The descendants of one of Canberra's earliest white settlers are calling for the renaming of the city's main water catchment.
The Cotter family, who are marking 200 years since their first ancestor, Irish convict Garrett Cotter, arrived on Australian soil, say his Indigenous friend and guide Onyong/Jindoomang should be equally recognised.
Brothers Liam and Michael Cotter say while their ancestor's name is familiar to Canberrans, with a river, a road, a dam and a reservoir named after him, Onyong's name has largely been forgotten.
The first Cotter arrived in Australia on November 8, 1822 as Prisoner #29, a convict on a ship from Cork, and would later be banished beyond the Murrumbidgee and left to fend for himself.
From there, he struck it out alone, but he was helped by his friend and guide, Indigenous leader Onyong.
Today, the Cotters, along with Onyong's descendent and Ngambri man Paul House, are united in calling for Onyong's name to be added to that of the Cotter Dam.
Liam and Michael said the family were proud of their convict ancestor and of what he came to represent in the region.
But they said there should be greater recognition of Onyong, without whom Garrett may well have perished in unfamiliar lands.
Meanwhile, Onyong's name has been passed down through generations of storytellers, as part of the first generation of Indigenous Australians to encounter Europeans on their land.
"Without Onyong, Garrett might not have survived, because he was instrumental in showing him where the open country was for grazing stock," Liam Cotter, a farmer who has continued his ancestor's legacy at Michelago, said.
"He would have taught him the lay of the land and living on the land when he was banished beyond the limits.
"And it must have went two ways, because Onyong was known to have stayed at the forest later on in life as well."
He said Onyong's name should be added to that of Cotter on the dam, or something equally recognisable.
And as Onyong's direct descendant, Mr House couldn't agree more.
"Our two families go back since the first Europeans arrived in the region, and we can demonstrate a relationship and a link to each other and the families, and we want to present that today as a gift to the people of Canberra," Mr House said.
"Onyong is in the records here as our leader.
"He's all through the records, and he's totally ignored in the records of the ACT government, about our leader, our country - it's like he doesn't exist."
Liam and Michael said Garrett Cotter would be pleased - and amused - to have become such a prominent name in the Australian capital. But he would also want his friend and guide to be acknowledged.
His own gravestone is only small, surrounded by those of his descendants.
But Onyong, who died in a fight with a rival leader in 1852 and was buried with full cultural ceremony on a hill above Tharwa, has no marker in Canberra.
Meanwhile, Icon Water, which owns and runs the dam, was not opposed to the idea of renaming it.
"Icon Water is committed to supporting the journey to reconciliation and recognise the importance of local waterways to local Indigenous communities," a spokeswoman said.
"Any alteration to name would need to consider the perspectives of all those with a relationship or connection to the area."
- Read more about Garrett Cotter and Onyong/Jindoomang in Panorama.
