New name for a park in Seaford

A decision has been made to formally name the park Elna Hay Park after a former local resident who created a sense of community and helped other residents with their gardens.

For more information read the full report here with a biography of Elna Hay on the last page.

Background

At the suggestion of a local resident we considered a formal name for the park in Seaford located between Poplar Walk and Birch Avenue (refer to the map in the document library).

In June-July 2021 we asked our communities to identify any existing names or suggested names for the park. We wrote to residents living near the reserve seeking their input. We also considered whether an Aboriginal name may be appropriate for the park.

All name suggestions were posted on this page for community feedback. Once the engagement period closed, all names were assessed against the criteria outlined in council’s Place Naming Policy and presented to elected members in a report to Council on 5 October 2021. Council determined that the following names would progress to the second stage of community engagement:

• Elna Hay Park
• Poplar Park
• an Aboriginal name taken from the Kaurna language as recommended by Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi Aboriginal Corporation (KWK).

In September 2021 we wrote to KWK to share the name suggestions provided by community members, and asked them to advise us of a suitable name option. We received a response from KWK on 2 May 2022 providing two Kaurna name options, Kurta Tarni (meaning 'surf side') and Kurta Yarlu (meaning 'sea side').

From 2-30 May 2022 we undertook the second stage of community engagement where community members can vote for their preferred name(s):

• Elna Hay Park
• Poplar Park
• Kurta Tarni (a Kaurna name meaning 'surf side')
• Kurta Yarlu (a Kaurna name meaning 'sea side').

Outcome

The community feedback was collated and presented in a report to Council's Strategic Directions Committee on 2 August 2022 to determine the formal name for the park. It was resolved to name the park Elna Hay Park in line with the community feedback where 59 per cent of all respondents, and 78 per cent of local residents indicated a preference for the name Elna Hay Park. For a copy of the full report including the community feedback click here.