Council
9 December, 2025
Motion shines spotlight on historical namings
Ever wondered about the person something in your region such as a bridge or a park has been named after?
Ever wondered about the person something in your region such as a bridge or a park has been named after?
Wollondilly Shire Council may soon have the answer.
Council will look at adding a QR code to its signage, enabling people to learn more about the people who have helped shape the LGA’s history.
Cr Paul Rogers moved a Notice of Motion at council’s November meeting that staff explore the viability of such a system.
Information would be stored on council’s website “in relation to all council assets within the Wollondilly named in recognition of community members”.
He wants council to work with local historians, local historical organisations and families – where needed – to gain accurate information.
The Notice of Motion was extremely well received and was moved unanimously.
Cr Rogers said the suggestion for such a system had been raised by members of the community.
He said the Notice of Motion provided a ‘pragmatic’ way forward for council to investigate costs and to make historically accurate information available for future generations.
Cr Rogers said “modern systems” could easily help people understand the reasoning behind historical namings.
Cr Rogers told The Southern Wire that his Notice of Motion had been prompted by the naming of Norm Dent Reserve in Picton and Trevor Thompson Park in Tahmoor.
He said there were a number of other assets coming up that would be named after people of historical interest in the Wollondilly including Bernie Smith and the Copeman family.
He acknowledged that “things are tight” in Wollondilly financially but he is confident that council will find the money – even in a staged approach – to put something in place.
Norm Dent, for example, joined the NSW Fire Brigade on September 15, 1965 and served the Wollondilly community as a volunteer ambulance officer and RFS volunteer.
He was a firefighter with Fire and Rescue NSW until his retirement on January 10, 2014 at the rank of captain of Picton Fire Station 421.
Norm was a life member and ex-captain of the Picton Rural Fire Brigade and a founding member of the Wollondilly RFS Remote Area Firefighting Team.
He also served for many years as a community representative on council’s floodplain risk management committee.
Trevor Thompson also left a “legacy of courage and selfless service to the Wollondilly community” according to the Geographical Names Board.
He served in the RFS for 34 years in Tahmoor and Thirlmere and held a number of key roles including group officer for eight years, fire investigator for 16 years and captain of the Tahmoor brigade for five years. He mentored junior fire investigators and was honoured with life membership.
“Trevor’s impact on his community went beyond the boundaries of Wollondilly,” according to the GNB.
He played a crucial role in a number of major disasters including the 2019/20 Green Wattle fire, the 2016 Picton weather event and Victoria’s Black Saturday fires in 2009, for which he was awarded the National Emergency Medal.
A staff report on Cr Rogers’ Notion of Motion will be prepared within the next six months.
Read More: Wollondilly, Picton, Tahmoor