WODONGA councillors will vote on Monday on a recommendation to select the name Harmony Square for the public space within the Junction Place development.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The council’s choice comes after it rejected alternative names with railway references.
The public space is now being landscaped on the northern corner of Elgin Boulevard and High Street.
The Wodonga Place Names Committee has been involved in determining a name for the space.
Through a public consultation process, which included a competition, Places Victoria submitted four names, none of which was accepted by the committee.
The four names were Red Rattler Square — Red Rattlers were a wooden-bodied electric multiple unit train; Spur Line Square — associated with the railway spur line; Turn Table Plaza — representative of the location where all the footpaths radiate out from around the centre of the town; and Gallipoli Green — in line with the Anzac commemorative naming.
A report to the council says the PNC did not believe any of those names were appropriate for the area.
It says the retention of the railway station and goods shed provides more than adequate recognition of the railway in the history of Wodonga, and the war time commemoration is adequately recognised in other areas of Wodonga such as the war memorial in Woodland Grove, Anzac Parade and White Box Rise estate.
The other five names suggested were Crossing Place, Harmony Square/Place, The Green, Urban Square (now commonly used for the space) and Station Place.
All five names were considered but two, Urban Square and Harmony Square/Place, drew the most debate.
The report says even though Urban Square‟ had been used for some time, the PNC believed the name ‟did not have meaning or feeling.
It was believed there was no reason behind the name, apart from the fact it has been referred to and labelled Urban Square during development and on plans since it was announced as a concept.