Hume councillors have unanimously voted to consider developing a coat of arms for the municipality.
During council’s 13 October meeting, Cr Naim Kurt raised a notice of motion asking the council to consider the development of a ceremonial cost of arms, crest, badge or heritage logo for the City of Hume as part of the next council annual action plan, which will be reviewed for 2026-27.
Costs, timelines and community engagement would be decided throughout the process.
Cr Kurt said this would be a great opportunity to reflect on the past, and potentially tie in the original City of Broadmeadows Crest and the Shire of Bulla Crest.
“The motion, if it was adopted as part of the council action plan, wouldn’t be to actually create a new logo, it would be something which sits alongside what council already has,” he said.
Cr Kurt called it a legacy item for council, and a nice thing to do to mark the 30th year of the municipality.
“This could be an opportunity for us to set a new standard, a new way of engaging with our community,” he said.
“And it doesn’t necessarily need to be a costly exercise. The City of Greater Geelong … when they undertook to develop a heritage crest for their city council, it only cost $4500 to do, so it doesn’t have to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Cr Daniel English, Cr Steve Gagen and Cr John Haddad all spoke in support of the motion, as well as three public comments from the community in favour of the motion.
However, officer comments in the meeting agenda appeared to be cautious of the idea, saying maintaining a single, consistent brand is critical to ensuring clarity and connection with the community.
“Introducing an additional emblem, Coat of Arms, or heritage-style logo would require careful consideration to ensure it complements, rather than competes with, Hume’s established identity,” the officers stated.
“Experience across the sector shows that multiple brand marks can dilute recognition and create inconsistency.”
