of two names for a location was created to avoid confusion among emergency service organisations during call outs.

Mrs Adams husband John and daughter Virginia, Clarence MP Richie Williamson and Clarence Valley Council, formally and informally have made representations to the government to have Mrs Adams full name used on the bridge approach signs, but to date all have been rebuffed.

This has not deterred the council, which last week, voted in support of a notice of motion from Cr Karen Toms to lobby politicians and the names board again.

“There’s a lot of Shirleys in the world, but there’s only one Shirley Adams,” Cr Toms said.

Cr Toms’ NOM urges the NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib to conduct a review of the policy.

Unfortunately Cr Toms work has created a conflict within the council where Mayor Ian

Tiley has been working behind the scenes to achieve a similar outcome.

Debate on the matter revealed the Mayor had been working with former Grafton City deputy during his first stint as Clarence Valley mayor “I felt that I could embellish our next submission by having the former GM of Grafton city assist,” he said.

“And he was doing decided or chosen to go to the public arena and I’m very disappointed, with it. Nevertheless I’ll live with whatever the council’s decision is.”

But Cr Toms, who learned about Cr Tiley’s project at the councillor’s workshop prior to the June meeting, was adamant the council needed to put it into a resolution including a reference to Mr Smith’s involvement.

Cr Toms said she did not intend to cause embarrassment to the mayor or Mr Smith.

“I personally thought it can’t do that without a council resolution,” she said.

“So that’s why I put point five there. Not to embarrass you not to embarrass Mr. Smith. It’s purely to give more information about surely to the Minister.”

Other councillors were not so sure and voted in support of an amendment to remove point five of resolution referencing Mr Smith.

The council voted unanimously to:

1. Seek a review of the Geographical Names Board Policy that restricts the use of a given or first names in conjunction with a surname.