This consultation has concluded. The new name 'Gugara Park' has been adopted by Council - see the news feed below for more information.

Help name our newly revitalised park

In October 2016 Woollahra Council resolved to recognise the newly enlarged Dillon Street Reserve, which was to receive a 1300m2 parcel of land from the Old Scottish Hospital site, as an official park of the Woollahra municipality and undertake a process to select a suitable name. Read the full Notice of Motion here.

Since then, we have collaborated closely with the community to design and develop a plan for this valuable open space. Earlier this year we completed the first stage of improvements, including the creation of a brighter and more challenging play environment, new footpaths, picnic settings, seating and garden beds.

Now that these landscaping and upgrade works have been completed and the community is once again enjoying this eastern Sydney oasis, Council would like to engage the community in seeking alternate park name suggestions for Dillon Street Reserve.

Share your ideas and 'like' your favourites on our ideas board until Sunday 17 July 2022.

Shortlisted names

To get the conversation started, Council staff have consulted several sources of local knowledge to provide a shortlist of suitable name suggestions.

• Warima Park: The translation of the word ‘Warima’ in the Dharawal language/dialect is ‘playing’.
• Gujaga Park: The translation of the word ‘Gujaga’’ in the Dharawal language/dialect is a non-gender name for ‘child/children’.
• Scottish Hospital Park: A historical reference to the former use of the adjoining site.

We have arrived at this shortlist by:

• Reviewing the work of Dr. Paul Irish relating to Aboriginal significance of the area,
• Collecting input from Council’s Local History Librarian on the Aboriginal and European history relevant to the locality of Dillon Street Reserve,
• Consulting the Gujaga Foundation (Dharawal Language Program) and La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council for their Aboriginal language input,
• Consulting local stakeholder group The Paddington Society.

[Read more about the improvements we have made at the Your Park, Your Design: Dillon Street Reserve]

How is a new name chosen?

Selection of a suitable alternative name must comply with the naming rules and guidelines of both Council’s Naming Policy and the NSW Geographical Names Board (GNB). It is recommended that proposed names be shared with the community to ensure support before being proposed to the GNB, and that Council engages the Local Aboriginal Land Council to find suitable names and the words, stories and meaning behind them.

Once all feedback has been collated, suitable re-naming suggestions will be reported up to Council. Council will make a final decision on the name, which will then be submitted to the Geographical Names Board to be officially ratified.