ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2019

Item 4.4 Petition requesting a Spencer P Jones Lane in St Kilda

An online petition containing 1,163 signatures, was received from St Kilda resident Nick Haines.

The Petition states the following:- A proposal for a lane in St Kilda to be named after the late, great Spencer P Jones is being proposed to the Port Phillip Council. To help make this happen we need as many signatures on this petition to show just how loved Spencer P Jones, and his body of work, is. Please sign and help us honour one of our greatest musicians. The lane is located between Fitzroy and Jackson Streets in St Kilda, Victoria. Thanks to Lex from Seedy Jeezus for use of the great artwork. Dear Councillors I respectfully submit the following proposal for the Council's consideration. The proposal is to name the currently unnamed laneway that runs between Jackson Street and Fitzroy Street to that of Spencer P. Jones lane. As pointed out in the biography section of the proposal Spencer was a long-term St. Kilda resident whose music career flourished in St. Kilda and influenced many other many musicians not only from St Kilda but all-around Australia and the world. Many international visitors come to Melbourne annually on the strength of its reputation as a world class rock music city, and this laneway would see many of these visitors make the trip to St. Kilda to honour one of this area's greatest musicians. To gather support for the name proposal I firstly spoke with Spencer's widow Angie and got her permission to do this in Spencer's name. She is very supportive of the idea and fully backs it. See her letter of approval in the folder. I also made a petition available to be signed on-line which I have printed a copy of and included. I trust you enjoy looking over the proposal and give it due consideration.

OFFICER COMMENT

1. Background 1.1 This application seeks to acknowledge the musical contribution of Spencer P Jones. Spencer Patrick Jones (28 October 1956 – 21 August 2018) was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including , Beasts of Bourbon, Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls, Chris Bailey and The General Dog, Maurice Frawley and The Working Class Ringos, and Sacred Cowboys. He also issued ten albums as a solo artist. In May 2012 Australian Guitar magazine rated Jones as one of Australia's Top 40 best guitarists. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_P._Jones

2. Location 2.1 The lane runs between 14 and 16 Jackson Street, St Kilda through to between 43 and 45 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. 2.2 The lane has pedestrian access only. There are no properties addressed to the lane.

3. Naming Authority 3.1 Council’s obligations as a naming authority are determined by the Geographic Place Names Act 1998. Naming rules for places in Victoria – Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities – 2016 (naming rules) are the statutory requirements allowed for under the Geographic Place Names Act and sets out step-by-step information on naming roads and laneways. 17

ORDINARY MEETING OF COUNCIL 2 OCTOBER 2019

3.2 Generally, the lane naming process is considered and approved by the Director Office of the CEO who is the delegated authority for the naming process. Alternatively, applications can be determined by Council. 3.3 The Registrar of Geographic Names gives final approval and gazettal of the newly named lane.

4. Assessment Of Naming Request 4.1 The naming application is for the full name, with the middle name represented by the first initial: “Spencer P. Jones”, as this is the name he used and was known by. 4.2 The application for naming Spencer P. Jones Lane does not comply with the Naming Rules Principle (H) Using commemorative names:  A commemorative name applied to a locality or road should use only the surname of a person, not first or given names.  The initials of a given name are not to be used in any instance. 4.3 To progress this matter further, Council must apply in writing to the Registrar of Geographic Names to seek exemption from Naming Rules Principle (H) Using commemorative names.

5. Next Steps 5.1 If Council approve this report, Officers will apply to the Registrar of Geographic Names for an exemption of Principle (H) and seek approval to name the lane ‘Spencer P. Jones Lane’; o If an exemption is not provided by the Registrar, the applicant will be advised of this outcome and advised of the option to pursue the naming through external avenues such as the Minister for Planning. o If an exemption is provided by the Registrar, a further report will be presented to Council seeking approval to commence the formal naming and community consultation processes outlined in the Naming Rules.

OFFICER RECOMMENDATION

That Council: Receives and notes the Petition. 1. Applies to the Registrar of Geographic Names for an exemption of Principle (H) (Using commemorative names) of the Naming rules for places in Victoria – Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities – 2016 to name the lane ‘Spencer P. Jones Lane’.

2. Subject to an exemption from the Registrar of Geographic Names, receives a further report on the statutory procedures to commence the naming of the lane ‘Spencer P. Jones Lane’.

TRIM FILE NO: F19/1 ATTACHMENTS Nil

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