Lionel Rose was the first indigenous Australian to win a world boxing title and soon there will be a brand new street in Canberra with his name on it.
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The commemorative street will be one of four constructed as part of a residential subdivision in Holt adjoining the public golf course.
ACT Surveyor General Jeffrey Brown said Rose was a remarkable man with an historic story.
“In 1968 when Rose returned to Australia after beating world champion ‘Fighting Harada’ in Tokyo, to take the world bantamweight title, more than a quarter of a million people lined Melbourne's streets to welcome him home,” Mr Brown said.
“That same year he was honoured as the ‘ABC Sportsman of the Year’ and ‘Australian of the Year’.”
Rose is one of four boxing personalities honoured with a Canberra street named after them.
However his will be the first on the northern side of the lake with the remaining three boxing stars’ streets located in Gordon.
Australian 1888 heavyweight champion Frank Slavin has Slavin Place, James Sharman, a boxer that discouraged drunk fighters and crowds, has Sharman Place and Edward ‘Starlight’ Rollins has Rollins Place.
The policy for proposing memorial street names and suburbs was developed in 1927 and is one of the oldest ACT policies in current use.
Across the capital there are 14 streets acknowledging high achievers in acting, 125 for music industry and 275 for artists.
So far 125 commemorative place names for streets and reserves honour public servants, 67 celebrate politicians and 172 acknowledge members of the judiciary.
Themes range from a wide variety of sports, areas of science, civic achievement such as recognised members of the Flying Doctors Service and more.
There are 303 aboriginal language place names and 151 that recognize an Indigenous Australian.
