Geographical Names Board of New South Wales

Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
Statutory authority overview
Formed	1966
Jurisdiction	New South Wales
Headquarters	Panorama Avenue, Bathurst
Minister responsible	Hon. Greg Pearce MLC, Minister for Finance and Services and Minister for the Illawarra
Parent Statutory authority	Land and Property Information, Department of Finance and Services
Key document	Geographical Names Act, 1966 (NSW)
Website	http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/

The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, a statutory authority of the Land and Property Information division, Department of Finance and Services in the Government of New South Wales, is the official body for naming and recording details of places and geographical names in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

Whilst the Board is an independent body, it is responsible to the General Manager of Land and Property Information, currently Des Mooney (presently Chairman of the Board); who reports to the Director General of the Department of Finance and Services, currently Michael Coutts-Trotter. Both the General Manager for Land and Property Information and the Director General of the Department report to the Minister for Finance and Services, currently the Honourable Greg Pearce MLC.

The Board was established in 1966 pursuant to the Geographical Names Act 1966.^[1]

Board composition

The Board consists of nine members, four of which are those people who hold the office of, or are a respective nominee of:

the Surveyor General of New South Wales who is also Chairman of the Board,
the Director General of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure,
the State Librarian, and
an officer of the Land and Property Information division, nominated by the Director General of the Department of Finance and Services

The other members are nominated by:

the Local Government and Shires Association of New South Wales,
the Royal Australian Historical Society,
the Geographical Society of New South Wales,
the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, and
the Chairperson of the Community Relations Commission.

Activities

The Geographical Names Act, 1966, empowers the Board to assign names to places, to investigate and determine the form, spelling, meaning, pronunciation, origin and history of any geographical name and the application of such name with regard to position, extent or otherwise.

A place is described in the Act as "any geographical or topographical feature or any district, division, locality, region, city, town, village, settlement or railway station or any other place within the territories and waters of the State of New South Wales but does not include any road, any local government area, urban area, county or district under the Local Government Act, electoral district or subdivision, or any school". The Act also specifies the procedures for formalising names.

In recent years the Board has been given the power to preserve and promote Aboriginal languages and acknowledge Aboriginal culture through place naming in NSW. The Board does this by preferencing traditional Aboriginal place names or names with Aboriginal origin wherever it can. The Board is dedicated to restoring traditional Aboriginal names to features with introduced names through its dual naming policy and recognising important traditional Aboriginal placenames alongside longstanding introduced names.^[2]

The Board's policy mirrors the U.S. Board of Geographical names in that it seeks to eliminate possessive names from all place names in NSW. Roads called Smith's Road are changed to Smiths Road or Smith Road.

References

↑ "Geographical Names Act, 1966 (NSW)". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
↑ "Traditional placenames". Geographical Names Board. Government of New South Wales. 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.

External links

Departments and agencies of the New South Wales Government

New South Wales Government

Premier and Cabinet	Parliamentary Counsel's Office Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Ombudsman's Office Public Service Commission Office of the Governor NSW Electoral Commission Ombudsman Venues NSW Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust Sydney Olympic Park Authority Office of Sport NSW Institute of Sport Destination NSW Infrastructure NSW Natural Resources Commission Barangaroo Delivery Authority Audit Office Auditor-General Independent Commission Against Corruption Office of Western Sydney International Engagement

Justice	Arts NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing Ministry of Police and Emergency Services Crown Solicitor's Office Fire and Rescue NSW Office of the Rural Fire Service Office of the State Emergency Service Art Gallery Trust Australian Museum Trust Library Council of New South Wales Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority Sydney Opera House Trust NSW Police Force Corrective Services Director of Public Prosecutions Information and Privacy Commission Legal Aid Commission Crime Commission Police Integrity Commission Legal Profession Admission Board Public Guardian NSW Trustee and Guardian Industrial Relations Commission Judicial Commission Juvenile Justice Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages Screen NSW Veterans' Affairs

Education	Aboriginal Affairs NSW Aboriginal Land Council Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards Charles Sturt University Council Macquarie University Council Southern Cross University Council University of New England Council University of New South Wales Council University of Newcastle Council University of Technology, Sydney Council University of Western Sydney Board of Trustees University of Wollongong Council

Family and Community Services	Ageing, Disability and Home Care Community Services Children's Guardian Advocate for Children and Young People Home Care Service of New South Wales Aboriginal Housing Office New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation Housing NSW Multicultural NSW

Finance and Services	Service NSW Office of State Revenue Valuer General NSW Self Insurance Corporation Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority Government Property NSW Teacher Housing Authority of New South Wales Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund Building Insurers' Guarantee Corporation State Records Authority New South Wales Government Telecommunications Authority Motor Accidents Authority WorkCover Authority Board of Surveying and Spatial Information Building Professionals Board NSW Architects Registration Board Rental Bond Board Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority Luna Park Reserve Trust Internal Audit Bureau NSW Fair Trading Waste Assets Management Corporation Geographic Names Board NSW Public Works (including the Government Architect)

Health	Health Care Complaints Commission Sydney Children's Hospitals Network Agency for Clinical Innovation Bureau of Health Information Clinical Excellence Commission Health Education and Training Institute Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network Mental Health Commission Ambulance Service of NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Council of New South Wales Local Health Districts x 15 Statutory Health Corporations x 10 Health Administration Corporation Cancer Institute of New South Wales Office for Women’s Policy

Industry, Skills and Regional Development	Department of Primary Industries Crown Lands Division NSW Food Authority TAFE Commission Soil Conservation Service Local Land Services Cobar Water Board Dams Safety Committee Veterinary Practitioners Board NSW Rural Assistance Authority Essential Energy Ausgrid TransGrid Endeavour Energy Delta Electricity Hunter Water Corporation Sydney Water Corporation Forestry Corporation of NSW Game Council Water NSW Sydney Catchment Authority Office of Small Business Chief Scientist and Engineer

Planning and Environment	Office of Local Government Office of Environment and Heritage UrbanGrowth NSW Environment Protection Authority Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust Lord Howe Island Board Taronga Conservation Society Australia Western Sydney Parklands Trust Sydney Living Museums Parramatta Park Trust Historic Houses Trust Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust Landcom

Transport	Independent Transport Safety Regulator Transport for NSW State Transit Authority Sydney Ferries Independent Transport Safety Regulator Office of Transport Safety Investigations Roads and Maritime Services WestConnex Delivery Authority Sydney Trains NSW Trains RailCorp Port Authority of New South Wales

Treasury	Long Service Corporation Residual Business Management Corporation Liability Management Ministerial Corporation State Rail Authority Residual Holding Corporation SAS Trustee Corporation NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp) Office of Industrial Relations

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Geographical Names Board of New South Wales

Board composition

Activities

See also

References

External links