What’s in a name?

‘That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet’ – but the Bacchus Marsh & District Historical Society (BMDHS) has provided some interesting meanings of local town names.
Many are named after early settlers or places in England – Mount Cottrell, south of Melton, is named after Anthony Cottrell, a District Constable at Launceston and member of John Batman’s Port Phillip Association.
Eynesbury comes from Eynesbury homestead, built by Captain Samuel Thomas in 1875, and thought to in turn be named after a village in Cambridgeshire, England.
Exford was named in 1942, “after a sheep station which was situated in the Brisbane Ranges and was once owned by Simon Staughton”. Additionally, the Werribee River is believed to have once been called the Exe River, after an area of Somerset, England – Exford may have come from this name.
Even more of the names listed by BMDHS come from Aboriginal words or names – Balliang East comes from “balayang”, a word referring to the bat of the Dreamtime, while Cocoroc is an Aboriginal word for the croaking of a frog.
Mambourin is derived from the term “Mamborn”, the name of a Barrabool tribesman, while Parwan is a local Aboriginal word for magpie.
Truganina near Werribee was named after the last Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, Truganini, who passed away in 1876.
Finally, two towns have straightforward names – Little River is named after the local stream, while Quandong is named after the quandong fruit, also known as the native peach, which grows in the area.

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