John Suta was responding to calls for the street's name to no longer recognise squatter George Faithfull who was involved in massacring a group of Aborigines in 1838.

"It would be appropriate to change," Mr Suta said.

"We can never erase history but we can try to make amends by changing the name of the street.

"If the general public were made more aware of what occurred they would be all for changing the name, maybe not the conservative parts of the population but those that are socially aware."

Mr Suta was commenting after an author Wendy Mitchell, who wrote of Faithfull's role in the killing of Pangerang people, called for a debate about the name and Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees said he was open to it being dropped.

Cr Rees also tied the debate in with recognising bushranger Ned Kelly which is seen by some as troubling.

Mr Suta, who is a Kelly buff, rejected that argument.

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"I don't think the comparison is open to be drawn," he said.

"They're poles apart, they stand on their own two feet in history."

Fellow Faithfull Street office-holder, Victorian Upper House MP, Tania Maxwell was unwilling to say whether she thought the name should remain or be removed.

"I think there needs to be community consultation, not just a quick Facebook grab (of opinions)," Ms Maxwell said.

Owner of Tomaino's Car Audio and Hi-Fi Mario Tomaino, who has traded on Faithfull Street for 25 years was unaware of the history of its namesake.

Mrs Mitchell said she would consider putting in a joint submission, with her co-author Pangerang elder Freddie Dowling, to Wangaratta council's place names committee to have the name altered.

The killing she wrote of involving Faithfull occurred near the Ovens River around present-day Wangaratta with the death toll unclear.

In his own hand Faithfull wrote "I fired my double barrel....and two of the most forward fell" before adding that he reloaded and "the war thus begun continued from ten o'clock in the morning until four in the afternoon".