The Department of Health headquarters in Canberra changes its name from the Sirius building to the Yaradhang building from Sunday but the department has decided only an internal ceremony will mark the controversial renaming.
The media will be excluded as the old name, taken from the flagship of the First Fleet which brought convicts to Australia, is replaced by what the department said was "the Ngunnawal term for 'eucalyptus', a plant known for its medical and health purposes".
Yaradhang, the department advised, should be pronounced "Yeh-rah-done".
"The name selected was a clear winner as a result of the staff vote. The new name will take effect from Sunday 1 September," a department spokesperson said.
He added the ceremony would be "a staff event in September to officially rename the building and launch the newly refurbished entrance floor. Ngunnawal elders and representatives of the building owner will attend the event".
When asked if the media could attend the renaming ceremony, the reply was a blunt "no".
The department has decided not to change the name of the neighbouring Scarborough building on its 4000-employee campus in Woden, despite HMS Scarborough being in both the First and Second Fleets.
"The department is not a sole occupant of Scarborough House and has not consulted on its name," the spokesperson said.
The foyer of Sirius House (to give it its formal title) has been revamped, with references to the Sirius excised. A model of the ship, which once had pride of place there, has been given to the Department of Defence.
All references to the Sirius can't be removed, however, because the building itself was specifically designed to resemble the ship - an upper floor juts out at exactly the same angle as the stern of the vessel. The exterior colour scheme is blue and brown, designed by the architect to resonate with the ship and the sea.
The renaming has been controversial.
It followed concerns by staff about the Sirius's associations with colonisation. A staff vote was taken and the new name chosen.
The architect of the building was "disappointed" at the attempt to rename his creation. "We cannot deny our history," Peter Russell said after renaming was floated.
Some Liberal politicians, including former prime minister John Howard, were annoyed. "I hold in contempt this petulant, juvenile piece of anti-colonialism. It's just pointless petulance," Mr Howard told The Canberra Times.
His dismay was greeted with scorn by some public servants in the building. Internal documents recorded staff saying: "LOL John. Getting his knickers in a knot. Hahaha. He's such an old white guy."
The department said the employee had been "spoken to about these comments".
The minutes of a departmental meeting on February 13 said a shortlist of five or six new names had been drawn up "to put to a staff vote".
"A whole-of-Health and Aged Care staff consultation process has been undertaken to seek nominations for re-naming the Sirius building to better align to the department's purpose," the minutes said.
It cited "the association of the current name with the First Fleet ... 165 staff nominations were received".
Health Department officials estimated it would cost $20,000 to change the name as part of a broader "cultural shift", which would be "money well spent".
It's not clear if that sum includes that of the wider revamp of the foyer.
