Indigenous place names now on Google Street View

The State Library of NSW has launched an innovative online tool TODAY that uses Google Street View to visually match Indigenous place names and meanings for over 1000 locations across the state.

Muru View combines the latest in interactive technology with 100-year-old Indigenous word lists and records from the Library’s vast collection in a way that has never done before. The unique interactive experience draws on the placenames found in transcribed survey forms and correspondence received by the Royal Anthropological Society of Australasia between 1899 and 1903 from the Library’s collection.

The online interface allows users to virtually travel through the suburbs, cities and towns mentioned in the historic records and see the corresponding Indigenous names and meaning in their ‘real-life’ locations.

“Muru View presents historic interpretations of Aboriginal languages giving us insight into the intricate relationships between Indigenous peoples and their connection to their land and community in a new and innovative way,” said Kirsten Thorpe, Indigenous Services Manager at the State Library.

“By showing this rich data in the context of the locations it refers to, we hope to add another layer to people’s understanding of these incredible records of our languages,” said Ms Thorpe.