Queensland sure is home to some towns with some wacky names! From names that make you chuckle to names that make you blush, Queensland has them all. Here are some eyebrow-raising towns from around our beautiful state. Let us know if you think there is a wacky name we have missed!
Yorkeys Knob
Just 15 minutes from Cairns, lies Yorkeys Knob, or “the Knob” as it is affectionately known by locals. Yorkeys Knob was named in the late 1800s by George “Yorkey” Lawson, a British immigrant from Yorkshire. He is said to have named the town after the shape of the headland, as it reminded him of his hometown where a hill was known as a “nab”. Over time, “nab” became “knob”, and it stuck!
Kaimkillenbun
If you have ever tried to spell Kaimkillenbun, you will know how it earned its place on this list! Kaimkillenbun is a charming town in the Western Downs, between Dalby and Bell. Locals generally shorten the 13-letter name down to “The Bun”, which is unsurprising given the town has the longest single-word name in Queensland. The name Kaimkillenbun is believed to have been derived from the Aboriginal word meaning “open mouth”.
Burpengary
Burpengary is a name that makes most Queenslanders chuckle… And with good reason! While many might speculate that it is named after a gassy man, the name Burpengary is actually derived from the Aboriginal word “burpengar“, which means the “place of the green wattle”.
1770
Have you ever wondered how 1770 got its name? In 1970, the seaside town of Round Hill was renamed to commemorate the bicentennial of Lieutenant James Cook arriving in the area in 1770. Chris recently visited 1770 while on a Fun Over Fifty tour – check out what he got up to here.
https://www.facebook.com/QueenslandWeekender/videos/513006662546769
Barcaldine
You might be wondering how a town deep in the Queensland outback ended up with a Scottish name… We know we were! Barcaldine was named by Donald Charles Cameron, a Scottish settler who arrived in the area in 1863 and named his sheep station Barcaldine Downs after his family’s property in Scotland.
Why not test yourself and see if you know these nine other Barcaldine facts…
Banana
Did you know that Queensland is home to a small town called Banana? What makes the Central Queensland town so quirky is that there are no banana plantations in sight! While you would be forgiven for thinking that Banana was named after a bounty of fruit, it was in fact named after a yellow bullock named Banana. Banana the bullock is said to have helped local stockmen herd wild cattle into stockyards. When he died in the 1860s, the stockmen decided to name the area in his honour! There is even a statue of Banana in town.
Special mentions must also go to Naughty Girl Creek, Piggy Piggy Spring, The Twin Humps, Wankaroo Creek, Booby Island and Dirty Dick Creek. Let us know if you think there is a quirky town we missed!
By Kate Nutting
