Us Australians are pretty well-known for our way with words (Aussie rhyming slang is way better than Cockney rhyming slang, isn’t it?), but we also have a pretty good record when it comes to drumming up inventive names for towns.
England might have Fanny, Bullyhole, Cockup Upper and Shitlingthorpe – but would you drop anchor in Useless Inlet? Have you ever been to Cock Wash? What about Nowhere Else? Read on, find out the backstory of some of these places, and prepare to be bedazzled by Australia’s uncanny knack to elicit both mild amusement and cheap gags.
Seldom Seen, VIC
A one-house town in the Snowy Mountains. If you’re watching where you’re driving, you’d blink and miss it.
Banana, QLD
Orange in NSW is better known for its apples, so it’s hardly surprising that ‘Banana’ has no bananas.
Man Galore, VIC
A township of 100 people, with an Army Base … it’s a bit of a fib, the real name is ‘Mangalore’ as in ‘Manga-lore’.
Nowhere Else, TAS
There’s also a place called Nowhere Else in SA too!
Humpty Doo, NT
Home of a boxing croc.
Useless Inlet, WA
Explorer William Dampier didn’t like it much, naming one part ‘Hopeless Reach’. Then the French explorers had a go and didn’t like it either – a sandbank blocked their harbour entry, so they named it ‘Useless Inlet’.
Cock Wash, SA
No comment.
Come By Chance, NSW
Wouldn’t plan on going there, would you?
Binnaway, NSW
Not far from Goonoo Goonoo (pronounced Gunnah Ganoo), and between Coonabarabran & Dunedoo, no joke!
1770, QLD
The year James Cook brought his little boat up the coast.
Upotipotpon, VIC
A place half way between Nalinga and Violet Town.
Watanobbi, NSW
Means ‘hills surrounded by water’.
Feature image c/o yaruman5, Flickr
