The people of New South Wales, Australia, are the latest to learn the lesson of internet naming polls. Six new ferries for Sydney Harbor were offered to the public for naming last year. Three boats were named after prominent Australians: three doctors and two Aboriginal leaders. Then there was Ferry McFerryface, announced last Tuesday.
“Ferry McFerryface will be the harbour’s newest icon,” the state’s transport minister, Andrew Constance, said in a statement. “I hope it brings a smile to the faces of visitors and locals alike.”
So far, though, many people are not smiling. Enemies of Ferry McFerryface include the people who are supposed to work on it. A spokesman for the Maritime Union of Australia described the name as “an insult to the integrity and heritage of Sydney Ferries,” and suggested that crew members would refuse to engage with it.
“Give it a proper name and we’ll work it,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Give it a stupid name and it can stay at the shipyard.”
Government officials, the press, some of the public, and the guy who was told the boat would be named after him are all upset. How many times does this have to happen before everyone knows what an internet naming poll will do? Read more about the controversy at Atlas Obscura.
(Image credit: NSW Public Transport)