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'Leopold' removed from name of mountain range

The sweeping King Leopold mountain ranges in the Kimberley region of Western Australia have been renamed Wunaamin Miliwundi--

replacing the name of a Belgian ruler known for his brutal colonization of parts of Africa.

The ranges were named in 1879 by Australian explorer Alexander Forrest.

The decision follows nearly a decade of debate.

Its new name combines names by which the Ngarinyin and Bunuba traditional owners have long called the ranges.

Ben Wyatt is Western Australia's Aboriginal affairs minister.

''I think this is a much more respectful and historically correct name for a dramatic, beautiful part of Western Australia. A part of Western Australia that Australians and international travellers are keen to see more of, and has always been, I think, slightly perplexed that even as the Belgians go about almost disowning the history of King Leopold, that here in Western Australia we have what is an exceptional part of our state still named after him."

Millions of Congolese people are estimated to have died under Leopold's rule between 1885 and 1908.

Statues of him have been burnt, removed and vandalized across Belgium in recent weeks, with Belgian King Philippe expressing his, quote, deep regret to the Congolese President on Tuesday (June 30).