June, 2003

The history of Poeppel Corner

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Poeppel Corner is the name of the junction of the NorthernTerritory/Queensland border with the northern border of

South Australia. It is one of the best known of the Statecorners and certainly the remotest. The nearest town isBirdsville, population 120, which is 177 kilometres to the east.

Poeppel Corner is located in the heart of the Simpson Desertand is accessible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. The visitors�book shows that about 2000 tourists make the journey eachyear. These days the corner is marked by a concrete pipe,standing 1.8 metres high on a sand dune just above LakePoeppel, which spreads across the Northern Territory andSouth Australia borders. A specially prepared plaque on top ofthe pipe shows the names of the states and territory and thetitle �Poeppel Corner�.

In 1880, Augustus Poeppel, South Australian GovernmentSurveyor, marked the corner with a coolibah Eucalyptusmicrotheca post, 2.1 metres long by 0.25 metres in diameter.The post was dragged 58 miles (92 kilometres) westward fromthe Mulligan River. Poeppel adzed it on three sides and chiseledinto it the words �South Australia, Northern Territory andQueensland�. Below the �South Australia� inscription he carvedLAT 26 LONG 138 for the latitude and longitude.

The post was placed by Poeppel to complete his survey of theSouth Australian/Queensland border along the 26th Parallel ofLatitude between the 141st Meridian to the 138th Meridian ofLongitude, a distance of 186 miles 49 chains (300.3 km). Itrepresented the intersection of the 26th Parallel with the 138thMeridian. From this point, the South Australia/NorthernTerritory border ran east across the Simpson Desert and the

Queensland/Northern Territory border ran due north to theGulf of Carpenteria.

Poeppel returned to the corner in 1883 to commence thesurvey of the Queensland/Northern Territory border. Thepost was not seen again by a European until 1936, whenNorthern Territory grazier, Ted Colson, and his Aboriginalcompanion Peter Aims, completed the first east-west crossing

This plaque on a concrete pipe now marks the location of Poeppel Corner

Welcome to new subscribers

Augusta Historical SocietyBathurst District Historical SocietyBayswater Historical SocietyBendigo Historical SocietyBerrima District Historical SocietyBiggenden Historical SocietyBlacktown and District Historical SocietyBoorowa and District Historical SocietyBrisbane City Council Heritage UnitBrisbane Water Historical SocietyBroome Historical SocietyBuninyong and District Hist. SocietyCamden Historical SocietyCampbelltown and Airds Hist. SocietyCardwell Shire Museum and Hist. Soc.Casino and District Historical SocietyChannel Hist. and Folk Museum Assoc.Clarence River Historical SocietyCoasters Retreat Historical SocietyConcord Heritage SocietyCooray-Noosa Genealogical andHistorical Research GroupCootamundra Local History SocietyCrookwell and District Historical SocietyCundletown Historical SocietyDaylesford and District Hist. SocietyDingley Village and District Hist. SocietyDubbo Museum and History CentreEastern Goldfields Historical SocietyEmerald Shire Historical AssociationEnfield and District Historical SocietyFootscray Historical SocietyFremantle Local History CollectionFurneaux Hist. Research AssociationGatton and District Historical SocietyGloucester District Historical SocietyGreat Lakes Historical SocietyHamilton History CentreHargraves and District Historical Society

Hay Historical SocietyHist. Society of the Munic. of SorellInverell District Family History GroupIpswich Historical SocietyIsis District Historical SocietyKilkivan and District Historical SocietyKoroit and District Historical SocietyKu-ring-gai Historical Society and FamilyHistory GroupLameroo District Historical SocietyLightning Ridge Historical Society TrustLower Burdekin Historical SocietyMacksville and District History GroupMalvern Historical SocietyMansfield Historical SocietyMareeba Historical SocietyMarrickville Heritage SocietyMelville History SocietyMid Murraylands Local History GroupMilton-Ulladulla Historical SocietyNew Farm and Districts Hist. SocietyNundah and District Historical SocietyOrroroo Historical SocietyPaterson Historical SocietyQueenscliffe Historical MuseumQueensland Women�s Hist. AssociationRedcliffe Historical SocietySandgate and District Historical Societyand MuseumSeymour and District Historical SocietyShoalhaven Family History SocietySpringwood Historical SocietySunshine Coast Historical andGenealogical Resource CentreTara and District Historical SocietyToowoomba Historical SocietyYarraman and District Historical SocietyYarrawonga � Mulwala Historical SocietyYorketown Historical Society

It has been wonderful to hear from historical societies around Australia that areinterested in the study of placenames and the ANPS project. Many of those

societies that responded to the mail-out of the March edition of Placenames Australianot only subscribed to the newsletter but have also become ANPS Research Friends.Thanks for your interest and support! A warm welcome to the following societies:of the Simpson Desert with five camels.

They photographed the post on theirreturn journey from Birdsville. By then,the corner had become known as�Poeppel Corner� after Augustus Poeppel.

Dr Reg Sprigg completed the firstvehicular crossing of the SimpsonDesert in 1962. He found the cornerpost lying flat on the ground, eatenthrough by white ants and riddled withdry rot. Dr Sprigg placed a temporarymark over the base and took the fallenpost back to Birdsville and later toAdelaide. It was returned to the SouthAustralian Surveyor General and is nowheld by the South Australian HistoryTrust. The chiseled names are stilllegible. The concrete pipe wassubsequently placed to mark Poeppelcorner.

��Alan MiddletonSenior SurveyorDepartment of Sustainability andEnvironment, Victoria

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The history ofPoeppel Corner

The history of Poeppel Corner ... .1-2

Welcome to new subscribers .............2

Electronic toponymic updates ...............2Indigenous placenames initiative ......3

Naming the place we live .................4-5

Media focus ...........................................5Feedback: Everard of the Cape ........6

ANPS NSW State Committee ..........7

Minister opens Centre..........................7Reviving Aboriginal languages .......8-9

New publications ..................................9

Places and pitfalls ........................10-11Placenames Puzzle No. 6 .................11

Bill Bright visits Sydney ....................11

On the web .........................................12Placenames in the news ....................12

Mailing List & Volunteer Research....12

In this issue

Electronic toponymic updatesThe ANPS team would like to be able to contact Research Friends and PlacenamesAustralia subscribers with items of interest not only through the quarterly releaseof the newsletter but during the whole year. If you would like to be on our emaildistribution list and receive occasional notices about toponymic events, pleasesend your email address to Clair Hill at chill@hmn.mq.edu.au.

New subscribers after the time of going to press will be listed in the next issue

Indigenous placenames initiative launched inWarrnambool, Victoria

Few people realise how many ofVictoria�s towns and cities have

names of Indigenous origin. To addressthis, Victoria�s Registrar of GeographicNames has launched a public awarenessprogram about Indigenous placenames.This program has held a series ofworkshops to which representatives fromIndigenous communities, local councilsand other naming authorities have beeninvited to participate.

There are thousands of names withIndigenous origins in use, particularly inrural and regional Victoria. However, manyyears ago when these names were firstgiven, surveyors had difficulty capturingAustralian Aboriginal speech sounds andrecording them using the English spellingsystem. As a result, some of the meaningsand pronunciations of these names havebeen lost over time.

The state-wide series of workshops wasaimed at providing a forum for Indig-enous communities and placenamingauthorities to discuss the new approachto naming, as well as trying to establish aconsultation protocol that could beadopted by naming authorities whenconsidering proposals for Indigenousplacenames.

The first workshop was held inWarrnambool on the November 1, 2002.Mr Jeremy Clark, CEO of theFramlingham Aboriginal Trust, openedthe Warrnambool workshop andlaunched the initiative�s brochure: NamingVictoria�s Landscape - Respect and Recognitionof Indigenous Culture. Mr Clark welcomedthe public awareness initiative, saying thatthe key to the process is consultation;�Without consultation with all the partiesit wouldn�t succeed�.

Mr Clark acknowledged that manypeople are not aware of the Indigenousorigins of placenames, such as,Warrnambool, Koroit and Terang. Hewent on to say that promoting recogni-tion for the traditional Indigenous names

of various landmarks and places inVictoria is a positive step.

As part of the program, a presentationwas delivered by Stephen Walsh of theDepartment of Infrastructure (DoI) onthe joint DoI-VicRoads Indigenous roadnaming project. This project is aimed atassigning Indigenous names to bridgesand other road features and is beingpiloted in south-western Victoria.

Presentations were also delivered by DrIan D. Clark (Chair of the VictorianState Committee of the AustralianNational Placenames Survey) and ChrisRichards (member of Victoria�s Geo-graphic Place Names Advisory Panel).Dr Clark�s presentation was an overviewof the Dictionary and Database ofAboriginal Placenames of Victoria, which hecompiled together with Toby Heydon forthe Victorian Aboriginal Corporation forLanguages.

As a result of the positive feedbackreceived from participants at the work-shop, the Registrar of GeographicNames scheduled a series of follow-upworkshops on geographic placenames. To

date, five more successful workshopshave been held in Hamilton, Ballarat,Benalla, Melbourne and Traralgon forrepresentatives of local councils who areresponsible for the placenaming processwithin their organisations.

While the main focus of the workshopsis on the responsibilities of namingauthorities under the Geographic PlaceNames Act 1998, as well as theimplementation of the Guidelines forGeographic Names, the workshops arealso aimed at increasing awareness ofVictoria�s Indigenous placenames.

The Victorian Registrar of GeographicNames recognises that the link betweenplacenames, our Indigenous heritage andreconciliation is important. This initiativewill hopefully raise awareness ofVictoria�s existing Indigenous placenamesand encourage greater respect andrecognition for Indigenous cultures.

��Anita DavidsFor more information about Victoria�splacenaming activities, please phoneAnita on (03) 8636 2530 or email her atanita.davids@nre.vic.gov.au

Left to right: Keith Bell (Registrar Geographic Place Names), Jeremy Clark (CEO FramlinghamAboriginal Trust) and Stephen Walsh (Department of Infrastructure) at the launch of the newIndigenous placenaming brochure. Photo: Diana Nolan.

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As promised in Placenames AustraliaDecember 2002, here is a con-

densed version of a talk given by DaleLehner for the History Council of NSW,History Week, September 2002, whichhad the theme �Changing Landscapes�.

Why name the place we live? The basicanswer is that we need identificationsimply for communication. Early settlersneeded to be able to say something like,�Move the stock to the Sandy Creek�. Iam reminded of the old adage that ifSydney is ever invaded the first thing weshould do is remove all the street signs!A city with no identified places would beutter confusion.

European naming of the Australianlandscape can more correctly bedescribed �renaming�. The Aborigines hadalready named significant features likerivers, mountains and hills and no doubtimportant camping places too. What I amreferring to here is the new set of namesgiven by the European settlers. Most ofmy research has involved the DarlingDowns district west of Brisbane wheremembers of my family settled in the1860s, thus many of the examples I usewill be from Queensland.

The method of Australian placenamingcan only be called ad hoc � there was nomethod. Much of the landscape hadalready been named when officials triedto take control. In Queensland it was the1920s before an official placenamesbody was set up but it was really too late.Certainly most of the natural featureshad been named by the turn of the 20th

Century, leaving little more than newsettlements to be named.

These days in Queensland and probablyelsewhere, when a new suburb is estab-lished there is a complex process toavoid duplication. Huge efforts are alsomade to ensure that the suggested nameis culturally appropriate, particularly withAboriginal or Torres Strait Islandernames. The public is notified of allproposals in newspaper advertisements,and Ministerial approval is the final step.

The early history of placenaming inAustralia was a bit scrambled but, inessence, it was the domain of theexplorers, then the squatters and finallythe surveyors, with ordinary peoplefilling in the gaps. Firstly, explorersnamed their discoveries. They notedthem in their journals and on maps andlargely the names have endured, althoughthere were a few cases of the same placebeing accidentally renamed by anotherexplorer (the Murray River was originallynamed the Hume). Our eastern coastlineis littered with names given by CaptainCook and Matthew Flinders.

The most noticeable feature of theplacenames chosen by inland explorers isthat they often flattered influentialpeople. For example, Allan Cunningham,who discovered the Darling Downs in1827, honoured both Governor Darling

and his aide when he named the DarlingDowns and the Condamine River.

Squatters spread out from the settleddistricts with their flocks and herds usingthe explorer�s maps as references. Itappears to have been compulsory toregister a name for their pastoral runwhen they applied for the lease. And - animportant point - that name needed to beunique because it was for identification.Avoiding duplication necessarily involveda lot of head scratching on the part ofthe squatters. Many of the names theychose have endured as Parish, Shire ortown names, although the pastoral leasesare no more. The most striking featuregiven to runs on the Darling Downsbefore 1859, is that half of them areAboriginal words � Jondaryan, Jingi

Naming the place we live

Jingi, and Warra Warra are just a few. Itis significant that European settlers in aland officially regarded as empty � terranullius � were quite happy to use Aborigi-nal placenames. The settlers knew theland was not empty, and in their own waythey acknowledged prior Aboriginalownership.

Descriptive run names were also popularand give insights into the squatter�s life.Some squatters took the same name as thelocal creek, and wildlife and plants werealso popular themes, for example, PalmyCreek, Emu Creek, Dogwood Creek andthe not very inviting Mosquito Creek.Other names, such as Starvation Camp,Vexation and Burning Thirst, reveal thetrying aspects of life. On the other handthere are the more attractive Fairy Landand Gladfield.

I examined another sample of pre-1859Darling Downs names for naturalfeatures, such as rivers, creeks, moun-tains and hills. As previously noted, Ioften discovered the name choice wasmade by an explorer to honour a patron,probably in the hope of more financialsupport. However, there are exceptions:Ludwig Leichhardt named Charley�sCreek after his Aboriginal guide, andAllan Cunningham honoured a settlerwho had been very hospitable to hisexpedition with MacIntyre Brook. Thesecond largest category for naturalfeatures was descriptive names likeSandy Creek (probably the most popularplacename in Australia), Saddle Hill,Lookout Creek and the like.

After the explorers and squatters thenext influential group were the surveyors.They were called upon to draw up plansfor settlements, and are responsible formany of our beautifully laid out countrytowns. Often the plans of a likely spotwere produced when there was littlemore than a bark hut or two in evidence.At the same time the surveyors wereoften required to name these settlements.A townsite on the Darling Downs thatwas unofficially known as �Myall Cross-ing�, �Myall Creek� or �The Crossing� wassurveyed in 1853 by Captain Perry, theNSW Surveyor-General. He renamed it

�Dalby� after one of several towns inBritain. On a visit to the town I com-mented on the very wide streets. I wastold that the roads had needed to bewide enough for a bullock team to turnaround.

The explorers and squatters made theirname choices and usually that was it � aunilateral decision! However, with thenaming of settlements there were morepeople involved and disagreementsoccurred. A town near the Queensland/New South Wales border now known asInglewood, was originally called�Browne�s Inn� after an establishmentthere. In 1862 a surveyor renamed thesettlement �Inglewood�. The RailwayDepartment had a policy of usingAboriginal names where possible, sowhen the railway passed through in 1906the station was named �Parainga�. Therewas a local outcry and the citizens of thetown removed the station sign before thegrand opening. The Railway Departmenteventually complied with their wishes andthe name �Inglewood� was retained.

As well as by explorers, squatters andsurveyors, much naming was doneunofficially by ordinary people. Thepastoral runs were huge, usually from 25to 100 square miles, and names evolvedfor features on that land. Descriptivenames, such as the Sandy Creek or theBald Hill were common, and every runhad a name like the Horse Paddock orHill Paddock. In the Dalby FamilyHistory Society library I came across anold map of Bon Accord, a freeholdstation taken up in about 1870. I wasimmediately interested when I discoveredone paddock was named Dale�s Paddock.I was given the name Dale because itwas my great-grandmother�s maidenname � and sure enough I found that thepaddock was originally the Dale familyfarm. It had been incorporated into BonAccord. In fact after her husband diedmy great-great-grandmother worked onBon Accord as the mid-wife and nurse,and was known locally as Granny Dale.

Many names given by ordinary peopleendured, although some were changed byofficialdom. The name Sherry Gully

originated when a bullock wagon broke awheel and a keg of sherry fell off andsmashed. The Railway Department didnot approve and later changed the nameto Cherry Gully.

Introduced Australian placenames haveevolved over the last 200 or so years,given in succession by explorers, squat-ters, surveyors and ordinary people,mostly before official control was gained.Now there are very tight controls whennew names are proposed. However, it isevident that the placenames given beforeofficial intervention are the ones that canmost enhance the knowledge of Austra-lian history. They reflect the thoughtsand experiences of our forebears inmany ways. In addition we see that it isthe Aboriginal influence which makes themap of Australia distinctive - nowhereelse in the world will you find a WaggaWagga or a Gundagai! The historicalvalue and unique nature of these namesis beginning to be recognised in theAustralian community. Much discussioncurrently concerns the possibility ofreinstating more Aboriginal names in adual naming system like we see withAyers Rock/Uluru. Such initiativesindicate an appreciation that placenamesembody our history in a unique way.

��Dale Lehner

Two Brisbanites, anthropologist LizDann and local historian and envi-ronmental educator Beryl Roberts,have completed a number of yearsresearching Brisbane localities andwill soon publish a book, Origins of theNames of Brisbane�s Suburbs andLocalities. Brisbane�s ABC Radio 612will be giving them about one minuteof airtime each weekday morningwith Paul Bonnington on the BreakfastShow to discuss and share ideas onthe origins of Brisbane�s suburb andlocality names. All being well, thisdaily toponymic discussion will bebroadcast throughout August andtheir book will be published in lateAugust or early September.

Media focus

Thank you for forwarding on the e-mail by Richard Everard regarding

the naming of Cape Everard (now PointHicks). It�s rewarding to see that thenewsletter now has an internationalreadership (and an interested one atthat). My response to the commentsmade by Richard are as follows:

1. It would be great if we could locate aprimary source document thatunambiguously set out how CapeEverard was named. But unfortunately(as with many placenames) no suchdocument has been located to date,although I did spend a number of daysin the Victorian State Library and theSurveyor General�s office hoping touncover such a key reference.

2. The earliest references to CapeEverard that I could find areArrowsmith�s 1853 map of Victoria andthe slightly earlier coastal survey mapsof Gippsland upon which it is based.

3. To qualify as a candidate for being the�Everard of the Cape�, the personwould have had to have been reasonablyprominent in Australia (extra attentionobviously being given to any VictorianEverards), or Britain, by 1853.

4. John Everard arrived in Melbourne inMay 1853, first becoming a merchant.He did not enter Victorian parliamentuntil 1858. While biographical materialindicates that he made a substantialcontribution to the State, this occurredafter the publication of Arrowsmith�s

Feedback: Everard of the CapeI was recently sent a copy of the

ANPS newsletter of September 2002and believe I can throw some light onthe identity of Mr Everard after whomthe Cape was named. I believe it to benamed after Mr John Everard who wasa member of the first parliament ofVictoria, representing Rodney, andafterward Collingwood and NorthGippsland. I attach a copy of a leafletconcerning his son William H. Everard.

John Everard was born on February 201825 in Groby, Leicestershire, UK, thesixth son of Thomas Everard ofGroby. He married Mary Moss onAugust 29 1857 (she died September 211872). He later married Faith Cann onJuly 19 1874 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Hedied on August 29 1887 in South Yarra,Melbourne. He had seven children (sixsons) by his first wife and four (alldaughters) by his second wife. I have norecord of when he went to Australia. Obviously the leaflet may be incorrectabout the naming of Cape Everard butone would have thought that his sonwould know. I have done a little research via the Netinto John Everard but have found verylittle except that there is mention ofsome of his family in several bookspublished in Australia, including:

Painters & Pioneers - One Hundred Years ofEltham and its Shire by Alan Marshall(1971), Warburton Ways by EarleParkinson (1984), A History of PortMelbourne by Nancy U�Ren and NoelTurnbull (1983), and Healesville - Historyof the Hills by Sally Symonds (1982). Unfortunately, I haven�t been able toobtain copies of any of the above books. I also note that there is a Lake Everardin South Australia and also a mountainrange called Everard Ranges - maybethey are also named after John? Your sincerely,Richard A. Everard (Quorn, Leics, UK)

The leaflet attached by Richard Everard istitled ��The Speaker of the LegislativeAssembly: Hon. W.H. EVERARD,M.L.A.� and was authorised by W. Burnside,J.P., Chairman Evelyn Electrorate Committeeson the 10th of September 1937. The relevantsection is as follows: �Mr. Everard was born ateast Melbourne in 1869, as son of Mr. JohnEverard, who was a member of the firstParliament of Victoria, representing Rodney,and afterwards Collingwood and NorthGippsland, and after whom Cape Everard wasnamed.�

map. Therefore, it is highly unlikely thathe is the �Everard of the Cape�. Thearrival date of 1853 is given in Men ofthe Time, Victorian Series (1878) and inthe entry for John Everard in theAustralian Dictionary of Biography.

5. Manning�s book on the placenames ofSouth Australia lists some featuresbearing the Everard name � MountEverard, Lake Everard, Hundred ofEverard and Everard Creek (now theDiamantina River). Manning states thatthey are named after William Everard.While William arrived in that colony (as ayouth) in 1836 on the ship Africaine, hedid not enter the South Australianparliament until the 1860s, and most ofhis substantial public achievements wereafter 1853. In addition, there is theproblem of explaining how a SouthAustralian pioneer would have had hisname placed on a prominent coastalfeature in far East Gippsland, when theCape Everard name was most likelyapplied by someone in the VictorianSurveyor General�s office.

6. William Everard was the son ofDoctor Charles Everard (they came toAdelaide together on the Africaine) whosettled in Adelaide. While he was aprominent citizen of Adelaide before1853, there is still the problem ofexplaining how his name would havebeen used by Victorian officials on acape in Gippsland, far removed from theSouth Australian border.

In summary, I think it is fair to say thejury is still out on which particularEverard was honoured in the naming ofCape Everard.

Perhaps other newsletter readers may beable to shed further light on thisfascinating toponymic puzzle. The SouthAustralian options are worth furtherinvestigation, and there may be otherEverards who have so far escaped ourattention, including those who remainedin England. Can anybody out there help?

Chris Richards (Vic)

ANPS NSW State Committee establishedWe are pleased to announce that a

State committee of the ANPS hasnow been established in NSW. Thefoundation members of the committeeare: David Blair and Flavia Hodges ofthe ANPS, Greg Windsor of the NSWGeographical Names Board, Jaky Troyof the newly established NSW AboriginalLanguages Research and ResourceCentre, and academics John Hobson, IanJack and Michael Walsh of the Univer-sity of Sydney and Peter Orlovich,formerly of the University of NewSouth Wales � contributing betweenthem expertise in history, linguistics,archives and information technology. Aninaugural meeting of the Committee washeld on 21 June, and further meetingsare planned at frequent intervals.

We look forward to being able to publishnews of the Committee�s activities infuture issues of Placenames Australia. Itplans to work particularly closely with theNSW Geographical Names Board, ofwhich it has been constituted as aTechnical Scientific Sub-Committee, on aproject to assign dual Indigenous and

introduced names to many of thefeatures of Sydney Harbour, and on anAboriginal Geographical NamingStrategy to document and interpretplacenames forming part of the tradi-tional Indigenous network within NSW.

Other crucial links will be with the NSWAboriginal Languages Research andResource Centre and the NSW Officeof the Board of Studies. Notices

elsewhere in this issue, by Clair Hill onthe establishment of ALRRC and bySusan Poetsch on the work of the OBoSin developing a new Aboriginal Lan-guages Syllabus for schools, emphasisewhat an exciting time this is for therenewal of Indigenous languages in theState � and the study of placenameshas an important role to play in increas-ing awareness of the languages andcultures of the state�s original inhabitants.

Left to right: Greg Windsor, Michael Walsh, Jaky Troy and Gayle Caldwell atthe inaugural State Committee meeting.

Minister opens NSW Language CentreBefore European settlement, the area

that was to become New SouthWales hosted around 70 Aboriginallanguages. These traditional languagesinclude: Ngiyampaa and Muruwari in thenorthwest; Mathi-mathi and Baakindji inthe southwest; Kamilaroi, Wangkumara,and Wiradjuri in central NSW; Anewan(Nganyaywana), Bundjalung,Gumbaynggirr and Yaygirr in thenortheast; Awabakal, Dharuk, Ngunawal,and Yorta Yorta in the southeast. Thecolonisation of Australia brought rapidchanges to Indigenous Australian societyand dramatically affected the waysAboriginal people lived and communi-cated. Aboriginal languages have beenbadly affected by these sudden changes,and most are highly endangered withonly a few elderly speakers surviving.

The NSW State government has devel-oped a ground-breaking policy that will

help to revive traditional Aboriginallanguages, such as those listed. AnAboriginal Language Research andResource Centre is at the core of thismillion-dollar plus plan and was officiallylaunched on March 10 by the DeputyPremier and Minister for AboriginalAffairs, Dr Andrew Refshauge.

At the opening, Dr Refshauge said theCentre would help to record anddocument the knowledge held by alimited number of Aboriginal Elders andcustodians, as well as empower Aborigi-nal communities to implement locallanguage revitalisation programs.

�Traditional language is at the heart ofAboriginal culture. It is vital to thecultural identity and the self-esteem ofAboriginal people.

�Already many Aboriginal languages are

in danger of being lost or are spoken byjust a handful of surviving Elders. Timeis running out if we are not to lose thisimportant part of our Indigenousculture,� he said.

The NSW government has providedfunding of $1.04 million over four yearsfor the ALRRC. The Centre is located atTranby Aboriginal College in Glebe andis staffed by linguist Dr Jakelin Troy andGayle Caldwell. It aims to give technicaladvice, mentoring, training and researchassistance to Aboriginal people andcommunities seeking to revive, maintainand teach traditional languages. It willalso establish an Internet database linkinginformation on Aboriginal languagesStatewide, and provide seed funding forcommunity language projects, including agrant of $20,000 for a Gumbaynggirrdictionary and a CD-ROM in theKamilaroi language.

Reviving and teaching Aboriginal languages in NewSouth Wales schools

The invasion and colonisation ofAustralia have had devastating

effects on Aboriginal languages. In recentdevelopments in NSW, the aspiration ofAboriginal communities to revive theirlanguages, using living knowledge inconjunction with archival sources, isbeing supported by the formal (thoughnon-mandatory) introduction of thestudy of Aboriginal languages into theNSW school curriculum. To this end theAboriginal Curriculum Unit (ACU) in theOffice of the Board of Studies NSWhas been developing the AboriginalLanguages K-10 Syllabus. The aims of thesyllabus are to enable students to gainlanguage proficiency, focus on the studyof languages as systems and understandthe relationship between land, language,culture and identity.

The development of the syllabus hasbeen managed by Kevin Lowe, ChiefEducation Officer in the ACU. Dr JakyTroy has also been a driving forcebehind it. In the early phases of theproject Jaky worked closely with a teamof syllabus writers and coordinatedextensive consultation with schools

across NSW, Aboriginal communitymembers and organisations and languageowners and custodians � all of whomhave informed the design of the syllabus.As the project developed further,subsequent State-wide consultation withsimilar groups was undertaken by DrMichael Walsh of the Department ofLinguistics at Sydney University, togetherwith Tony Lonsdale, a Wiradjuri manfrom Mudgee. Jaky has since beenappointed as manager of the NSWAboriginal Languages Research andResource Centre.

Language revival projects involvingAboriginal community members, linguistsand schools have been in operation forseveral years in a number of locations inNSW, e.g. the Bundjalung, Gamilaraay-Yuwaalaraay, Gumbaynggirr, Baakindji-Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri languageprograms. The experiences and modelsof these language programs have made asignificant contribution to the design anddevelopment of the new AboriginalLanguages K-10 Syllabus, as have success-ful language revival programs in otherparts of Australia (e.g. the Kaurna

Chief Education Officer in the Aboriginal Curriculum Unit, Kevin Lowe. Photo: James Deavin.

Uncle Stan Grant Snr is aWiradjuri Elder. He establishedthe Wiradjuri Language Develop-ment Centre and, for many years,has been instrumental in therevival of Wiradjuri language.He teaches Wiradjuri languageclasses to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in varioustowns and centres in Wiradjuricountry. His work was featuredon the ABC program MessageSticks on Sunday 18th May 2003.

What are some of your thoughts onthe new syllabus?

SG: The NSW Government is doingexactly the right thing by introducingAboriginal languages into the schools. Thiswill increase children�s self-esteem and senseof identity and help them understand whothey are and where they come from. Theirlanguage is their country. Language belongsto the land, it is who you are.

Do you teach people aboutplacenames in your language pro-grams?

SG: Yes, people in our classes are reallyinterested in that. Learning aboutplacenames gives non-Aboriginal peoplesome idea of Aboriginal languages andshows which names come from the languageof the area.

language program in Adelaide) andIndigenous language communities inother countries.

The syllabus is a key step in the revivalof Aboriginal languages. The threeoverarching objectives of the syllabus ��Using Language�, �Making LinguisticConnections� and �Moving Between Cultures� �acknowledge that acquiring communica-tive competence in an Aboriginal

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Where there is now a herd of beefcattle quietly grazing in an open

field, a bustling population of goldfossickers, trades people and youngfamilies once went about their daily tasks.The only visible trace of them is in thecensus results collected by the fledglinggovernment of colonial Victoria.

In other locations stand magnificentexamples of colonial architecture or thechaotic remains of gold diggings. Someof the more than 1400 centres analysedin Angus Watson�s book are now experi-encing a renaissance as new communitiestake shape within old boundaries. Thecover of this book depicts the formerMajorca Municipal Hall restored afterbushfire damage. After being a majornineteenth century goldfield town,Majorca was only a name on a map bythe 1970s, but is now enjoying a revivalas a burgeoning satellite suburb ofMaryborough.

Lost & Almost Forgotten Towns of ColonialVictoria is the fruit of many years�meticulous research, driven by the

New publications: Lost and Almost Forgotten Townsauthor�s passion for Victoria�s colonialhistory. The author has been fascinatedby history since early childhood and hasdeepened his knowledge of Victorianhistory through a great deal of travel andresearch over the last 20 years. Hisbackground in statistics and fascinationwith maps has enabled him to gatherinsights from diverse resources that areoften overlooked in preparing historiesof specific areas.

Useful to historians, researchers and allreaders with a fascination for colonialhistory, this book�s detailed assessmentof the census results of 1841 to 1901allows greater understanding of theground upon which the current popula-tion of Victoria stands. For those whoare touring Victoria, Lost & AlmostForgotten Towns of Colonial Victoria willopen up new possibilities for explorationthat are not suggested by the morecommonly available resources.

This book of over 500 pages shouldform an invaluable reference guide tothe urban composition of Victoria in the

nineteenth century. Copies of Lost &Almost Forgotten Towns of Colonial Victoriamay be obtained from the author andpublisher at a cost of $23.00 pluspostage and handling charge of $7.00.

Angus B. WatsonUnit 1, 13A Railway RoadBlackburn Victoria 3130Tel/Fax (03) 9878 0174

language will occur in the context oflanguage revitalisation. Students willdevelop skills to become active partici-pants in language revival by beinglearners and users of language in dailyinteractions and by studying similaritiesand differences in the structure ofAboriginal languages. To achieve thisprocess of language revival, students willengage with Aboriginal communities andtheir linguistic resources.

The syllabus outcomes and content focuson developing students� knowledge of,understandings about and skills inAboriginal languages. In this way, it hasbeen possible to cater for the approxi-mately 70 languages in NSW with onesyllabus. A copy of the draft syllabus isavailable at:http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/writing_briefs

��Susan Poetsch

Aunty Beryl Carmichael, whose traditional name is Yungha-dhu, is aNgiyampaa Elder. She is the Aboriginal Language Support Officer in theBroken Hill District Office of the NSW Department of Education and ateacher on the Ngiyampaa-Baakindji Language Program. She wasawarded a Centenary of Federation Medal for devotion to culturalawareness and contribution to Australian society.

What are some of your thoughts on the new syllabus?

BC: Aboriginal people feel that the time was ripe to produce such a document. It will giveopportunities to a lot of people to learn their language, opportunities which they didn�t havebefore; not only in schools but I hope also in adult colleges. It will be good for all people toknow that it�s a major part of our culture. There are a whole lot of important things that willcome through the teaching of language � traditional stories, culture, songs and connection toland. It is the vital link that we need to maintain.

I notice that placenames are sprinkled throughout the content section of thesyllabus. What do you think about placenames as part of learning language?

BC: Placenames are very important for kids to learn about and gives them the whole feeling fora place. A lot has been passed down but hasn�t been written in official records. Places alreadyhave names but learners need to get the full story behind each name to really understand them.For example Keewong means �place where the moon camped� and there is a story behind it.

In 1998 I decided to write an accountof the placenames of the Alexandra

and Lake Eildon area of Victoria. Ibegan by putting information on indexcards but soon gave away this idea as toocumbersome and slow. I waited until thefollowing year when I had regular accessto a personal computer and thereafterkept my work in electronic format, withplenty of back-up copies on diskettes.

At first my knowledge of the history ofthe area was rather basic but I wasfortunate in a number of respects. I hadbeen studying family history for years, soI knew where to find gazetteers andbooks on the meanings of placenamesand surnames. I was keen on naturalhistory and bush walking, and alreadyhad a good collection of 1:25000 surveymaps of the area. As a boy I had learnt abit of Latin and Ancient Greek, and as ayoung man I had acquired the rudimentsof Irish; these languages were to besurprisingly useful in my task. I am anEnglishman, with interests in Scottish andIrish history, so I had a reasonableknowledge of British and Irish geogra-phy. Also Alexandra had an excellentpublic library and its staff and theFriends of the Library were only tooeager to help and encourage me. Iappealed in the Alexandra & EildonStandard for information, and subse-quently received a lot of help from localresidents and historical societies.

I began with obvious sources, such aslooking through maps for places to listand trawling through local histories forinformation about placenames. I alsolooked around by car and on foot anddiscovered placenames that were signedbut not marked on maps, and I some-times came across a monument orplaque that explained the origin of aplacename. I picked up severalplacenames from the verses of JamesMcCrae Dunn, a local poet who hadbeen assistant stationmaster at Cathkin.

I soon realised I had to take especial care

not to create or perpetuate misinforma-tion � of which there was a considerableamount � about placenames. My mainproblem, encountered by other research-ers on Victoria, was Les Blake�s PlaceNames of Victoria (1977). Blake is bestknown as editor of Vision and Realisation(1973), a most valuable and encyclopedicthree-volume account of Victorian Stateschools. Probably on the strength of thiswork, Blake decided to tackle the State�splacenames but he often seemed to lacka �feel� for the origin of placenames and(even more so) for linguistics.

Blake claimed, for example, thatKnockwood and Barjarg were possiblyof Aboriginal origin but I found aKnockwood in Kent (as I suspected) andtwo more in Scotland, and I foundseveral Barjargs in Scotland. He wrotethat Dropmore might be derived fromDromore, County Down, but there is aDropmore in Buckinghamshire. Iaccepted his explanation that DabymingaCreek (near Tallarook) was derived fromAboriginal abminga, �snake tracks�, untilLuise Hercus of the Australian NationalUniversity warned me that abminga wasfrom Lower Southern Aranda, a SouthAustralian language!

Les Blake suggested that MountTorbreck (the highest place in the area Icovered) might be derived from Welshbrwch and either French brèche or Italianbreccia, which sounded rather complex. Idiscovered that, if the first syllable wereWelsh, so too could be the secondsyllable. However, further checkingrevealed that in Scotland, near Inverness,was a village of Torbreck, so Gaelicmade more sense for theetymology of the whole word.

Another writer recounted, withoutquestioning the story, that Monkey Gullynear Mansfield was named because amonkey had escaped from a circus nearthere. She had apparently not heard that�monkey� was squatterese for koala, justas the squatters called echidnas �porcu-

pines�, lyre-birds �pheasants� andbanksias �honeysuckles�.

A booklet about Marysville claimed thatwhen governor Sir Arthur Stanley andhis wife visited Marysville in 1919,Mount Margaret nearby was named inhonour of the governor�s lady. However,when I went to the State Library ofVictoria�s map room I found a map from1913 that already clearly displayed thelocality as Mount Margaret. I thoughtlittle more about this mistaken claim untilI discovered, almost by chance, that SirArthur�s consort�s maiden name wasMargaret Evelyn Evans Gordon. Now aplace near Marysville was known as BaldHill until at least 1912 but on modernmaps it appears as Mount Gordon! WasBald Hill perhaps renamed to com-memorate Lady Stanley�s visit?

I was particularly intrigued by the nameof Ault Beeac Creek, a tributary nearYea of the Murrindindi River. I hadheard of Beeac near Colac (a long wayfrom the Yea area), and Beeac wasreputedly of Aboriginal origin (perhapsColijan or Katubanuut), meaning �saltwater� but Ault Beeac Creek�s waterswere distinctly fresh. I wondered if AultBeeac might be Gaelic. Then I discov-ered allt in Gaelic can mean �cliff,brook, stream or wooded glen�; biadhach�nourishing�; and buidheach �pleasing�.This sounded promising. A few monthslater I read that Duncan McLeish hadrun stock in the area in the 1840s, andhad employed his brother Daniel as ashepherd there. The brothers hailedfrom Dunkeld, north of Perth, Scotland.

Quite a few places in the area I coveredhave names whose origins I have beenunable to reveal. I was particularlyfrustrated with the lack of informationabout Mount Arnold, a large featurewhich must have been named in thegoldrush period as it was a stopping placefor miners taking the Yarra Track to the

Places and pitfalls: Researching the Alexandra andEildon area of Victoria

��CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

Wood�s Point and Jordan goldfields.However, I could not find a governor,politician, surveyor or grazier whosename might fit. Then I had a browsethrough The Chronicles of Early Melbourne(1888) by �Garryowen� (Edmund Finn)and discovered that a Thomas Arnoldhad attended the foundation meeting ofthe Pastoral and Agricultural Society ofAustralia Felix (Melbourne, 2 January1840) and had been appointed a director.He had also attended the first meeting inMelbourne (13 May 1840) to agitate forthe separation of Port Phillip from NSW.Present on both occasions was thegrazier William Ryrie who held pastoralruns in the Lilydale and Healesville area.

My younger daughter thinks I was verynaïve for not working out the derivationof S Creek in the Black Range StateForest, particularly as it joins Bull Creekbefore flowing into the MurrindindiRiver. Local cartographer RobinRishworth informed me that S was thesanitised version of a popular Anglo-Saxon expletive!

I was amused to find that theGermanophobes were not thoroughenough when they renamed MountBismarck Mount Kitchener during theFirst World War. They forgot to renamethe Bismarck Track that lurks aroundnear the foot of the mountain.

My research has expanded my knowl-edge not only of Australian history butalso of places like England, Scotland,and Ireland. My interest in the AmericanCivil War came in handy for AlabamaGully, a name quite likely derived from aspectacular naval engagement off theFrench coast in 1864.

I also acquired a healthy respect for 19thcentury surveyors and mapmakers. I hadaccess to two splendid maps by S.Shillinglaw of the shires of Euroa (1884)and Mansfield (1888). They were notonly beautifully drafted, but were packedwith details of landowners that may beof considerable value to genealogists andlocal historians.

��Nigel Sinnott

Ringing the changes on the popular word puzzles regularly contributed by ResearchAssociate Joyce Miles, this issue�s challenge comes in picture form. Snapped byANPS Director David Blair on a recent holiday, this signpost points the way to somefar-flung locations. Can you guess from the directions and distances where it is?Answer on the bottom of the next page. Joyce�s puzzle will return next issue.

The Placenames Puzzle No.6

Bill Bright visits SydneyThe ANPS team had the great

pleasure of meeting eminent USlinguist and toponymist Bill Bright on hisrecent visit to Australia.

Bill is the Emeritus Professor of Linguis-tics and Anthropology at UCLA, andProfessor Adjoint of Linguistics at theUniversity of Colorado, Boulder. Hisspecialties include toponymy, anthropo-logical linguistics, sociolinguistics, andAmerican Indian languages.

In the field of toponymy, he hasauthored a book on Colorado Place Names(1993), edited a special issue of thejournal Names on American Indianplacenames (1996), revised E.G. Gudde�sCalifornia Place Names (1998), andcurrently under production by theUniversity of Oklahoma Press is theNAPUS (Native American Placenamesof the United States) dictionary. This up-and-coming publication is a comprehen-sive reference book in dictionary formaton US placenames that have AmericanIndian origins.

Part of Bill�s itinerary in Sydney was afascinating seminar, What is a name?Reflections on onomastics held on May 2 atthe Linguistics Department at theUniversity of Sydney. His paper took theviewpoint of anthropological linguistics,as applied especially to personal namesand placenames among North AmericanIndians. He raised the question as towhether terms which embody a descrip-tion can be considered proper names; forexample, whether a term meaningliterally �man living by the stream� can bea personal name, or whether a termmeaning �rock standing by the stream�can be a placename. Grammaticalpeculiarities of placenames were alsoconsidered, and examples were givenfrom Karuk (California), Creek (Okla-homa), and Nahuatl (Mexico).

There are already exciting plans beingmade for Bill�s return to Sydney, thistime for a longer stay as a visiting fellowat the ANPS project. Hope to see yousoon, Bill!

If you�d like to join the newsletter mailing list and/orreceive information about how to become a ResearchFriend of the ANPS, please complete the form below andsend it by post or fax, or email the details to:

Clair HillANPSDivision of HumanitiesMacquarie UniversityNorth RydeSydney NSW 2109Fax: (02) 9850 8240email: chill@hmn.mq.edu.au

Placenames Mailing List andANPS Volunteer Research

Name and/or organisation:........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Address: ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Phone: ...............................................................................................Fax:.......................................................................................................email:....................................................................................................

� Please add me to the ANPS mailing list� Please send me an information package about how tobecome an ANPS Research Friend� Please note my change of address (as above)� Please remove me from the mailing list

On the Webhttp://www.livingharbour.net/aboriginal/place_names.htm

The Australian Museum has a very nicesite titled Living Harbour � AboriginalPeople of Coastal Sydney. ANPS ResearchFriend Val Attenbrow (Research Scien-tist, Archaeologist) has done much of theresearch for the content of this site. Thissite features information on Sydney�sIndigenous peoples including materialson Indigenous placenames for localities

Do you have a favourite placenames websiteyou�d like to recommend to fellow readers?Send details of the URL address and asummary of its contents to Clair Hill atchill@hmn.mq.edu.au for inclusion in a future issue.

Placenames inthe news

The Canberra Times (Saturday, Feburary15,2003) reviewed the newly published TheLand is a Map: Placenames of IndigenousOrigin in Australia edited by LuiseHercus, Jane Simpson and the ANPS�sown Flavia Hodges. The review praisesthis as a �valuable text�, describing it as�another torpedo through the idea ofterra nullius, replete as it is with evidenceof the depth of the landscape meaningsand attachments�held in aboriginalsocieties�.

The Sydney Morning Herald (Saturday, April5, 2003) reported on historian KeithSmith�s discovery of a list of 60 wordscollected by three men from Cook�s HMBark Endeavour 233 years ago. Theserecords represent the first IndigenousAustralian languages recorded by theEnglish. Smith believes the existence ofthese wordlists contradicts the usualdescription of threatening interactionsbetween Cook�s sailors and Sydney�sIndigenous peoples, instead implyingsome friendly meetings in those first sixdays of contact.

The NSW Department of AboriginalAffairs issued a press release on the 10th

of March 2003 to announce the launchof the newly established AboriginalLanguage Research and ResourceCentre. Dr Andrew Refshauge said hehoped this would mark the empower-ment of Aboriginal communities toimplement local language programs andthe beginning of a very strong resurrec-tion of Indigenous languages.

around Sydney Harbour. Particularlyvaluable are the user-friendly charts andinteractive maps on Indigenous lan-guages, clan groups and placenames. Thesite is completely searchable so makeyour way directly to the object of yourquery or simply browse.

Answer to puzzle on previous page: Thesignpost is located on Norfolk Island.

Have you seen an article about placenamesin the media which you�d like to share withour subscribers? Send a photocopy of thearticle and/or email details of the publica-tion, date and brief summary of the articleto Clair Hill at chill@hmn.mq.edu.au forinclusion in a future edition of PlacenamesAustralia.