Sutherland Shire Reconciliation change to Southern Shores Reconciliation

melindamillen
Jun 27
2 min read

Sutherland Shire Reconciliation is planning to ‘trade’ under another business name going forward. We would retain in the background the Sutherland Shire Reconciliation INC as our incorporated and registered name through the medium term. We received ‘in principle’ approval at the April 2025 AGM and will soon start the process with the Fair Trading/Business Register.

While this may come out of the blue to many of our long-time and loyal supporters,

Indigenous members of the two previous committees spent many months considering this proposal and selecting the name Southern Shores Reconciliation. Some of the main reasons for the early consideration were:

Concerns had been raised that the name "Sutherland Shire Reconciliation" is not inclusive of our surrounding areas. This has created barriers for people who live outside the Shire, as the belief is that you need to be living locally to become a member or get involved. As a membership-based non-profit, these missed opportunities limit our ability to create connections for families and communities to come together.
Our current name is very similar to Sutherland Shire Council and there is a continuous misconception by many that we are a Council service. This assumption leads to the belief that we have ample funds and can contribute more than we actually can, and that we are responsible for the events that they host.
The new name “Southern Shores Reconciliation” is more consistent with Country traditionally owned and cared for by the Dharawal Speaking people since time immemorial. Southern Shores is inclusive of ocean, bay and river shores and surrounding land without borders.
The name Sutherland Shire is a geographical construct officially proclaimed in 1906.
Southern Shores Reconciliation would keep the acronym SSR and SSR Inc, and the current logo.

We remain open to having a Dharawal Word or Phrase, in the future, as a tagline that will accompany the new title. This remains a work in progress.

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us on our Website.