A creek in central Victoria has been renamed with a celebration bringing Aboriginal leader Rodney Carter to tears.

A group of about 50 people gathered at the former Jim Crow Creek on Tuesday to celebrate the waterway being renamed Larni Barramal Yaluk, which means “the creek that flows through the home or dreaming place of the emu”.

Hepburn Shire Council voted to rename the creek in April last year and it was made official by Geographic Names Victoria in May this year.

Mayor Brian Hood said the former name was unacceptable.

“The reality is that Jim Crow stems from racial segregation and anti-black racism and is therefore unacceptable,” he said.

“Renaming the creek back to Indigenous language is a way of reconnecting this beautiful landscape with the culture and language of Dja Dja Wurrung.”

Dja Dja Wurrung Group chief executive Rodney Carter said Jim Crow Creek was offensive.

“The former name memorialised a sorry chapter in our shared history. It was offensive to my people, and I think, to others,” he said.

“That name meant this creek was not a culturally safe place for Dja Dja Wurrung and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

“Bringing a Dja Dja Wurrung presence back to Country is significant for Dja Dja Wurrung people’s health and wellbeing. We are also pleased to share our language and heritage with the wider community.”

ABC Ballarat journalist Rochelle Kirkham reported Mr Carter cried while addressing the crowd that had gathered on Tuesday.

It is believed the creek had been named Jim Crow Creek by Captain John Hepburn in the 1830s.

The derogatory term “Jim Crow” came from a white performer in the US who painted his face black and did a song and dance called “Jump, Jim Crow” or “Jumping Jim Crow”.

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The term “Jim Crow” then became an insult used against black people.

Laws in the US referred to as “Jim Crow laws” enforced racial segregation, such as white-only schools, restaurants, bathrooms and drinking fountains.

In 2018, Mount Jim Crow in Queensland was renamed Baga.

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