Call to officially name Morgans Reserve

CONCERNS have been raised over the changing of the name of a reserve located on the Euroa-Shepparton, Cullens, and Leckies Roads in Miepoll South. While never gazetted, the reserve had commonly been known as Morgans Reserve, named after the Morgan family who lived there. But locals say that no discussions were made over the apparent renaming of the site. On Google Maps the area is known as the Seven Creeks Bushland Reserve, while other bushwalking websites also refer to a short track in that area with that name. But President of the Euroa Historical & Genealogical Society John Gilbert said the region had been known as Morgans Reserve for over a century. He said it was sad that no research was made by the Strathbogie Shire council or the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DEWLP) and consider the local history of the site. “The family moved into the district in the in the 1880’s and took up their land on the west side of the Seven Creeks,” Mr Gilbert said. “About two kilometers away the explorer Major Mitchell camped near the Sevens Creek during his 1836 expedition.” The discovery of the name change came after a descendent of the Morgan family, Rosalind Maher who still lives on the original selection had contacted the Strathbogie Shire council, who wrote to DEWLP to advise of the process. “How I initially saw it was on a fire warning and it displayed at Seven Creeks Bushland Reserve, and I thought ‘where’s that?’ We all knew it as Morgans Reserve,” Ms Maher said. An article in the Euroa Advertiser of February 1913 the area was referred to as the Miepoll South Reserve and was under the control of the Euroa Shire. Over a year later in April 1914 the same paper reported on the Euroa Shire’s discussions regarding “Violet Town Road and Morgans Reserve" and in the mid 1980’s until at least 2018 a finger sign showing Morgans Reserve was in place near the site. In 2018 the sign was removed and the site was fenced off. “I didn’t think the name was gazetted but the fact that the sign was there and was documented in Trove, I just felt the signage would be there,” Ms Maher said. “I happened to go past the historical society and had all the information because we are fully versed with our family history and we have a big reunion there every year.” Parks Victoria, who now currently manages the reserve, said they were happy to have a conversation over the reserve’s current name. “Parks Victoria understands that while the reserve is known locally as ‘Morgans Reserve’ that has not been the official gazetted name for the reserve,” Daniel McLaughlin, Parks Victoria Regional Director said, “There are naming rules in place that govern the statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities in Victoria.” “Parks Victoria welcomes a conversation with the community to discuss their connection to this reserve and how this might be recognised.” Parks Victoria also said they were unable to comment on how Google and other mapping services gather information and update their publicly available maps. Mr Gilbert welcomed Parks Victoria’s willingness for discussion and hoped that the common name would be re-instated on physical and online maps. “A quick reply from a Government Department – let’s hope the change back to Morgans Reserve is just as quick,” Mr Gilbert said.