In a surprising turn of events, a Sydney school has reversed its decision to rename its sports houses in honor of Indigenous icons following backlash from parents. Appin Public School, which is situated approximately 75 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, initially sought to replace traditional house names with those of notable Indigenous figures such as Cathy Freeman and Eddie Mabo.

The original house names had celebrated historical personalities like Lachlan Macquarie, a former Governor of New South Wales, and the Australian explorer William Hovell, as pointed out by a concerned parent. This effort to shift to Indigenous names also included AFL legend Adam Goodes and renowned singer Jessica Mauboy, according to a report by radio station 2GB.

An email from a parent highlighted the discontent among families, stating, “I’m writing to you as a parent from Appin School regarding a decision that’s caused significant concern among families.” The parent went on to express concern over the recent changes from long-standing sports house names Hume, Hovell, Macquarie, and Tyson to the proposed new names.

Despite the school’s initial plans to celebrate these Indigenous figures, the decision was ultimately shelved in response to the parents’ objections, illustrating the complexities of balancing tradition with efforts to honor diverse cultural contributions.

‘Our local school has recently changed its long-standing sports house names Hume, Hovell, Macquarie and Tyson.

Appin Public School (pictured) on Sydney’s south-west fringe has shelved plans to change the names of sport houses to honour Indigenous icons

AFL great Adam Goodes (pictured) was to feature in the name change to reflect his ‘leadership, pride and excellence’

Pictured: A still from a video the school posted on Facebook to announce the change before it was shelved due to a backlash from the community

‘They’ve been changed to new names including Eddie Mabo, Cathy Freeman, Adam Goodes and Jessica Mauboy.

‘The criteria for eligibility was “Indigenous who’ve made a significant difference”. 

‘This alone goes against inclusion and diversity by removing the eligibility of Caucasian athletes and personalities. 

‘It’s a typical education department woke decision.

‘My kids can’t remember the names of the new houses, let alone what the people are famous for.

‘This situation has caused unnecessary division.’

The school put up a video on Facebook to announce the changes on March 20, with students explaining the meaning behind the new names.

According to the footage, Green House was to be renamed Freeman to reflect the Olympic icon’s ‘strength, determination and greatness’.

According to the school’s video, one of the sporting houses was to be renamed ‘Freeman’ to reflect Cathy Freeman’s ‘strength, determination and greatness’

Another house was meant to be renamed after iconic Indigenous activist Eddie Mabo (pictured)

Yellow House becomes Mabo to reflect ‘justice, courage and change’, Blue House becomes Mauboy due to the singer’s ‘inspiration and brilliance’, and Red House switches to Goodes to show ‘leadership, pride and excellence’.

The school limited who could comment on the post.

According to 2GB, when the video was shared away from the school’s account, parents made comments including ‘this is disgusting’ and ‘so sad that the community was not consulted’.

Fordham also read out a message school principal Cheny Collins reportedly sent to students’ families.

‘Thank you to those in the community who’ve taken the time to share their feedback regarding the proposed house names,’ the message said.

‘In light of the feedback received, we see this as an important opportunity to pause and ensure the process is inclusive.

‘We will be taking this decision back to our students to reconsider, allowing space for further reflection and broader representation.’

The Daily Mail approached Appin School for comment and was referred to the NSW Department of Education.

‘The school is working through ideas for new house names with students and the community,’ a department spokesperson said.

‘Sporting house names are a local decision made in partnership with the school community.’