| 10th of November 2020 |
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| Wiradjuri names for Parkes telescopes |
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Telescopes at the Parkes Obervatory
have been given Wiradjuri names during a ceremony
to mark the start of NAIDOC week.
The Parkes 64m telescope -- the Dish -- will now also be known as 'Murriyang',
representing the 'skyworld' that it has scanned for more than 50 years.
Aboriginal elder and Wiradjuri man Stan Grant senior helped to choose the Wiradjuri name.
He said Murriyang was the home of the creator spirit.
"Murriyang, it's the home of Biyaami, if you like. Biyaami is the great creator and it's his home and it's in the stars.
He went back to the stars eventually and now you see Orion's belt, that's where he lives," he said.
The 12-metre Parkes Testbed Facility, built in 2008, was given the name 'Giyalung Miil,' which means 'Smart Eye.' And the 18-metre Kennedy antenna, now decommissioned, was called 'Giyalung Guluman', which means 'Smart Dish'. Stan Grant senior said to see the Wiradjuri language honoured at one of the most iconic landmarks in the central west of New South Wales gave him great pride, "To me the naming of this telescope is paying respect to our people, and to our culture, and to our language." (Image credit: ABC Central West: Hugh Hogan) |