Our history and membership

We understand that naming places is something people are passionate about.

Our role is to coordinate and communicate the Place names can be fun! consistent use of place names to ensure they You may have a good knowledge of your local meet the requirements of the whole place names but how much do you know about community, including government bodies place names in other parts of or and emergency services. New Zealand?

The Committee for Geographical Names of Test your knowledge in the online Australasia (CGNA) was formed in 1984 to Place Name Quiz by visiting our website at Front cover images L–R Tasman Glacier, NZ; Twelve Apostles, coordinate place naming activities across www.icsm.gov.au > Place Names > Quiz Time VIC; Uluru, NT; Barrier Reef, QLD; Australia and New Zealand. In 1993, we Cradle Mountain, TAS became a standing committee within the We welcome your participation and encourage Back cover images L–R Auckland, New Zealand Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying contributions and feedback on the quiz. Bondi Beach, NSW; Robe, SA; Carillion, ACT; Table Cape, TAS; & Mapping (ICSM) with the support of Mt Nameless/Jarndunmunha, WA Geoscience Australia. Our goals Image credits Committee for We all use place names ACT, courtesy of ACT Planning and raising community Our members come from Australian state and Inquiries and more information Land Authority everyday to describe our awareness of place names territory naming boards and committees, New Great Barrier Reef courtesy of the Geographical Great Barrier Reef Marine Park surroundings, where we’re Zealand and other organisations with a role and Executive Offi cer Authority for and on behalf of the developing and delivering Commonwealth of Australia interest in place naming, including the: Intergovernmental Committee on Names going or where we’ve been. an educational program photos: • Australian National Placenames Survey Surveying & Mapping Hamilton Lund, Courtesy Tourism to promote the New South Wales of Australasia Rivers, mountains, plains, towns, suburbs, reefs, signifi cance of place • Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority GPO Box 378 New Zealand images courtesy of Institute of Geological and Nuclear shoals and undersea features all have names. names in the community • Australian Antarctic Division Canberra ACT 2601 Sciences Ltd, New Zealand Whether they are of national or international t +61 2 6249 9677 , Robe courtesy of developing and promoting • Australian Hydrographic Offi ce Marian Coomer; Wilpena Pound importance or known only to a handful of people, f +61 2 6249 9939 courtesy of the Department for guidelines for • Department of Defence. names connect places to their local communities e [email protected] Environment and Heritage place-naming in Australia courtesy of Tasphoto and often refl ect our heritage and culture. and New Zealand Through CGNA, Australia and New Zealand w www.icsm.gov.au > Place Names Services, Department of Primary participate in the activities of the United Nations Industries and Water New Zealand and each Australian state and Uluru, by encouraging users to Group of Experts on Geographical Names Steve Strike territory — including our Antarctic areas of adopt correct place names (UNGEGN) and contribute to world best practice supplied by interest — has a place name registrar, naming Landgate, Western Australian Land in map production and in the management of place names. Information Authority board or committee for approving or registering spatial databases names. However it is the Committee for promoting the consistent Geographical Names of Australasia (CGNA) and accurate use of Published by the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying & Mapping (ICSM), September 2007. that coordinates place-naming activities across This publication is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced Australia and New Zealand. place names by any process without prior written permission from the ICSM. Find out more about ICSM at www.icsm.gov.au Docklands, Melbourne, VIC Sullivans Cove, Hobart, TAS Parliament House, Canberra, ACT

CCGNAGNA Brochure.inddBrochure.indd 1-41-4 66/09/2007/09/2007 44:24:15:24:15 PPMM So how are places named? Other activities Dual names Each year, naming authorities receive proposals for new or altered place names. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place names These proposals may have been initiated by a acknowledge Australia’s indigenous heritage member of the public and approved by a local and culture. council or other responsible naming authority. CGNA is developing guidelines for dual naming, Ultimately the proposal is forwarded to the which are useful if you want to recognise both relevant naming authority for endorsement and European and Aboriginal cultures through a place inclusion in a register or gazetteer of place names. name. New Zealand adopts a similar approach in Generally, naming authorities use their own recognising Mãori culture, history and language. geographical naming guidelines to assess a Community domain names proposal before the new or altered place name becomes offi cial. These guidelines are supported Regulation of place names on the internet is by national guidelines produced by CGNA. problematic. CGNA recognises that individual communities should have a right to use their Once a place is offi cially respective place name. However, this community named, it is important to use right should not be seen as bureaucratic or as an inhibitor to commercial activity. that name to identify the place. The establishment of the Australian Community Great Barrier Reef, QLD Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park — A Living Cultural Landscape For example, suburb and locality names form part Domain (auCD) allows the rights of communities of your address and are used for essential services to be respected without the need to over-regulate such as reliable mail delivery and rapid emergency Our achievements place names in other commercial domains such as response. The correct use of place names is .com.au and .net.au. also important for map and atlas production, What’s in a name? Geographic Names Guidelines for the Gazetteer of Australia Guidelines for the Glossary of Generic The auCD system creates new second-level domains navigation and tourism. CD-Rom/Video Internet-based consistent use of Place Recording and use of Terms (1996) for each state and territory, for example .qld.au. Mt House, WA Teaching Package Names (Version 1.0) The Gazetteer of Aboriginal and Torres Each naming authority has its own legislation This resource highlights Australia is a database Strait Islander Place This glossary is a list Communities can then apply to use their respective and guidelines for recording place names in the significance of place CGNA developed this These guidelines cover of Australia’s place Names (April 2001) of generic terms or place name as a website, for example, its registers or gazetteers. Some registers and names and the part they innovative Internet-based the choice, form and names. It is the result designators commonly www.koonwarra.vic.au. These websites are gazetteers include variant names and historical play in everyday life. educational program to application of place of a cooperative CGNA compiled these used in Australia as “one-stop shops” for all information relating to the names for places and features. Others may include Starring Ernie Dingo, support the What’s in a names in Australasia effort between the guidelines to ensure that part of a place name. local community. unoffi cial names that were never formally assigned it tells the story of name? CD-Rom/Video. and provide each naming Commonwealth, Aboriginal and Torres The list provides Sydney Harbour, NSW through the relevant place-naming legislation. how places get their The activities and lessons authority with a basis State and Territory Strait Islander place helpful definitions and Tasman Glacier, New Zealand Whatever their status and origin, place names will names and explains are designed for primary for developing their Governments and is names are recognised allocates appropriate compiled annually by continue to be preserved as records of our history CGNA’s role in looking school students and own set of guidelines and preserved as part of designator codes for after them. Geoscience Australia recording in registers and culture. promote the significance for naming places. our Australian heritage. of place names in using data provided by and gazetteers. the community. CGNA members. Wilpena Pound, SA

CCGNAGNA Brochure.inddBrochure.indd 5-85-8 66/09/2007/09/2007 44:24:30:24:30 PPMM