"I've been everywhere, man…
I've been to Wollongong, Geelong, Kurrajong, Mullumbimby, Mittagong, Molong, Grong Grong, Goondiwindi … Cabramatta, Parramatta, Wangaratta, Coolangatta; what's it matter?"
Inspired by the classic Aussie song "I've been everywhere man", Daniel Scott set off an alphabetical journey in search of the country's most unusual place names. Here, from A-Z, are some of the names he discovered, and possible explanations of their origins.
Amphitheatre, Victoria
A hamlet in Victoria's Pyrenees ranges, originating from the gold mining rush, located in a hollow between two hills which roughly resembles an amphitheatre. Pleasant picnic spot, unless you're a gladiator.
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Bong Bong, NT
Meaning "mosquitoes buzzing" in Aboriginal, Bong Bong narrowly takes the cake for the most unusual place name beginning with "B" — it narrowly beat Blighty in NSW, which probably reminded somebody of home.
Come by chance, NSW
Immortalised in a Banjo Patterson poem, this settlement in north-western New South Wales got its name from pastoralists who happened upon a large vacant block, while en route somewhere else more promising.
Diapur, Victoria
Diapur, in Victoria's Wimmera region, just beats Dunedoo in New South Wales as Australia's oddest sounding place beginning with "D". Named after the area's black swans, Diapur is particularly popular with babies.
Ehrenbreitstein, SA
Sadly, like many South Australian towns named by German migrants, this town no longer exists. Its name was changed to Mount Yerila by the 1917 Nomenclature Act as it was one of 69 place names considered to indicate enemy origin following World War I. Other lost names include Wusser's Nob and Pflaum, renamed Hundred of Geegeela possibly because it was much frequented by horses.
Foul Bay, SA
Named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 because of its poor anchorage, this bay on the Yorke Peninsula is far nicer than its moniker suggests. Also nearby is the delightful sounding Tiddy Widdy Beach.
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Gingin, WA
This town north of
Perth sounds good enough to drink. The Aboriginal meaning is "place of many streams".
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Humpybong, Queensland
Lovely name originating from when the British abandoned the area in favour of settling
Brisbane, leaving behind empty huts or "humpies". Humpybong means "dead shelters" in Aboriginal.
Innalo Fresho, WA
Perth suburb with a fruit market called Innaloo Fresh (we kid you not!) and a shopping plaza, presumably with plenty of indoor restrooms.
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Jimcumbilly, NSW
Tiny settlement and disused railway station located near Bombala, inland from the New South Wales south coast. Mystery surrounds the meaning of its Aboriginal name.
Knuckey Lagoon, NT
Near
Darwin and actually a wildlife reserve, rather than a place popular with couples. Just beats Kurri Kurri in New South Wales, where good Indian cuisine is guaranteed.
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Loos, SA
This settlement's original German name,
Buchsfelde, was considered offensive during World War I so they came up with this much better alternative.
Mount Buggery, Victoria
The evocative and typically Aussie name, Mount Buggery, cannot be bettered anywhere in Australia — although WA's Muchea (as in "there's nothing muchea"), a corruption of the Aboriginal word
Muchela, is excellent too.
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Nowhere Else, Tasmania & SA
Located near Devonport in north-western Tasmania, there really is "nowhere else", like Nowhere Else. Well, actually there is ... like many of our visitors have pointed out, a place called Nowhere Else can be found on the Eyre Peninsula in SA too!
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Ozenkadnook, Victoria
An almost unpronounceable place name in the West Wimmera region bordering South Australia and meaning "very fat kangaroo" in Aboriginal.
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Poowong, Victoria
This Gippsland town with smelly connotations appropriately got its name from the Aboriginal word for "carrion" or "putrefaction".
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Queanbeyan, NSW/ACT
Close to
Canberra and meaning "clear water", a place fit for pollies and insect royalty.
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Rooty Hill, NSW
Area in western
Sydney named by Governor King in 1802. Disappointingly, the name refers to roots exposed in fields around the hill following floods.
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Smiggin Holes, NSW
Popular ski resort that got its Scottish name from pools formed in rocks by cattle.
Tom Ugly, NSW
Tom Ugly Point, near Sylvania in
Sydney's south, is named after an Aboriginal Australian who lived in a rock shelter in this area during the mid-19th century. His nickname was said to be ironic as he was a strong, handsome fellow.
Uki, NSW
Pronounced "yook-eye", this River Tweed dairy town's name originates from the Aboriginal word for "fern with edible roots" and just beats Ubobo in Queensland.
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Vite Vite, Victoria
Vite Vite, on the railway line close to Pura Pura and Nerrin Nerrin in South Western Victoria, may have got its name from the French word for "quick", as in "I hope the train arrives double quick".
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Wonglepong, Queensland
Although New South Wales has Woolloomooloo (meaning young kangaroo), and Wards Mistake (named after bushranger Frederick Ward), Queensland's delightfully named Wonglepong, possibly meaning "forgotten sound" in Aboriginal, pips them all, and also tramples all over Victoria's Wurt Wurt Kurt as number one "W".
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Xantippe, WA
Australia's only place name beginning with "X" is found near Dalwallinu in the WA wheat belt, and got its name from workers on the rabbit-proof fence. On discovering that the granite ground they were working on was almost impenetrable, they called the place Xantippe, after the wife of Greek philosopher Socrates, reputedly a very hard woman!
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Yorkeys Knob, Queensland
Located just north of
Cairns, it got its name from a fisherman from Yorkshire, George Yorkey Lawson, who lived nearby in the late 19th century. Locals have since resisted attempts to rename it Yorkeys Beach, fond as they are of the original moniker, despite the reactions it sometimes provokes.
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Zeehan, Tasmania
Former silver and lead mining town in Tassie's south-west that gets its name from one of Abel Tasman's ships.
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What are some of your favourite unusual Aussie place names? What do the names mean?
