These maps show the literal translations of Australian place names

Most people would say they’ve never heard of the ‘Place where oysters are plentiful’, the
‘Town by the pool’ or the ‘Resting place’.

But it turns out they are the literal translations of Ballina in New South Wales, Port Lincoln
in South Australia and Ballarat in Victoria.

The folks at Preply compiled an interesting set of data that plots the literal meaning of
Australian place names, mapping them across each state of the country: New South Wales,
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. As well as the
territories of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.

To put together this etymological map of Australia,  Preply  pulled from multiple sources,
including the State Library of South Australia, the State Library of New South Wales, the
National Capital Authority Government Archive, the Online Etymology Dictionary and
regional news reports to uncover the history and etymology of 130 Australian place names.

State Capital Cities
The map includes the translations of each state’s capital city as well. According to Preply,
the names translate as the following:
●      Sydney (NSW) = ‘Dweller by the well-watered land’
●      Brisbane (QLD) = ‘Break bone’
●      Perth (WA) = ‘Wood’
●      Melbourne (VIC) = ‘Mill stream’
●      Adelaide (SA) = ‘Noble’
●      Hobart (TAS) = ‘Bright intellect’
●      Darwin (NT) = ‘Dear Friend’
●      Canberra (ACT) = ‘Meeting place’

Other cities and towns across Australia which had interesting means included….

●      Weipa (QLD) = ‘Fighting ground’
●      Karratha (WA) = ‘Good country’

●      Kalgoorlie (WA) = ‘Silky pear’
●      Alice Springs (NT) = ‘Of noble kind’
●      Belyuen (NT) = ‘Sacred water hole’
●      Whyalla (SA) = ‘Place with deep water’
●      Waikerie (SA) = ‘Many wings’
●      Wodonga (VIC) = ‘Bulrushes’

To get a closer look at the translation of all 130 places included in the research, you can
view maps of each state at:
https://preply.com/en/blog/literal-translations-au-place-names/