The Truth About Australian Place Names Quiz

Answer: True

Place names in Australia were usually based on Aboriginal names, physical features or after notable people such as royalty or prominent government figures. Australian explorers rarely named new places after themselves. But in this case it was John Batman that explored the Yarra River region and founded a village there in 1835. It actually was called Batmania until 1837 when the Governor of New South Wales named it Melbourne after the British Prime Minister at the time: William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne.

Does this mean Sydney should have changed its name to Supermania?

Answer: True

After places named after people, the most common place name in Australia is Aboriginal in origin. Aboriginal names usually, but not always, describe physical features. "Wagga" is a Wiradjuri people name for "crow". Whilst there have been many, many different types of aboriginal language (both active and extinct), a surprising number express the plural form by simply repeating the word (e.g. Gin Gin, Bli Bli, Woy Woy). Hence "Wagga Wagga" means the equivalent of more than one crow.

There is a very popular Australian song called "Don't Call Wagga Wagga Wagga", which is all about the Australian propensity for shortening everything. The song is a plea to stop calling Wagga Wagga by its diminutive "Wagga". Did anyone listen to the plea? No, but they did listen to the song - it was one of the most popular songs of 1993.

Answer: False

Bundaberg, the place name, is a combination of "bunda", an Aboriginal word meaning "important man", and a suffix "-berg" which is Old English for "town". "Bunda" does not mean "rum", though Bundy (the affectionate abbreviated place name for the city) is synonymous with rum, as Bundaberg is a sugar growing region and has one of two rum distilleries in Queensland. Bundaberg "Bundy" Rum is a quintessential Aussie brand name.

Answer: False

Sydney was originally named New Albion (new Britain) by its first governor, Captain Arthur (not Sidney) Phillip. The settlement on Port Jackson was at Sydney cove named after Thomas Townshend (1732-1800), a British politician who was given the title of Lord Sydney or Viscount Sydney in 1789. Sydney in Nova Scotia (Canada) was also named after this man.

Whilst Sydney was not misspelled, Moreton Bay, in the northern part of the New South Wales colony was incorrectly spelled by Captain James Cook. That spelling mistake was never corrected and the bay that Brisbane sits on is still called Moreton Bay, over 200 years later.

Answer: True

The town of South Coast was named because of its location 41 miles south of Brisbane. While it is known for its golden beaches (pictured is Coolangatta Beach), inflated prices for goods in general, but especially real estate, led to the nickname of "Gold Coast" around 1950.

The term "Gold Coast" was considered insulting by locals. The town stretched from Southport twenty miles south to Coolangatta, and in 1958 the town of South Coast became town of Gold Coast, which became a city a year later with a population of 20,000. Fifty years later the population was above 500,000 people, making Gold Coast the largest non-capital city in Queensland.

Answer: True

In 1823, John Oxley entered a river from Moreton bay and followed it downstream some 20 kilometres until he reached what is now known as Goodna. The river was named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, who was Governor of New South Wales at the time. The first settlement in Queensland, a penal settlement, was sited at Redcliffe, 40 miles to the north.

However, this was abandoned in December 1824, and the party sailed to form a new settlement on the Brisbane River at North Quay (which is now part of the city centre).

The settlement was called Edenglassie before it was named Brisbane in 1827. Edenglassie was a compound word derived from "Edinburgh" and "Glasgow".

Answer: False

In 1854, a new district was proclaimed 600 kilometres north of Brisbane. A settlement was made along the Fitzroy River when rocks prevented further navigation upstream. The rocks were incorporated into the name of the settlement: "Hampton" was the English term for village and was used as a suffix so the settlement became known as Rockhampton.

However in true Aussie spirit, a shortened name is preferred and, while it is now a thriving city of over 80,000, Rockhampton is ubiquitously known as "Rocky".

Answer: False

It is easy to see why there has been confusion regarding the name, "Nullabor", Both "aba" and "ll" feature as common spelling phrasing within aboriginal place names. "Nullarbor" is Latin for nullus - no, and arbor - tree. The Nullarbor plane is a 200 000 square kilometre, almost treeless, semi-arid plain. Crossing the Nullarbor has become a rite of passage for Australians, and the thousand kilometre plus journey with temperatures reaching 50 C in summer do not make this an easy trip.

Answer: False

Penguin, Tasmania (between Ulverstone and Burnie) was first settled in 1861 to supply timber to Melbourne across Bass Strait. The initial settlement's post office was called Sulphur Creek, which became Penguin Creek. Noted local botanist, Robert Campbell Gunn, observed the large numbers of fairy (also called little) penguins along the coast and named the town after them.

The town certainly honours the penguin. The Big Penguin is a 3.1m ferro-cement statue in the centre of town (pictured). All the municipal rubbish bins are adorned with penguin decorations.

Answer: False

Alice Springs was settled in 1871 as a repeater station in the Adelaide to Darwin overland telegraph line. The station was established adjacent to what was thought to be a permanent waterhole connected to the Todd River, itself dry (pictured) most of the year. The post master was Sir Charles Todd, for whom the Todd River was named. His wife Alice and the waterhole gave the town its name.