Every street in the new Tamworth Global Gateway Park will have an Indigenous name representing a native animal

After a two-year consultation process with local Indigenous elders, the first road names have been selected for the Tamworth Global Gateway Park (TGGP) at Westdale.

Councillor Marc Sutherland, who sits on the TGGP Aboriginal Road Naming Working Group, said it's an important move, given the significance of the park, which is seen as a symbol of progress for the region.

"Making sure that Aboriginal people have a presence in that space, I think is really powerful," he told the Leader.

Before he was elected to Tamworth Regional Council last year, Cr Sutherland sat on the Aboriginal language advisory group along with Indigenous elders including Len Waters, Simon Munro and Neville Sampson.

He said the Aboriginal community has been heavily involved through consultation from the get-go, and as an Indigenous councillor, he's now fortunate to be in a position to adopt the names in line with the community's wishes.

"I think it's a really important statement for Tamworth Regional Council," he said.

"We're trying to do the best we can to make sure that our local culture is represented and reflected in any kind of developments that we're doing."

The first names for stages 1 and 2 of the park endorsed by council in Kamilaroi language for fauna and flora are Bandaar Drive (grey kangaroo), Burruulu Close (fly), Guda Street (koala) and Dhinawan Street (emu).

A larger list of 12 names have been approved by the NSW Geographical Names Board and reserved for future use.

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Accompanying the signs will be a pictorial symbol of the name. Indigenous artwork will also be incorporated into signage throughout the park

From an educational perspective, symbols are important so the community can better understand traditional language, Cr Sutherland said.

"Making sure that that language is spoken [is important], even though some of the language might seem a bit challenging at times," he said.

"To use it as a larger educational piece is definitely a priority for council, to be able to make sure we're using language but providing some education around how to pronounce it and what they look like."

More than 12,000 trees have recently been planted at the park, which once complete will include nature walks with a focus on Indigenous education, and a green zone named after native birds.

The road names will be placed on public exhibition before being published to the Government Gazette.

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