Photo by Color Line
I’ve always been fascinated by the names of places around the world. Whether amusing or musical to the ear, they have a magic all their own. Every country has a wonderful roll call of names. And Australia is no exception.
I’ve always been rather fond of Ferntree Gully, the name of the suburb where I live here in Victoria. But there are many others even more intriguing.
Some Aussies live in Success .. that’s the name of a town in Western Australia. What a fantastic thing to be able to say. :) And some of the people who live in either Tasmania or South Australia can say “I come from Nowhere Else”. Yep, we’ve got TWO towns by that name.
New South Wales has Burrumbuttock, Broke and Tom Ugly. Queensland boasts a Pimpinbudgie a Banana and a Burpengary. There’s a Shea-Oak Log in South Australia, where you’ll also find Foul Bay and Coffin Bay. Though I think if I lived in one of those two towns, I’d consider moving. Perhaps to Eggs and Bacon Bay in Tasmania … :)
Here in Victoria we have Upotipotpon and also Tittybong, which isn’t far from Teddywaddy. And in Northern Territory some folk live in Boing Boing or Humpty Doo!
But perhaps the most musical and memorable of Australian town roll calls is the classic song I’ve Been Everywhere, written by Geoff Mack in 1959 and recorded by Lucky Starr in 1962. It’s a fast and furious ditty – a real tongue-twister – that nevertheless captures beautifully some of the magic and music of Aussie place names. (Here are the lyrics, if you’d like to follow along.)
{ 0 comments }
