The who, when and why behind region’s special place names

Place names give us an insight into our history. They may be of Aboriginal origin, honour pioneers or famous people, refer to flora or fauna, denote man-made structures and even refer to events. Some offer sophistication.

The great explorers Captain James Cook in 1779 and Matthew Flinders in 1799 were two of the earliest Europeans to travel along our coastline.

Cook named the Glass House Mountains after the glass houses in his home of Yorkshire. Flinders named Point Skirmish on Bribie Island after an altercation with Aborigines.

He also named Pumice Stone Passage after seeing pumice stones, from underwater volcanoes in the Pacific, deposited on the sandy beaches.

Tom Petrie, in the 1830s, described how the name of a convict, Bribie the basket maker, became the name of the island.

The name ‘Sunshine Coast’ was adopted by the three local councils in 1966. Previously, we were known as the North Coast and we dutifully added ‘North Coast Line’ to our addresses.

Dicky Beach came from the name of the ship, Dicky, wrecked in 1893.

Moffat Beach is named after the owner of the first holiday cottage. Bulcock Beach is named after Frank Bulcock, an early settler. Kings Beach is also named after an early Caloundra family.

In 1861, Lt Heath is credited with naming Wickham Point after Captain John Wickham, police magistrate.

Petrie Island was named after Andrew Petrie but renamed Mudjimba Island.

Point Raper, renamed Point Cartwright, was possibly first named after Henry Raper, a renowned navigator. The naming of Point Arkwright is a mystery. Both names are from men famous in the Industrial Revolution. Sir Richard Arkwright invented the cotton-spinning system and Edmund Cartwright developed weaving and combing equipment.

Battery Hill in Caloundra was so named because, in World War II, the area was used for artillery training.

Kawana means ‘wildflowers’. Before the region was developed with roads and subdivisions, wildflowers flourished but have now disappeared except for small, undisturbed pockets.

In the 1960s, the David Low Way and Nicklin Way, were developed and named after two local politicians.

At that time, Marcus Beach and Peregian were named. Marcus was the son of the developer, TM Burke. Peregian is an Aboriginal word said to refer to emu.

Coronation Beach was a name given in Queen Elizabeth’s coronation year and changed to Yaroomba, meaning ‘surf on the beach’ in 1961. Marcoola is a combination of Maroochy and Coolum.

The name Nambour was first used on a map by William Pettigrew in 1865.

William Samwell used the name on his selection in the locality of Naamba where Callistemon salignus, the willow bottlebrush, grew. The tree was an important resource for Aborigines who used the bark for clothing and bedding. The flowers gave a sweet nectar drink.

By 1890, records show that the names Nambour Railway Station and Nambour Post Office were in use.

Windsor Road in Nambour was named after the British Royal family. In 1977, it honoured 25 years since Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne.

Interesting to know that it was once Puddles Road – so-named after the Puddle Family which owned a farm at the end of the then bush track.

 Audienne Blyth is a member of the Nambour Historical Museum, open 1-4pm Wednesday to Friday, and 10am-3pm Saturday.