Strange names indeed

Travelling round Australia, it's hard to go past some of the more out-there place names ...  

When the American writer Bill Bryson cast his eagle eye over all things Down Under, he was pleased to report that when it comes to unusual place names - “Australia has a respectable plenitude.” He listed a few, but he missed some beauties.

There was Humpty Doo (NT) and Poowong (Vic). He even spotted Tittybong (Vic), declaring it “supremely satisfying” in its silliness. But how did he miss Bobs Knobs (Tas)? Or Knocker Bay? Or Craigs Pocket (Qld)?

And surely Bagdad (Tas) deserved a mention. Pot Jostler Creek (Qld)? How was that lost in the wash-up? Even Refrigerator Bore (WA) was left out in the cold. Why not Whynot (Qld)? And Howlong (NSW) does it take to notice Howlong? It all makes you want to Seemore (WA).

Many of Australia’s most supremely satisfying names come courtesy of its earliest inhabitants (Howlong is actually a variation on the Aboriginal “Oolong”, meaning “place of native companions”). The magnificent Boomahnoomoonah (Vic), is thought to be from an Aboriginal word meaning large kangaroo. Cheepie (Qld), known as the friendly ghost town of the Outback, means “whistling duck”.

The origins of the gloriously odd Burrumbuttock (NSW) are mysterious, but if locals were to have a crack they'd say it’s from an Aboriginal word for a bullock’s backbone. While Bumbaldry (NSW), gateway to the Conimbla National Park, is apparently from the sound of people jumping into the water.

Behind the off-beat names are often some very off-beat tourist attractions.

Bing Bong (NT) is home to the world’s longest road trains, which haul ore from nearby mines. And Bang Bang (Qld) –  short for Bang Bang Jump Up – is a spectacularly lonely rocky hill in the surreal ant-hill landscape 100km south-east of Normanton.

Bumberry (NSW), near the recently declared Goobang National Park, is a popular boating venue with picnic facilities beside the Bumberry Dam. Bauple (Qld) - pronounced ‘Bopple’ - is the home of bauple nuts, otherwise known as macadamias.

Hat Head (NSW), a serene little coastal village, is surrounded by Hat Head National Park, with its amazing sand dunes and historic Smoky Cape Lighthouse - Australia’s highest. The national park boasts Hungry Head (NSW), and beachgoers might also like to take a peek at nearby Delicate Nobby (NSW). Beardy Waters (NSW) – named after a pair of hairy Scottish stockmen in 1830 - is a top trout-fishing spot. 

In the running as the cutest of Australia’s place names must surely be Flowerpot (Tas). Another contender is Banana (Qld), named in honour of a yellow bullock called Banana, who was buried in a nearby gully.

And don’t forget Milkshake Hills (Tas), 45km from Smithton in north-west Tasmania. This area has a much-loved picnic spot which is a starting point for easy forest walks including the stroll up one of the “Milkshakes” for great views.

Many of the more painful places names have come courtesy of early explorers, and some of the nastiest names are now superbly rugged drawcards for travellers.

Hell Hole Gorge (Qld), among the county’s best and most remote national parks, has incredible waterfalls, and its rocky gorges come into their own in the glorious light of dawn and dusk. It’s about 150km north-west of Quilpie, near the Milo cattle station.

Deep in Victoria’s Alpine National Park, Mount Buggery is one of the state’s prime hiking destinations. From Licola, it’s an 80km dirt-road drive to the Mt Howitt car park, where the walk to Buggery begins – along the way you might want to watch out for Horrible Gap (Vic).

Early 1800s explorer Matthew Flinders was a master of the strange and/or grim place name. But nobody is too sure what he was thinking when he christened the not-at-all-corny Corny Point (SA), on the lower Yorke Peninsula. It’s home to the imposing limestone Corny Point Lighthouse, first lit in 1882. Denial Bay (SA) is more straightforward. Flinders named this sweep of coast after the “deceptive hope” he had “of penetrating some distance into the interior country”. Cape Catastrophe (SA) commemorates the loss of eight of Flinders’ crew members overboard while looking for safe anchorage near Spencer Gulf. 

Anxious Bay (SA) on the Eyre Peninsula, was where Flinders’ boat The Investigator and her crew spent a jittery night precariously moored, awaiting a wind change to take them to sheltered waters. These days, the bay is better known for its cliff-top hiking, great fishing, and some of Australia’s finest surf.

Indented Head (Vic), the popular summer playground on the Bellarine Peninsula, was another one of Flinders’ ideas, apparently inspired by the serrated coastline. This area’s first European inhabitant was the legendary escapee William Buckley, who actually died of an indented head after falling from a horse-cart in 1850.

The off-putting place names don't end there. It’s hard to imagine tourists flocking to any place called Backwater (NSW), Downside (NSW), Cramps (Tas), or Low Point (Christmas Island). Nor is there much demand for tours to Lake Muck (NSW).

Then again, Useless Loop (WA), 700km north of Perth, is an intriguing little place that combines salt-mining with an award-winning wildlife reserve for endangered mammals. And Broke (NSW), in the famed Hunter Valley wine region, is also a popular bushwalking base within easy reach of Yengo and Wollemi National Parks.

So next time you take a great Australian road trip, keep an eye on those signs - you might just spot a strange name worth investigating. Why? Hey, Whynot.