The Aunty Mary Hooker Rest Area will honour Aunty Mary who was an advocate for Indigenous health and education, and occupied many roles including Aboriginal Ambassador for NSW/ACT Guide Dogs and Aboriginal Representative for the Stolen Generation Foundation.

Aunty Mary, who was also dedicated to bringing Australian's together, passed away in late September, 2019.

In their submission to the Geographical Names Board (GNB), council described Aunty Mary as "an example of someone who suffered the worst of her fellow human kind and rose above it to become one of the best of her fellow human kind".

"She contributed not only to the area she chose to live in but to the state and to her fellow human kind.

"It is fitting that a small area of land be a memorial to her so close to her final resting place."

During the initial stages of the process, council liaised with the Mudgee Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) who opposed, deeming the naming to not be culturally appropriate.

"We understand the desire to recognise people for their contributions and we understand that the request has come from her family, however culturally, we do not support place naming in this way," the MLALC submission read.

"Our ways of place naming since time immemorial relate to the wider cultural landscape - topography, fauna and flora, geology, resources, events, use of place etc - as is evident when you look at the place names in use today.

"We understand that generally there is a movement to include more reference to Aboriginal people and culture in naming and signage, but we believe that it should be done in a culturally appropriate way with true meaning so that it does not become tokenistic."

During the August meeting, Councillor Peter Shelley said Aunty Mary is not being honoured on a basis of race, rather for her community contributions.

"I would like to remind council that even though Aunty Mary Hooker was Indigenous, she's being recognised for the work she's done, not because of her race," Cr Shelley said.

"This is to honour a woman who deserves to be honoured.

Councillor Russell Holden also spoke on the recommendation and agreed with Cr Shelley's take on the matter.

"We are honoring...an absolutely fabulous citizen of our region who just happens to be Indigenous," Cr Holden said.

"There's plenty of other examples of places that have been named after equally wonderful citizens who also happen to be Indigenous.

"The family supports this and I think it's a wonderful thing to do to recognise the work she did as a community member."

Councillor Percy Thompson stood to amend the recommendation to name the location 'Cudgegong Rest Area' in an attempt to tell of the area's history and recognise all who have made a difference in the area.

The amendment was lost with the original recommendation passing by majority.

The original submission for the Aunty Mary Hooker Rest Area was presented at the September 2020 meeting after a location had been determined and neighbours of the area were sent letters regarding the project.

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