Naming Ginninderry
Ginninderry is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning “throwing out little rays of light” or simply “sparkling”. It’s a very appropriate name for a community that will be bounded by the Murrumbidgee River and Ginninderra Creek. Over time, the word has taken various forms, including Ginninginninderry, Ghinninghinninderra and Gingininderra, with recent linguistic work by AIATSIS suggesting Djinindirri. Ginninderry was first used for one of the early homesteads in the area including the creek that bordered its land.
It’s had various iterations over time: Ginninginninderry, Gingininderra and Ginninderra. After extensive consultation, it was decided that Ginninderry, and its reference to the stunning river corridor that runs through the land, was a name that had both historical provenance and contemporary relevance.
While the first stages of Ginninderry will take shape within the ACT, the community will eventually extend across the border into NSW (subject to rezoning approval). In the earliest days of white settlement, all this land was selected by the explorer Charles Sturt and from an Aboriginal heritage perspective the land and waterways are a single, special place. Ginninderry follows a historic precedent in reuniting the areas on both sides of the border.