THE Macquarie River could soon have a second name, one that recognises Aboriginal heritage in Australia.
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Next week, Bathurst Regional Council will consider a report that recommends council support an application for the dual naming of the river.
If that application, which would be submitted to the Geographical names board for consideration, is successful it will see the river officially known as the Macquarie-Wambuul.
Mayor Bobby Bourke said the proposal was initiated by the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council, and council has been working with that group, and the Wiradyuri Elders, for months to develop the application.
Cr Bourke said he thought the dual naming was "long overdue" and that he anticipates "full support" from councillors next week when a determination is made.
"To give recognition in a dual naming of the river is a no-brainer to me and I think it's probably long overdue," he said.
CEO of the land council, Toni-Lee Scott, said the purpose of dual naming the river was to bring the two cultures of Australia together.
"We just want to try to incorporate Aboriginal place names in our community and it's happening in a lot of other communities as well, to be able to more or less combine and share our cultural and European culture together," she said.
"It's all about coming together and moving forward together."
The dual naming proposal is supported by the traditional owners.
Wiradyuri elder Dinawan Dyirribang (Bill Allen) said it is something they had been pushing for for years.
"Wambuul was the original name that we called it for thousands and thousands of years and Macquarie is only a name that's recently come in the last 200 years," he said.
"To have it's traditional name back there means a great lot to us because it's recognising our country again, Wiradyuri country, and how important having our traditional names back to these places is, like we have with Wahluu.
"It's important to get those traditional names back that have been there for a long, long time and our elders have been wanting these back for a long, long time, so we are just continuing the work of our elders."
Ms Scott is pleased that council and both aboriginal groups in Bathurst are all on the same page when it comes to dual naming of the river.
"It's about working together for a mutual goal, and at the end of the day Aboriginal place names are a great initiatives," she said.
BRC and the lands council will jointly submit the application if given the green light.