Plumpton residents say they were puzzled when they realised last week that they now live in suburbs called Fraser Rise and Bonnie Brook.
Fraser Rise is one of 11 new Melton suburb names coming into effect this month following approval from the geographic names office.
The southern half of Plumpton now becomes Fraser Rise and Bonnie Brook. They are bounded by the northern half of Plumpton, Hillside, Caroline Springs and another new suburb, Deanside.
One resident posted of her bemusement on the area’s neighbourhood watch Facebook page.
“My fiance and I received our gas bill and we noticed that our suburb has changed from Plumpton to Fraser Rise,” she wrote.
“Has anyone else come across this yet? I knew 11 new suburbs in Melton would be established following approval from the Office of Geographic Names, but there has been no notification from the council. We haven’t received anything from Melton council yet.”
Another resident said she was also surprised to learn of her new suburb and postcode.
“I know lots of people are starting to get bills coming with a new suburb,” she wrote.
“I had a hospital appointment and they said their system wouldn’t recognise my street as being in Plumpton, only Fraser Rise.
Council engagement manager Dan Hogan said there would be a period where both suburb names would be valid as organisations, emergency services and government departments update their systems.
He said affected residents would receive information packs to inform them of their change of address and provide a checklist to help with the transition from old to new.
The information pack also includes details of who to advise of the address change, including insurance companies, utilities, health and medical providers and banks.
Information: bit.ly/2sqKtNG
