Name change bid for SA electorate over chequered colonial past
A Labor MP is calling for a state electorate to be renamed due to the actions of the man the seat is named after.
Upper House MP Reggie Martin has told the Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission (EDBC) that the mid-north electorate of Frome should be renamed after Indigenous rights champion Lowitja O’Donoghue or South Australian political activist Elizabeth Rose Hanretty.
The rural seat is currently named after Edward Charles Frome, who was South Australia’s third permanent surveyor general from 1839 to 1849.
Frome played a key role in surveying land for settlers in the years after the state’s proclamation. He was also the first to map the area around Lake Frome near the northern Flinders Ranges.
But Martin highlighted a more troubling aspect of Frome’s legacy, namely his conduct after the killing of 26 white settlers who were shipwrecked off Cape Jaffa in 1840.
The killings, known as the Maria massacre, were met with severe retribution. Governor George Gawler sent a police party to the Coorong with orders to identify up to three murderers and hang them immediately.
Two Aboriginal men were hanged without trial, a scene Frome depicted in a sketch called Pilgaru.
Frome also later painted a village in the Coorong that was abandoned by the local Milmenrura people after the hangings. He annotated the painting “Burnt by me, October 1840”, in an apparent reprisal for the Maria massacre.
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Martin said the village burning was the most egregious of Frome’s actions and warrants the EDBC reconsidering his name on the electorate.
“The importance of a name should not be underestimated,” Martin wrote.
“A name is a signal of what attributes our society considers worthy of memorialisation. It is a great recognition and award for an electorate to bear someone’s name.
“If an electorate is to be named after a prominent person, then the values and standards of that person should be a beacon for others to aspire to.
“What is clear from the sources above is that Frome was at least present at, and complicit in, the murder of two innocent indigenous men and the burning of an indigenous encampment.
“In my submission, this means that Frome cannot meet the criteria for a deceased person after whom an Electoral District should be named, and the electorate must be renamed.”
Labor MLC Reggie Martin. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
The seat of Frome has existed in various forms between 1884 and 1902, 1938 and 1977 and 1993 to present. It covers a range of agricultural areas, including the Clare and Gilbert Valleys and the townships of Burra, Clare, Kapunda and Two Wells.
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The electorate is currently represented by Liberal frontbencher Penny Pratt. Previous Frome MPs include independent Geoff Brock and former Liberal Premier Rob Kerin.
Pratt declined to comment on the proposed name change.
One of the city’s most prominent roads connecting the CBD with North Adelaide also bears Frome’s name, along with Lake Frome near the Flinders Ranges.
Martin told InDaily that his suggestion to rename the Frome electorate “isn’t a crusade to change everything named after him”.
“For example, it would be impractical to rename Frome Rd as it would impact on all the businesses and houses,” he said.
“But I think we need more balance in regards to who electorates are named after.
“The current electorates are predominantly named after men, and most are early administrators or wealthy land holders.”
Martin said he would like to see more women and social activists recognised across South Australia’s electorates.
His submission notes that 29 of South Australia’s 47 districts are named after men compared to 10 women.
“I’d like to see some more women and social activists recognised, and I’ve suggested Lowitja O’Donoghue or Elizabeth Hanretty as two outstanding women who could be recognised by having an electorate named after them,” he said.
“If we are going to have more balance, then Frome seems the obvious place to start.”
David Gully, secretary to the EDBC, said the Commission will hold a hearing on June 12 to hear representations about the 2026 electoral boundaries, including any suggested name changes.
The Commission is due to release its draft boundary changes on August 15 ahead of a final decision in November.
