What’s in a name? Plenty if it’s not in anything Shakespeare wrote, says Campbelltown councillor Meg Oates.
The veteran councillor took issue with plans to name a new street in Rosemeadow after a person associated with the applicant who died just as the project got under way.
Cr Oates pointed out that it has been council policy for years to use Shakespearean characters for street names in Rosemeadow.
“This is clearly a breach of our policy, and so, no, I can’t allow it,’’ Cr Oates told council.
And as the debate rolled on it became obvious that almost all of the councillors shared the same concerns as Cr Oates about breaching the Shakespeare rule.
“I grew up around Rosemeadow, went to school there and remember that we used to talk about the street names at the time,’’ said Cr Josh Cotter, who attended John Therry High School in Rosemeadow.
The subdivision that will create two new streets is located near the intersection of Copperfield Drive and Julius Road.
The applicant proposed that one be named after Cassio, the character in Shakespeare’s Othello.
However, as a special consideration, the applicant wished the second street be named Petrus Way, after their late colleague, Erwin Petrus Way.
Mr Way was a consultant project director who passed way when work on this subdivision at Rosemeadow started.
Geographic Names Board (GNB) rules prohibit the use of two names on street signs, so his middle name was put forward.
Cr Oates, who has also railed against this GNB rule for years, said she could not support the application for Petrus.
And as other councillors pointed out, there wasn’t much information provided about Mr way, including if he was a local resident.
“This is not something that would not resonate with locals,’’ said Cr Riley Munro, who also voted to support Cr Oates.
“And as others have said, some people may assume Petrus is a character from Shakespeare because the street is in Rosemeadow, and we don’t want that.’’
The applicant will now be asked to submit two names that comply with the Shakespeare theme.
Pictured above is Cassio with Bianca in the Shakespeare play Othello, in a drawing by Ludovico Marchetti.
