The
new $65.6 million community facility on the corner of Cox Road and the Princes
Highway in Norlane will be named Norlane ARC (Aquatic Recreation Centre).
Formerly known as the Northern Aquatic and Community Hub (NACH), the centre opened
to the public in February this year.
The City of Greater Geelong presented four naming options for
community feedback early in 2024, based on recommendations from the facility’s Community
Liaison Reference Group.
Norlane ARC (Aquatic Recreation Centre) emerged as the preferred option among
survey respondents and was approved as the official name during Tuesday night’s
Council meeting.
The pool hall within the new facility will be named ‘Waterworld’, honouring the
legacy of the former aquatic centre at the site.
There was strong community sentiment about including ‘Waterworld’ as part of
the name of the overall facility.
However, the position of the Community Liaison Reference Group was that this
did not appropriately reflect the diverse range of uses within the new centre,
especially the arts and cultural elements.
In line with the reference group’s recommendation, the City will now consult
with the Traditional Owners to establish an appropriate First Nations name for
the auditorium/community hall.
Mayor Trent Sullivan:
Thank you to the Community Liaison Reference Group and the
broader community for your input into the naming process.
We’ve arrived at a good solution with Norlane ARC (Aquatic Recreation Centre)
as the overall name of the centre, and the popular ‘Waterworld’ living on as
the name of the pool hall.
We also appreciate the suggestion for the community hall within the facility
to have a name that reflects First Nations heritage and we look forward to that
process running its course.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Aitken:
It is now
time to retire the temporary name for the NACH and erect the permanent name,
Norlane ARC.
The new name has been unanimously supported by the northern suburbs Community
Liaison Reference Group, who are extremely proud this major facility is located
in the suburb of Norlane, and the name also reflects the incredible diversity
of usages in this facility from swimming pools to Geelong's best civic hall.
This is the largest infrastructure project undertaken by Council outside of
central Geelong and I am so glad the wishes of the community have been
reflected with this name, retention of Waterworld for the pool hall and a
traditional Indigenous name to be developed for the civic hall.
Norlane ARC was funded by the
Council ($48.84 million), Victorian Government ($8.5 million) and Australian
Government ($8.26 million).
It features:
- Lap pool, waterplay area and
waterslides;
- Warm water pool, spa and steam
room;
- Learn to swim pool;
- Mezzanine level gym overlooking
the aquatic facilities;
- Large multi-purpose community
performance hall;
- Childcare facilities;
- Health consulting suites; and
- Extensive landscaped outdoor
public open space areas.
The name ‘Norlane ARC (Aquatic Recreation
Centre)’ will now be submitted for registration with VICNAMES.
Names for the separate components of the facility do not require registration
with VICNAMES, meaning the pool hall will immediately be known as ‘Waterworld’.
A new name for the centre was required because ‘Northern Aquatic and Community
Hub’ did not meet the naming rules under the Geographic Place Names Act 1998
(Vic).