Brisbane park to be named after The Saints’ Ed Kuepper

In 2010, the Hale Street Link in Brisbane was renamed Go Between Bridge, in honour of the great Brisbane band. Now Ed Kuepper, founding member of The Saints, is set to be immortalised (kinda) with a park near his childhood home in Oxley set to be renamed after him

‘Ed Kuepper Park’ was approved by the council after a petition gathered more than 800 signatures.

John Willsteed — a Brisbane musician who played on The Go-Betweens’ 16 Lovers Lane — tells The Guardian he is now pushing to have other iconic places from The Saints’ formative years officially recognised by the city.

“When we look at Brisbane’s cultural history in the last 50 years, internationally, the Saints, the Go-Betweens – whether we like them or not, they’re the names that always come up, so I think they’re inextricably linked.

“We have some kind of international reputation, thanks very much to them, and so I think we really should acknowledge it. People come from overseas knowing that this is the place where the Saints and the Go-Betweens came from.”

Kuepper himself is pleased by the honour, but feels it should extend further than the two bands.

“When I was a kid, I liked being pointed towards where certain things happened. A friend of mine was living across the road from Tony Worsley, who was a local hero, a ’60s garage singer.

“That kind of thing really impressed me. So yes, I do think it’s nice having little plaques around to point out that such and such a person did this at a certain place, or this incident happened here or there. Be it arts or history, I like it.”

800 signatures doesn’t seem like a lot, does it? What else can we band together to rename in Brisbane? The Savage Beer Garden? Powderfinger Lane? The Custard Centre Of Arts? Yeomans Land?

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.