Place Names of South-East Queensland

  

 

 

Waterford                                                                                       

Protestant-Catholic rivalry was intense in the early colony. The Rev. Dr. John Dunmore Lang organized to bring Protestant settlers out to Queensland, and Bishop James Quinn formed the Queensland Immigration Society to bring Irish Catholic settlers out. But that was not the Bishop of Brisbane's only motive in doing this. He wanted to relieve the suffering of people in his Irish homeland caused by their eviction from lands held by their English rulers, and with the help of Father Patrick Dunne, organized for the ship Erin-go-Braghn to leave Waterford in Ireland, 7 February, 1862, bound for Moreton Bay, with 431 immigrants on board, 54 of whom died on board, mainly from typhoid fever. So these Irish immigrants many of whom settled in this area named the district Waterford. Previously the Aboriginal people had called it Tygum, meaning large. Shortly afterwards German settlers were to follow.

The Irish Waterford, literally meaning an inlet in which one could take shelter from the weather, was one of a number of Norse settlements established around the Irish Sea in the 9th century. In 1649 it successfully resisted as attack by Cromwell's forces, only to fall to his general, Ireton, in the following year.  


Wavell Heights

General Sir Archibald Wavell, who was Commander-in-Chief in the Middle East during part of the Second World War, had many Australian soldiers serving under him, and when this area was subdivided after the war his name was given to this part of expanding Brisbane. Wavell was stocky in build, had deep furrows on either side of his mouth and usually a twinkle in one eye. The other eye was a glass one for he lost it at Ypres during the First World War.

Wavell knew and loved his English literature, especially poetry. He loved to outsmart rival generals in manoeuvres, was strong on military education, but opposed formal examinations and cramming. He hated conformity when there was no good reason for it. Was contemptuous of idleness. Never smoked. Drank alcohol sparingly. Exercised regularly. He liked swimming and enjoyed the company of young people. Although he lacked the breezy bonhomie which is supposed to make a popular officer, he was much respected by his troops. His father had been a major-general.

It was said of Archie Wavell if he doesn't want to talk, don't try making conversation with him; don't ever tell him you are hard worked; don't count on leave; he can bite but is a most loyal and affectionate person to work for; he has tremendous powers of concentration. He became the first Earl Wavell.  He served out the latter part of the war in India and was Viceroy there 1943-1947. He died at the age of 67.  

Weller's Hill

Jacob Weller, a tailor, bought land on the hill from James Toohey in 1894. Weller was of German descent and his name has been spelt in different ways. That is why the hill on which he lived has sometimes been called Weiller's Hill. It was officially given its present name in 1948.  

Wellington Point

Ignoring the Aboriginal name of Cullen-Cullen, Surveyor Warner named Wellington Point after the Iron Duke, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, who had been born a younger son of an English lord in Ireland and who rose to fame as leader of the British armies in the second decade of the 19th century. His most notable victory was that over Napoleon at Waterloo. He became Prime Minister in 1827, but his opposition to letting the common people vote and his use of the army against workers trying to stand up for their rights earned him the anger of many. 

Westbrook

John Campbell gained the nickname of Tinker when he brought a consignment of tinware with him for trade with the Aboriginal people when he migrated from Maine, USA. He selected a run of 110,000 acres on the Darling Downs in 1841 which he named Westbrook.  The Aboriginal name for the area was Boccaninnie (old woman).

West End

The Aboriginal name for the area was Kuripla, the place for rats, but people who had come out from England had London's West End in mind when they gave this name to this area of South Brisbane which had once been so thickly covered with scrub. 

Weyba

A number of places along the Sunshine Coast end in -ba, this being the Aboriginal term for place.  Weyba (or it has earlier been spelt Weiba and Wyeba) probably means the place of stingrays or it could be the place of the flying squirrels.

Whinstanes

Whinstanes on the Pinkenba line was named after a nearby residence owned by A.B.Webster. 

White's Hill

Bob White and his wife first settled in Maryborough (Q) when they came to Australia. They moved later to Red Hill, and then again to this area where they became pioneer settlers, 1873. It was said that, 'The hill was too steep for grazing and too poor for farming, rock lay just under the soil, but Mr White liked the view.' The Aboriginal name for the hill was Bulimba, a name that Europeans borrowed for another location. 


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