Council wants to rename Love Shack Route because it’s too rude

For years it’s made locals laugh and tourists titter, but the Streaky Bay Council in South Australia now wants to rename Love Shack Route because it’s just too rude. The sleepy lane runs through a small housing estate just outside the picturesque Eyre Peninsula town and was named by the land’s owners for a bit of fun when the subdivision was approved about eight years back.

The name pays tribute to an old shack on the property that for decades served as an informal party palace, hosting the town’s young people on Friday and Saturday nights after the pub closed. The council signed off on the name, but now thinks Love Shack Court would be more appropriate. A public notice published by the council states: “Notice is hereby given that Council resolved at its December 2014 Council meeting its intention to rename Love Shack Route to Love Shack Court and request community comment on the proposed renaming.”



Just who’s offended by the name is unclear - original landowner Janet Williams ­believes it’s one of the road’s residents, but Deputy Mayor Robert Stephens said he thought it was someone from another part of town - one thing is certain: someone wants the Route retired. Mrs Williams said the land had been owned by the Williams family for 125 years, and she was angry that the Council was looking to change the name against the family’s wishes. “As far as I’m aware it was nothing more than a verbal request put to the Council to change the name,” she said.

“They surveyed the landowners on the road and they voted to keep the name. When they didn’t get their way they said, ‘Oh well, let’s put it out to public consultation’.” Mrs Williams said the sign had been stolen a number of times by souvenir hunters, but she believed a larger, harder-to-steal sign would actually work as tourist attraction. Mr Stephens, who was Mayor of Streaky Bay for a number of years, said he voted against changing the street’s name. “I think the residents are probably 50-50 on it,” Mr Stephens said. “But to be honest, I think most people in Streaky Bay see it as a bit of fun. It’ll go out to the community now for feedback.”