It often seems to us that most placenames have meanings which are unknown and mysterious. Does Warsaw have a meaning? Do Pisa , Calais , Berlin ? It would appear, however, that Kalamunda , in the foothills of the Darling Ranges outside Perth, is not one of these: we’re told that ‘everybody knows’ what it means. Wikipedia confidently tells us that the word is derived from two Noongar (an Indigenous Australian language) words: kala meaning ‘home’ and munda meaning ‘forest’, hen

Your Amateur Researcher received an email enquiring about the meaning of Eurimbla: I am hoping to establish the English meaning of Eurimbla , as in Eurimbla Avenue, Randwick. So far, I am wondering if it may have an Indigenous origin as a compound word from eurimanan (a large toothed monster, ie horse) and the ending derived from bulah , more than one, or many. The reason being that a Trove newspaper reference of 1857 announces the birth of a child to Mrs G W Lord at Eurimbla

Turramurra is a leafy suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. The meaning given for Turramurra in popular placenames booklets is ‘high land’ or ‘high’, as shown in Table 1 below. The original source or sources for such claims did not form part of the information provided in these works. Richardson (n.d.) gives ‘Lane Cove’ as the meaning, or effectively Turramurra itself. Australian respelt English EngJSM source “Turramurra” daramara  “High land; small watercourse” hill  McCarthy

It seems unlikely that any place name in Australia could have led to as many theories about how its name arose as Dee Why, a coastal suburb of northern Sydney. Here is how it all began: The source of it all was an entry made by Irish explorer-surveyor and ex-convict James Meehan (1774-1826). Transported for a political ‘offence’, Meehan arrived in Australia in 1800 and was soon to be working as a surveyor out of Sydney, his duties taking him around the State, and to Victoria

Energy supply: when there is a power failure nothing at home works: the lights, the toaster, the microwave, the jug or anything else electrical. Some may recall the petrol strikes in the 1970s and 80s that threw domestic and commercial motor fleets into chaos: as each strike dragged on, drivers were forced to rely on only what was left in their fuel tanks. At the time of the First Fleet, the source of power for the fleet of sailing ships was winds. No wind—and a ship was beca

Your Amateur Researcher (YAR) happened to go to Glenorie recently, a rural suburb in the northwest of Sydney. On the way he wondered about the name. Was it Aboriginal? It looked more Scottish. On arrival he had the chance to consult Google. This is what came up: ‘The name Glenorie, a suburb in Sydney's northwest, has two possible origins. One suggests it's an Aboriginal name meaning "much water," while another proposes it's named after a town in Scotland. The name was officia

Tyrell and McCarthy both give “Water breaking over rocks” as the meaning for Bondi, Sydney's famous beachside suburb.  McCarthy, F.D.  New South Wales Aboriginal Place Names and Euphonious Words, with Their Meanings . Sydney: The Australian Museum, 1963. Tyrrell, James R. Australian Aboriginal Place-Names and Their Meanings . Sydney: Tyrrell's Pty. Ltd., 1933 (reprinted 1944, 1949, 1951, 1953). They are two of a number of people who compiled and published lists of Aboriginal

The name of Sydney's inner-city harbourside eastern suburb Woolloomooloo was first recorded in the Anon Sydney Language notebook around 1790: Australian respelt English EngJSM source "Walla-mool" wala-mul "Cove next to Farm Cove" Woolloomooloo Anon (c) [c:36:17] [BB] [NSW] [1790-91] No meaning is given, but the word is shown in two parts. It crops up again and again after this, but rarely with a meaning attached. Such meanings as do occur include the following:     "Wullamull

It is often claimed that the Aboriginal the name for Sydney was Warang . Your Amateur Researcher previously speculated about this in the post ‘ Warrang or Warrane — or ngurang? ’ Certainly the compiler of the Anon notebook thought Sydney Cove was Waran : Anon Notebook c:36:1 https://www.williamdawes.org/ms/msview.php?image-id=book-c-pages-52-53 Even William Dawes used the name Warang for Sydney Cove, or Sydney: Dawes Notebook b:33:4.2 https://www.williamdawes.org/ms/msview.

Just to the west of Hornsby, a northern suburb of Sydney, is Old Mans Valley. One might reasonably assume that the name was inspired by an old man once living there. It would have had its share of old men, as does anywhere else. In Old Mans Valley an occasional black wallaby is to be seen, and the name might actually relate to kangaroos. In some Aboriginal languages there is a connection between words for ‘man’ and ‘kangaroo‘ — especially male kangaroos. The by now fairly wel

One can only surmise what the euphonious NSW place name Trunketabella  might mean. We yearn for a translation such as ‘pretty trinkets’, and for an account of the exchanging of beads and looking glasses with the local people by explorers. It is commonly said that Parramatta means ‘the place where eels lie down’, Berowra the  ‘place of many winds’, and Wahroonga ‘our home’.  Where did these endlessly repeated interpretations come from? The reality is that place names can be ha

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 4 February 2015, written by Leesha McKenny, the matter is raised about giving the name of...

The Anon Notebook gives ‘Cow-wan’ as the name or place of Ross Farm, the farm of Major Robert Ross of the Marines, the Lieutenant...

The following was included in a notice about a future public visit to Muogamarra, dated 15 April 2013: Muogamarra Nature Reserve is a Protected Place Muogamarra (pronounced Moo-o-ga-marra) lies between the outer Sydney suburb of Cowan (to the south) and the Hawkesbury River (to the north.)  But is this guide to pronunciation correct? muogamarra is a word from the Wiradhuri language, and there is only one reference for it: Australian respelt English EngJSM source “Muogamarra”

Mooney Mooney is a suburb in the north of Sydney on the Hawkesbury River. There is a club there where lunch may be had, with a balcony offering a view over the water; noisy mynas tormented a kookaburra sitting on telegraph wires. The question presented itself as to what this placename might mean. The receptionist at the club visited for the lunch, a resident for the past forty years, asserted it meant ‘many rivers‘ — something he had learnt from other locals. This explanation

Yarrangobilly is a rural locality in the Snowy Mountains known for its limestone caves, thermal pool and historic Caves House. Located about 40 km west from the southern portion of the ACT, this places it in Ngarigo country. Consequently yarangu-bili  might be a Ngarigu word. It probably comprises two or three parts: — yarang (or one of yarang , yarung ; yurang , yurung ; yirang , yirung ) — gu — bili -bili bili is a widespread suffix in NSW languages and appears to convey

One of the earliest recorded names for Sydney, or Sydney Cove, was provided by Philip Gidley King: Australian respelt English Eng JSM source “ Warrane ” waran “The tribe of Wallumede inhabit the north shore opposite Warrane, or Sydney-Cove, and are called Walumetta. [Sydney Cove]”   : King in Hunter 1968 [:275:11] [BB] This was derived from King’s 1790 manuscript: “ Warrane ” waran “The tribe of Wallumede inhabit the North shore opposite Warrane or Sydney Cove & called Walume

A personal diary entry from January 1984 has the record: “Later we all set off by car headed for Twofold Bay 150 km away approx. Did this via Bermagui and Merimbula.”  Two placenames of interest, coastal towns in south-eastern New South Wales, are mentioned. What might they mean? As usual, McCarthy and Tyrell have something to say: Bermagui: Australian respelt English EngJSM source “Bermagui” barmaguwi “Resembling a canoe with paddles” canoe— : McCarthy [:6:3] [] Merimbula: “

Maroubra is a beachside suburb of Sydney about 10km south-east of the Sydney CBD. Maroubra beach Morooberra One of the indigenous people encountered by the First Fleeters was Morooberra. The Judge-Advocate, David Collins, who wrote one of the principal accounts: Collins, David. 1975 [1798]. An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, With Remarks on the Dispositions, Customs, Manners. etc., of the Native Inhabitants of that Country : Volume I. Sydney: A.H. & A.W. Ree

Bokhara In a press report in the Sydney Morning Herald for the last day of 2010, there was the following entry: Moderate to major flooding is expected along the Culgoa, Bokhara, Birrie and Narran rivers over the coming weeks. And a little further on in the article: … floodwater from west-flowing NSW rivers is still causing minor to moderate flowing along the Barwon River. Perhaps this was a clue to a puzzle of bagara in the Minyung language, on the far north NSW coastal regi