Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre

The Arabana people have convinced the Geographical Names Unit to recognise the ancient name of Kati Thanda.

The often-dry saltpan will now have the dual name Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.

Arabana Aboriginal Corporation chair Aaron Stuart said the ancient name had travelled with the generations.

"Our elders may have passed away, but we remember them and the name they used for the lake," he said.

"It was our ancestors who lived there when Edward John Eyre first saw the lake in 1840."

He said the recognition meant a great deal.

"Great acts done like this within states and territories for the Aboriginal people and for all Australians proves to the rest of the world us as a nation are really going forward," he said.

Arabana Aboriginal Corporation director Paul Tanner said the outback region in northern South Australia had been known as Kati Thanda for much longer than as Lake Eyre and the recognition was welcome.

Bill Watt from the Geographical Names Unit said it was hoped the dual titles would boost awareness of the vast region's Aboriginal heritage.

"We're quite happy for people in general conversation to use either one of the two names or both together," he said.

"We do like to see in all official publications the name spelt out in full."

According to the traditional owners, "the lake was created by our ancestors and arises from an ancestor, at the end of a long journey, spreading a white kangaroo skin on the landscape which formed the lake".

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Meanwhile a conference in Adelaide has been warned the spectacle of a brimming lake could become a memory if the Queensland Government proceeds with a plan to open up the rivers to irrigation and mining uses.

The Government wants to remove wild rivers legislation that covers the three rivers.

Queensland grazier Angus Emmott warned South Australians should be concerned.

"The monsoonal influence across Queensland is what provides most of the water to Lake Eyre," he said.

"If we reduce that over time, there'll be less water going into the lake less often and the ecological processes won't work as well, but the eco-tourism benefits to South Australia will be strongly affected as well."

A director of the Pew Environment Group Barry Traill said a new approach to managing the river system could wreck one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on the planet.

"Up to now local graziers, Aboriginal people, conservationists have been successful in saying 'No, these rivers are natural, they're very, very important for people, for wildlife, they need to be protected'. So it's of great concern that the Queensland Government is considering removing that protection," he said.

"I hope that the Queensland Government will listen. This is one the great iconic river systems of Australia, one of the most beautiful parts of the outback and it should be protected permanently."