Correspondence Between Sydney May And F.J Watson Concerning Aboriginal Place Names (ITM489477)

Dear Mr. May,

I am sorry that I have not time today to comment on Mr. Bull's correspondence as I only got your letter this morning and had a prior exgagement that occupied nearly all day. I will go through it an reply as early as possible. With this are comments on Indooroopilly, Toowong, Moongalba etc.

Yours F.J.Watson.

Grosvenor Street Toowong, S.W.1. 11th Nov. 1939.

Dear Mr. May,

I have your letter of 9th inst. to hand and am pleased to note that the name Dalburaba has been adopted.

I regret that I can give you no information regarding Murphy's Creek and Fingal although I sojourned at the former place for some three weeks in 1893. Regarding D'Aguilar, although I have taken but little interest in the origin of place names other than aboriginal, I have from time to time inquired as to its origin but without results. You may or may not have noted that there is an individual mountain of this name. It is situated on, or very close to, the range of that name, a short distance to the west of Mount Samson and equidistant North of Mt. Glorious. In the same grop are MTs. Reilly and Lawson, each named after some individual person.

It is wonderful how little seems to be generally of the origin of names of places quite close at hand. I have been living close to the Taylor Range for about 11 years and although I have occasionally asked old Brisbane residents as to the origin of the name none of them could give me any information thereon. Although I am sorry that I can give you no help this time I shall always be pleased to assist you when I can.

With kindest regards, I am yours sincerely, FJWatson.

Grosvenor Street, Toowong, S.W.1. 3rd June, 1939.

Mr. Sydney May, Hon. Secretary, Place Names Committee, University.

Dear Sir,

I have your letter of the 1st June. I am sorry that I can give you little information as to the names of places in the districts that you mention. Regarding Booval, I have frequently tried to find out the origin of this name without success. I think, however that this name must be derived from bopval or bobval, a native name of the frilled lizard. Of Pouincraddie, Mihi, Borallon and Wanora I can give no information. So many names are so mis-spelled that without local knowledge one can arrive at nothing. On the Brisbane Valley Railway are two or three names which may be literally translated, as, for instance. Nukku, a watershed or the land about the head of a creek or other water-course; Yimbun, a reed with an edible root; and Gilla, one of the native names for the wild bee and its honey.

At Coominya, a resident of many years standing told me that he had been given to understand that the name indicated water within sight; if this is so the name should be Koonginya, from koong, water and nya, to see; in compound native words an intermediate unstressed vowel fequently occurs, hence the inclusion of the letter i. I am sorry that I can give no no information re. the spelling of Dr. Dorsay's? name. The only somewhat similar name of earlier days that I have come across is that of W.A.Dorsey who, in the early eighties was in charge of one of the Border Customs stations.

Regretting that my information is, this time, so meagre, I am, yours faithfully, FJWatson (F.J.Watson).

Toowong, June 3rd, 1939.

Dear Mr. May,

I note that the Parks Committee of Brisbane has turned down the suggestion that the name Mt Coottha, which, I think, was also once spelled Coother, should be given its proper name, Kuta, as given to the authorities by the pioneer, Tom Petrie, for the reason that it is known by its present designation all over Australia.

"What's in a name" anyhow. If tourists ask the meaning of the name it can be explained that it was a native bee (kuta) but it was knocked in the head with a club or nulla (coothar or kuthar). In fact, I would suggest taht the Parks Committee erect a plate at the lookout on the Mountain inscribed to that effect for the benefit of visitors.

Yours faithfully, FJWatson

Grosvenor Street, Toowong, S.W.1. 27th May, 1939.

Dear Mr. May,

Under separate cover I am sending to you a packet of completed forms of place names of the Wide Bay and Burnett Districts, some 28 in number.

Relative to the name, Howah, and what I mentioned about the absence of the aspirate in aborginal languages, I find that there is a Wakka word, Kowa, meaning scrub.

The word, however, have no reference to bunya scrubs, only unless qualified by the word bunyi, which name is used by the blacks throughout S.E. Queensland.

Probably some mistake has been made in transciption of the name in the Lands Office at some time, the letter K being mistaken for an H.

Having no map of the district covered by the places which I have described, I am sorry that I could not write in the latitude and longitude of the places in my list.

The forms only cover the same ground that I mentioned in my last letter to you. If I happen to recall any others I shall br pleased to send them to you.

By the way, I suppose you have already obtained the names of place in the Logan and Albert districts.

Trusting that my contribution will assist you, I am, Dear Mr. May, Yours faithfully_ FJWatson (F.J.Watson).

By the way, I have come across some mention of a Dr. Howit who, long ago, wrote on the Kabi tribe under the name of Gaiabora. Do know anything of his work?