Possible name change for Francis Street Park to honour war veterans - Council seeks residents’ feedback

Goondiwindi Regional Council is appealing to residents with local history knowledge to get in touch with any information about the original naming of Francis Street Park in Goondiwindi, following a request from the Goondiwindi RSL Sub-Branch to re-name the park in honour of veterans of the Korean and Vietnam Wars and other services.

Before making a decision, Council would like to make sure that the proposed new name, the ‘Korean, Vietnam Veteran and Other Services Memorial Park’, has the support of local residents – as well as ensuring that there are no objections to changing the current name.

Since receiving the request, Council sought the advice of the Goondiwindi and District Family History Society about the history of the park. So far, it appears that there is no other significant or historic local link behind the park’s name other than its location.

The Family History Society reported that the Francis Street Park was the site of Ford’s Sawmill, owned by the Ford family, for many years. The group also contacted a member of the current Francis family living in the region, who confirmed that as far as they knew, the park was not named after any of their relatives.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said, this is an opportunity to shine some light on the matter if anyone else does have any more information.

“While it seems so far that there is not a strong local connection to the park’s name, it may be that there is some long-lost link out there, or a relative of the original Francis namesake who has since changed their surname perhaps. So we want to give residents a fair chance to speak up before we decide on the matter,” the Mayor said.

President of the Goondiwindi RSL Sub-Branch Tony Stepney said the group’s request to re-name the Francis Street Park would pay homage to Korean and Vietnam War veterans in addition to other servicemen and women.

“Place names play a very important role in our local heritage and shared sense of history,” Mr Stepney said. “If we can confirm there are no local historical links associated with the park’s name, then I think we have an opportunity to name it instead after an extremely important chapter in the history of our town and our nation.

"I think naming the park after our region’s veterans would be a fitting way to pay homage to those who served our country, and help their memory and legacy live on,” he said.

• Council asks any residents with any information about the history of the Francis Street Park’s name to get in touch on (07) 4671 7400 or mail@grc.qld.gov.au (with the subject heading ‘Francis Street Park’) before Wednesday 31 March 2021.