MEDIA RELEASE - 23 MAY 2011

For most Australians, the name Kfarsghab may not yet be a household name. Yet their peoples are one of the very first waves of Lebanese migrants to call Australia home since the late 1800s. For almost 130 years, Kfarsghab descendants have lived in Parramatta and are one of the largest Lebanese-Australian and Maronite-Christian communities locally, and are exemplary Australians.

The attempt to rename a small part of “Amos Street” to “Kfarsghab Place” in Parramatta has failed. This is due to the refusal of support by the neighbouring Holroyd Council, despite Parramatta City Council’s unanimous and unequivocal support for this name change.

Amos Street is named after Richard Capewell Amos who was one of two official valuers for properties in the Municipality of Prospect and Sherwood in 1872. Mr Amos was the third person to hold the position of Town Clerk for Prospect and Sherwood Municipal Council in 1873 and resigned this position in 1874. Mr Amos owned a seven-acre orchard near the Government Domain (now Parramatta Park) and auctioned off in the same year (1874).

Last year on 27 September 2010, Parramatta City Councillors unanimously agreed to Clr Chiang Lim’s request to begin the formal processes of renaming a small part of Amos Street, east of Good Street, to be Kfarsghab Place. With the written support from almost all landowners who would be affected, and also with 389 petitioners, the renaming to Kfarsghab Place appeared broadly supported. Half of that same small part of Amos Street was in Holroyd Council’s jurisdiction, and hence concurrence was sought from Holroyd Council.

“This simple name change stalemate, of which there was only one legitimate objection, raises a much bigger question – when do migrant Australians whose contributions are significant get recognised?” asked Clr Lim.

As a migrant of now 24 years, Clr Lim recalls, “when I first arrived, it took me a while to learn how to spell and pronounce Woolloomooloo. And when Kim Beazley was the alternative Prime Minister, he couldn’t spell Parramatta at a fundraiser. We have significant Aboriginal and European names for streets and places, and rightly so. But when are migrant Australians on merit going to be recognised proportionally?”

In addition to Kfarsghab’s Australian descendants contributing their lives and skills towards Australia’s successes for almost 130 years, Kfarsghab is also contemporarily world renown for arguably the world’s longest road, “Parramatta Road” existing from Sydney to Lebanon.

Clr Lim said, “to those who were hesitant about the name change, whether in the future it is Lebanese-Australian names, Chinese-Australian names, Indian-Australian names, Turkish-Australian names, I say to you that you would also have learned how to spell and pronounce those names of great migrant Australians who have contributed greatly. And that would further propel Australia as the world’s most incredibly successful and peaceful melting pot.”

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For any further information, please contact Clr Chiang Lim,
Parramatta City Council on 0427 277 299 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it