'It makes sense': Melbourne's Lord Mayor supports Indigenous six-season calendar over 'Northern Europe' one
Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece is supporting a six-season calendar to match Melbourne's unique weather patterns, saying they are more representative than the calendar inherited from colonisation.
'In the Wurundjeri calendar, there were six seasons in the year. It was a wet summer and a dry summer. A wet winter and a dry winter. And when you think about it, it makes sense,' Mr Reece told 3AW.
"When you think about it, it makes sense. But we have gone and superimposed the four seasons essentially from Northern Europe here in Melbourne.
"They don't really match up with the weather patterns that we experienced over the 12 months."
Mr Reece said the idea was brought upon at the Melbourne 2050 Summit hosted in May, which say around 1000 people discuss the city's future.
The Lord Mayor said adopting a six-season calendar would follow Singapore's seasonal structure, and said it makes sense to have a system created by Indigenous people.
'This is one of those things where a bit of First Nations knowledge appears to make a bit more sense … Literally, wattle season starts and that week you look around Melbourne and all of the wattle trees have turned fluorescent yellow and it's beautiful,' he said.
'Aboriginal people who lived here for tens of thousands of years, in their calendar they had six seasons here in Melbourne and when you actually look at the calendar and the seasons you actually realise hey that actually does line up."
Sky News Meteorologist Rob Sharpe told SkyNews.com.au a six-season proposal may not align with the country's current climate.
'The only concern about it is (Indigenous people) they had their six-seasons off their lived experiences in colder climates," he said.
"Seasons are changing and as you see with the floral season in Japan that seems to change and start a month early.
"However, the six-season climate may be better for (Melbourne)."
Sharpe added a five-season calendar which more closely reflects antipodean cycles in weather, and plant and animal activity, 'made a good amount of sense'.
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