June, 2006 Higinbotham, Victoria: ghost town and mythical miner hen researching a book about placenames in the upper Goulburn River area of north- W east central Victoria (published as Place- Names of the Alexandra, Lake Eildon and Big River Area of Victoria, Alexandra: Friends of the Library, 2003), one of the sources I consulted was James Flett’s The History of Gold Discovery in Victoria (Melbourne, 1970). On page 116 I came across the following paragraph: Early in 1866 rich reefs were discovered at what was originally called New Chum, up the Murrundindi River about ten miles from Yea, and there was a Possible locations of the township (map prepared by Clem Earp) rush prospected by McLeish and party in 1868. In 1869 the mining village, where there was a club and Story of Yea (1973, 2001) by Harvey Blanks, and there a theatre, changed its name to Higginbotham, after was a single reference to the Higginbotham Prospecting a reefer named George Higginbotham. and Gold Mining Company, of which John Wishart Cairns was a director, but there was no mention of The McLeish family is mentioned several times in The the village. q Continued Page 4 most fascinating of all names because In this issue I quote each name suggests a story that has been n Chapter 1, Section ii of East of Eden forgotten. I think of Bolsa Nueva, a new Higinbotham, Victoria: ghost town I John Steinbeck makes some interesting purse; Morocojo, a lame Moor (who and mythical miner ............................. 1 observations about placenaming practices was he and how did he get there?); Wild Dambalkoordany, WA ......................... 2 when he discusses the placenames in the Horse Canyon and Mustang Grade and Shirt Tail Canyon. The names of places I quote ................................................ 2 Salinas Valley, California: carry a charge of people who named On the Web ........................................ 2 “When the Spaniards came they had to them, reverent or irreverent, descriptive, Moving on: Susan Poetsch .................. 3 give everything they saw a new name. either poetic or disparaging. You can Shifting placenames and their This is the first duty of any explorer – a name anything San Lorenzo, but Shirt shifting meanings ................................ 3 duty and a privilege. You must name Tail Canyon or Lame Moor is something The placenames of East Timor ............ 6 a thing before you can note it on your quite different.” The Marble Map: an object lesson hand-drawn map. Of course they were in the pitfalls of transcription .............. 8 religious people, and the men who could Brought to our attention by Jan Tent Montebello Islands ..............................10 read and write, who kept the records and (Please let us know if you come across any toponymically interesting passages) Research Friend: Tony Dawson ...........11 drew the maps, were the tough untiring Placenames in the news .......................11 priests who travelled with the soldiers. Thus the first names of places were saints’ Corrections .........................................11 names or religious holidays celebrated at On the Web Puzzle #18 ...........................................12 stopping places. There were many saints Contributions .....................................12 and they were not inexhaustible, so that Names from Scotland Mailing list and volunteer research ......12 we find repetitions in their first namings. We have San Miguel, St Michael, San Ardo, San Bernado, San Benito, San Dambalkoordany, WA Lorenzo, San Carlos, San Francisquito. And then the holidays – Natividad, the here’s a favourite fishing spot here Nativity; Nacimiento, the Birth; Soledad, T known variously as Tumblegoody, the Solitude. But places were also named Tumble Good Iron, Tumble Grid Iron, from the way the expedition felt at the Tumble Good Ein. They are all attempts time: Buena Esperenza, good hope; Buena to spell in English the Nyikina description Vista because the view was beautiful; of a place where you can find a certain and Chualar because it was pretty. The type of river stone called dambal. The descriptive names followed: Paso de name consists of dambal plus a suffix los Robles because of the oak trees; Los s Scots emigrated around the world -koordany which sort of means ‘having’. Laureles for the laurels; Tularcitos because they often reminded themselves So the proper name is Dambalkoordany A of the reeds in the swamp; and Salinas for of home by giving Scottish placenames which sounds rather like the Tumble the alkali which was white as salt. to the locations in which they settled. Good Iron version. This section of a vast Scottish-interest Then places were named for animals website was originally created by The suffix-koordany is often used for and birds seen – Gabilanes for the hawks finding Scottish placenames abroad, placenames. For example, ngamakarri is which flew in those mountains; Topo for the little corella, so but recently Ian Kendall of Victoria has ngamakarrikoordany the mole; Los Gatos for the wild cats. is where the little corellas congregate. provided another perspective by taking The suggestions sometimes came from Libirrar is a type of river gum, so libirrar- cities and towns around the world and the nature of the place itself: Tassajara, a koordany is used to describe a place (any finding the origins of the names used cup and saucer; Laguna Seca, a dry lake; place) where there’s a grove of those trees. in their districts and suburbs. He has Corral de Tierra, a fence of earth; Paraiso supplied the Scottish-related names But the suffix is not restricted to place- because it was like Heaven. for a number of locations around the names, so it doesn’t mean ‘place of’ as we world, including Sydney, Melbourne, are fond of saying. It can also apply to Then the Americans came – more greedy Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, other things, e.g. jalmarra is the word for because there were more of them. [...] Hobart and Townsville, as well as feather, jalmarrakoordany is one word for Auckland, Dunedin and many cities turkey. Ngoonoo means belly, ngoonoo- [They] had a greater tendency to name in the USA, Canada, South Africa, koordany is used for ‘pregnant’. places for people than had the Spanish. Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Barbados. After the valleys were settled the names Colleen Hattersley of places refer more to things which http://rampantscotland.com/ Derby, WA happened there, and these to me are the placenames 2 languages program, they regularly come up in discussions Moving on: Susan Poetsch at programming and planning workshops. Placenames are clearly seen as part of language and therefore as part of learning oon after the last issue of the and teaching Aboriginal languages. They are something that ANPS newsletter I started communities want their children to learn about, as part of local S a new job. I was sad to language, culture and history. leave APIT and ANPS and will be keeping in touch with Flavia and Many communities are developing their expertise in David and all of the wonderful and researching and re-learning their language(s). They are in interesting contacts and colleagues I the process of analysing the way that names and words from have met and worked with over the their local language(s) have been borrowed into English. The past six years. researchers and language workers involved have knowledge of the sound systems of their language(s) and, among other I am now working in the things, they are teaching and learning about how and why Aboriginal Curriculum Unit of the Board of Studies NSW. current pronunciation of Aboriginal placenames differs from Part of my new job involves working with Aboriginal earlier forms. communities in various towns in NSW. Some of these communities were involved in the dual naming workshops People involved in the learning and teaching of Aboriginal conducted by the Geographical Names Board NSW, the NSW languages these days are also aware of how names and words Aboriginal Languages Research and Resource Centre and from one language have, at various stages in history, been ANPS/APIT during 2003-2005. transferred and placed into other language areas (sometimes distant, sometimes neighbouring ones). These are the kinds The Board of Studies NSW is collaborating with Aboriginal of lessons that are covered in the section of the syllabus community members, schools and linguists, to develop called “Making Linguistic Connections” in which students teaching and learning programs, to implement the Aboriginal learn about similarities and differences between Aboriginal Languages syllabus. Students learn the grammar and Languages. vocabulary of their own language(s) as well as about the processes of language revitalisation. Along with words for Australian flora and fauna, placenames are seen as one of the many ways in which Aboriginal languages Although placenames alone do not constitute an Aboriginal have survived in Australia and in Australian English. Assam, and so it was called ‘partition place’. Nowadays, the town of Makum is just east of the district town of Tinsukia in Upper Assam, clustered around a railway station called Makum Junction. There are two lines leading from Makum, one running north to the Brahmaputra river, and one running south-east to Margherita and Ledo. Now it turns out that the name Makum Junction was given to this place because one of those lines led to the place once called Makum. This original Makum, shown on the oldest maps, is what is now called Margherita, about 40 km to the south-east on the Dihing River. When the original Makum Makum is in the top left quadrant (map from MSN Encarta) was renamed Margherita (possibly the name of the wife of an early British official), Makum Junction was the only place left Shifting placenames and their with this name, and little by little the ‘Junction’ dropped. shifting meanings But there’s more to this story. The Tai speaking Phakes, who thought your readers might be interested in a little piece of also live in the area, say that the name is in fact Tai language, history of placenaming from India.