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ORIGLN OF ADEUIDE
names;
One can say emphatically' that a very
?mall percentage of the people who paa
along even the principal street* of Adelaide
in the course of h dav know anrthins of the
origin of the names of tne tborougniares.
It is not every one, indeed, who is acquaint*
ed with the fact, that Adelaide was by royal
command named in honour of the .beloved
and and amiable coraort of King WilBam
IV. Mr. I1. Hope Harris, in a valuable pa
per on ''(ieograpbical Nomenclature,' which
he read before the Australasian Association
for the Advancement of Science in Septem
ber, 1893, said, 'in the absence of public
information, the appropriateness of names
i.s net always evident, and not infrequently
is subject to uevcrc criticism ?
Few people have the genius for hitting on
a really good name, and not many pooeas
the faculty or gift that characterized Flin
ders when he suggested in a modest foot
note to hi* journal the nnme ' Australia'
as preferable to 'Xew Holland' or 'Terra
Au-trclis.' Many names owe their origin
to circumstances in which discoverers or ex
plorors wete placed. Others arc often de
scriptive — either in a literal or figurative
sense, whilst personal names have been
largely employed. The names of the Coloni
zation Cv-mmitsioners arc perpetuated in
the cognomen* of a number of the atreeU
of Adelaide, while the okmss of many men
of ncte at the time the colony was being
laid iiut are to be wren on the plates indi
cating the various highways. Mr. Harris
says the choice of names ot' our street*,
squares, and terraces was in no lea» a
degree a marked success than the naming
of the capita] — a r.vult which
my prolnbly be greatly ascribed to Colonel
Light, conjointly with Sir James Hurtle
Fisher and Governor rlindmarsh. Hin
der* and Franklin are the names of two
distinguished navr.l geographers. -Sir John
Franklin and Captain Matthew Flinders,
R.X. Sturt-strcel rcc;dls the explorer and
discoverer of the .Murray. Our colonial
listoric name?. Wake-field and 'Angas re
present the theory and practice of success
ful colonization; while Sir John Pine, the
Hon. Itaike* Currie, Sir William ' Hutt,
M.P., and Sir Richard Hanson well re
present commercial life, stability, intelli
gence, ethics, and moral*. Sir Richard
Davies Hanson was a distinguished mem
ber of the Literary Society of London, and
Secretary to the Governor of Canada.
King William-street is named after King
William IV.; Rundle-street after John
Rundle, one of the Commissioners for
South Australia; Hindley-street after C.
Hindley, M.P.; Grenfell-street after Pascoc
Grcnfell, M.P., anti-»lavery advocate,
and father of Sir Francis Grenfell,
the retiring commander of the British
Army in Egypt; Carrington-street after
l»rrl C'arrington; Halifax-street after Mr.
Ilallifax, of Glyn&('o.,one of the founders
of the colony, the name being wrongly
spelt on the original plan; Gilbert-street
after Thomas Gilbert, the Comptroller of
stores; Gilles-street after Osmond Gillcs,
the firet Colonial Treasurer: Gcuger-rtreet
after Robert Gouger. and Grote-street
after George Grotc, M.P., both Commis
hionerx of South Australia; Hiil-street
after Sir Rowland Hill, P.M.G.; Morphett
street after Sir John Morphett: Pirie
strcet after Sir John Piric, Alderman
of the City of London; Pultcncy-strect af
ter Sir Pultcney Malcolm, Admiral; and
Waymouth-street after Henry Waymouth.
Tlic illu.-trious individuals after whom out
vju.ires am named are Queen Victoria, at
ihe time Princess Victoria, heir apparent to
the throne.. Colonel Light, Governor Hind
iiiareh. W. Woolvehe Whitinc.re. M.P..(V«
mzation CorainLvioner, Sir James Hurtle
Fisher, and the Duke of Wellington, under
ivhom Colonel Light had ssrved in the Penin
sular War. and by whom the latter was
recommended as Surveyor-General. In
Sorth Adelaide we arc reminded of Lord
Urouchnm. Sir Fowell Kuxton, and Daniel
D'Conndl. JelTcbttstreet is named after
'«ir -I. W. .feffi'ott. who was ilrowned at the
mouth of the Murray. Kennode-streec
:ifti;r Rc.l-eri Quaylc Kermode, whose
ilaughter was engaged to be married to the
Judge, and Melbourne-street after Lord
Melbourne., at the time Prime Minister of
England. Glenelg was styled by Governor
Qawler early in 1839 after the Right Hon.
Secretary of State for the Colonies. The
native names of the seaside resort are Pata
wilya and Cowandilla, and of Adelaide
Tamdanya. The Bum Burnt Mine de
rived its appellation from coolies in the em
ploy or Mr. Thomas Stecn, the name being
Hindooslanee for 'great, great.' Port
Elliot was no christened by Sir Henry Fox
Voting. Governor of South Australia in
1850. after his friend the Governor of Ber
mula, Lorn Frederick Elliot. The magni
ficent harbour of Port Lincoln was dus
tovtred by Matthew Flinders during Febru
ary, 1S02, and named by him in honour of
Ihe Hcem? of his boyhood in Lincolnshire.
The river Murray perpetuates the name
of Sir George Murray, the Secretary of
rotate for the Colonies. Gulnare Plains
were named by the discoverer, John A.
Horrocks, in 1841, after a beautiful dog
owned by him that caught seven emus in
five days. The name is said to be Moorish
for pomegranate flower, and occurs in
Byron's poem 'The Corsair.' One could
go on citing innumerable instances of the
interest attaching to the nomenclature of
our towns, rivers, streets, &c.
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