A little laneway linking Kyneton’s High and Market streets will likely be renamed ‘Turners Lane’ in recognition of the famed former Turner Brothers hardware store.
Turner Brothers operated the town’s hardware and timber yard for more than 80 years on a site stretching the distance between the two streets.
The entire laneway is deemed a public highway under the Road Management Act and is a convenient pathway for locals and visitors looking to make the most of High Street’s retail strip.
It also provides access to Kyneton’s first urban winery, Musk Lane Wines.
But when an adjoining landowner blocked the lane with gates in 2020, claiming the northern end was part of private property, Macedon Ranges Shire Council determined to name only the southern part of the laneway Turners Lane.
Local business owners have long lobbied for the entire laneway to be named Turners Lane.
“You don’t name half a road, especially in the centre of a town where surrounding businesses and the jobs they create rely on our visitors and tourists being able to easily find their way,” Ellenis Day Spa’s Brian Wilson said.
The business owners have won the support of the Registrar of Geographic Names at the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning who reviewed the proposal in the context of the Naming Rules for Places in Victoria.
The registrar found that as the start and end of the laneway both intersected with other roads, naming the full extent accorded with the rules.
“In light of this and the independent legal advice provided to council as the naming authority, I have recommended to the council that the full extent of the laneway be named Turners Lane from High Street to Market Street,” the registrar said.
SENSIBLE AND LOGICAL
Mr Wilson said the decision by the registrar was sensible and logical.
“By naming the whole of the road and not just one end, the potential for confusion by out-of-area emergency services is avoided,” he said.
Council’s director of assets and operations, Shane Walden, said the advice of registrar was being reviewed and discussions with interested parties were ongoing.
“Any action resulting from this advice is a matter for future council consideration at a scheduled council meeting,” he said.
