GORDON RIVER TOUR OPERATORS

The stories behind the names of the Macquarie Harbour region

Angel Cliffs Charcoal Burners Bluff Franklin River Named by Archie Ware, a Named in reference to the Named by surveyor and piner of the early 1930s, in charcoal burner operated by track-cutter, James Calder, reference to a calcite feature convicts from the Sarah in 1840 after Governor Sir of the cliffs which resembles Island penal settlement. John Franklin. It was Calder an angel with outstretched who cut the track over which wings. Crotty Sir John and Lady Franklin Named after James Crotty, travelled to Macquarie Har- Baylee Creek entrepreneur and gold miner. bour in 1842. Named after Major Perry Crotty paid a fellow miner’s Baylee, last Commandant of £20 debt at F. O. Henry’s Frenchmans Cap Sarah Island, 1831-33. store in Strahan in exchange Believed to have been named for a one third share in the in reference to its resem- Birchs Inlet Iron Blow at Mt Lyell. The blance to that item of a Named by Captain James mine, under Crotty's manage- Frenchman’s attire. The Kelly in 1815 after merchant ment, was to become a major origins of the name are Thomas William Birch, who producer of copper. obscure, but may have been financed Kelly’s journey. given by early occupants at Cuthbertson Creek the Sarah Island penal settle- Briggs Creek Named after Lt. John ment. An Aboriginal name for Named after Captain James Cuthbertson, first Comman- the mountain is Trullennuer. Briggs, Commandant of dant of Sarah Island, 1822- Sarah Island, 1829-1831. 1823. Garden Point Named by James Kelly in Butler Island Elizabeth Island 1815, after his party ‘sowed a 'Discovered' by an exploring Named by James Kelly in quantity of garden seeds’ at party aboard the brig, Cyprus 1815 after the wife of James this point. in 1829, the island is named Gordon, who lent the after Captain James Butler, whaleboat (also named Eliza- Gordon River Commandant of Sarah Is- beth) for Kelly’s journey. Named by James Kelly in land, 1825-29. 1815 after Mr James Gordon Farm Cove who provided the whaleboat Cape Sorell Named in reference to the for Kelly’s journey. Named in honour of Lt. farming plots established in Governor William Sorell. It 1824 to provide food for the was Sorell who proposed the Sarah Island penal settle- establishment of a penal ment. settlement on Sarah Island.

FUNDED BY THE COMMONWEALTH DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM Grummet Island Lucas Creek Sir John Falls Formerly known as Con- Named after the first Claimed to have been named demned or Small Island, the harbourmaster and pilot at by the photographer Stephen present name may be an the Macquarie Harbour penal Spurling after Sir John allusion to the shackles of settlement. Dodds, Chief Justice, 1887- the prisoners who endured 1898. confinement on this small Macquarie Harbour island. A grummet is a metal Named by James Kelly in Soldiers Island ring. honour of the Governor of Named by Commissariat New South Wales, Lachlan Officer Lempriere in 1839, Hells Gates Macquarie. The Aboriginal presumably in reference to its Believed to have been so name for the harbour is popularity as a retreat for the named by convicts who Meebberlee. soldiers of the Sarah Island passed through this narrow penal settlement. and treacherous waterway on Mount Darwin their journey to the Sarah Named by the surveyor, Spero River Island penal settlement. Charles Gould, after natural- Named by the explorer ist and co-founder of the Thomas Moore in 1879, after Henty River theory of evolution by natural his dog. Named by Charles Gould in selection, Charles Darwin. 1862 after the Colonial Secre- Gould named a number of Strahan tary, William Henty. peaks on the west coast, Formerly known as Long Bay, such as Mt Lyell, Huxely, Strahan was proclaimed in Heritage Landing Jukes, Sedgwick and Owen, 1882 and named after Gover- Named in reference to its after persons involved in the nor Sir George Strahan. official opening in 1989 evolution debate of the mid coinciding with the day that 1800’s. Interestingly, the Teepookana the World Heritage Commis- higher peaks are named after Once a major port with, a sion accepted the nomination those who rejected Darwin’s population of about 200 in of an enlargement of the theory! 1898, this now defunct town existing World Heritage Area. takes its name from the The name was conceived by Picnic Point Aboriginal word for king- Ros Kelly MHR whilst travel- Named in reference to its use fisher. ling down the river to the as a favoured picnic spot by official opening. residents of Pillinger. Wright Point Named after Lt. Samuel Kelly Basin Pillinger Wright, Commandant of Named after Captain James Originally known as Mac- Sarah Island, 1824-1825. Kelly, the first European to quarie, the once thriving see Macquarie Harbour. town owed its name to Alfred Pillinger, Minister for Lands Liberty Point and Works in 1898. Named by James Kelly in 1815 after his party liberated Sarah Island some swans that they had Named by James Kelly after brought from Port Davey. Its the wife of merchant Thomas Aboriginal name is Birch, who financed Kelly's Noperpypeen. voyage. The island has also been known as Settlement Island. Its Aboriginal name is Langerrareroune.