Waihoro Spreydon-Cashmere-Heathcote Community Board chair Callum Ward said the name Marylands comes from the former Marylands School, which was the site of abuse of children and young people.
After calls from survivor advocates, and in light of recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, Ward said the council is recommending renaming the Middleton sites Validation Park and Validation Place.
Ward and his board colleagues will consider the new name for Marylands Place and Marylands Reserve at a meeting on Thursday, April 11.
"We’ve worked closely with survivors of the events at Marylands School to find a name that recognises their experiences, acknowledges the traumatic association of the name, and contributes to puretumu torowhānui, or historic redress,” Ward said.
“Survivors spoke of not being believed, or even listened to, for a long time, and they put forward the name Validation. It’s an acknowledgement of their experiences and symbolic of them taking back power over what happened.”
The board will also consider an alternative naming option, Monarch, which is the second preference. The monarch butterfly is a meaningful symbol for the group.
Marylands School was a residential facility for boys, many with disabilities or learning or behavioural needs, run by the St John of God Brothers from 1955–1984.
The School was originally located in Middleton on what is now Marylands Reserve and relocated to Halswell in the 1960s.
There is clear evidence of abuse at Marylands School, and of the 537 boys who attended the school, more than one in five (118) reported abuse while in the school’s care, and survivors’ experiences there have had a profound impact on their lives.
If approved, the name change will take effect from June 4. The Council will support business through the address change, and place temporary signage at the entrance to the area advising of the upcoming change.
The report on changing the name of Marylands Reserve and Marylands Place can be found here.
