Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954), Wednesday 12 December 1934, page 4


MENINDEE, NOT

MENINDIE.

Townspeople Are

Particular.

LAND OFFICE CORRECTION.

The Menindee and District Progress Association is anxious that the name of the town should be spelt Menindee, and not Menindie as almost generally used.

Enclosing a letter from the Depart-ment of Lands on the spelling of the name of the town, the hon. secretary of the Progress Association (Mr. E. S. Ryan) writes:—

Our association would be very grateful to you if you would publish in "The Miner" the Land Department letter and so assist us to have the name

of our town spelt always in the one way instead of in two ways as at pre-sent. The spelling of the name in several ways has led to confusion in the minds of many people, even our own citizens, and it has caused no end of inconvenience to the local busi-

ness people and private citizens by the missorting and consequent delay in the delivery of our mail matter.

This letter should clear up any

doubts as to the correct spelling of the name, "Menindee."

MENINDEE IN 1863.

The Lands Department letter reads: The original name of the town, "Perry," notified April 28, 1863, was altered by notification of November 24, 1863, to Menindee, the native name of the locality by which it was not only better known by the colonists, but had become celebrated in the annals of Australian Exploration.

Menindee is the official spelling

of the name of the town, post office, railway station, public school, country, lake, etc.

In a plan of survey of part of the Darling River in 1851 by the surveyor, F. P. McCabe, a locality is referred to as Minnindia, and Menindee Creek as Laidley's Ponds Creek.

Laidley's Ponds was Surveyor-General Mitchell's terminal on July 11, 1835; also the bend in the Darl-ing where Sturt turned off, October 11, 1844, in his exploration of the in-terior. Burke and Wills departed from Menindee on October 16, 1860, for Cooper's Creek.

Minindee Run was held in 1855. Later records refer to the Town of Menindie as being on this run. The meaning of the name is reputed to be "Yolk of an egg."