Toponymy of Australia and Oceania

Characteristic of the Australian toponymy is existence of names, borrowed from the European countries (England, Holland), which is caused by unusual history of opening of the continent. Pioneers of Australia are Dutch, who opened the unknown land, called it "New Holland", but they kept nearly two centuries the opening in a deep secret from all European countries.

Formation of the English toponymy began after discovery of Australia on the territory of the continent in the 18th century by the English admiral James Cook. Paying a tribute of respect to the crowned and high-ranking persons, researchers have appropriated the first names in honor of these people. In honor of the Queen Victoria have been called: the Province of Queensland (land of the queen) in the northeast of the continent, mountain of Victoria, or the Victorian mountains, in the south of the Great Dividing Range, the river Victoria, State of Victoria; the city of Adelaide - in honor of the wife of the English king; the city of Sydney - in honor of the English Minister of Finance of Sydney; the city of Melbourne - in honor of the English prime minister of times of the Queen Victoria; the city of Wellington in New Zealand - in honor of the duke, the commander of Wellington which has crushed Napolen's troops at Waterloo, the ridge Macdonell — in honor of the governor of South Australia and some other.

The name to the island New Caledonia, which was inhabited by Melanesians, gave the pioneer James Cook in 1774, having used for this purpose the ancient Latin name of Scotland (Caledonia).

The name Arnhemland (in modern writing Arnhem-Land) has appeared on the map as one of the first European names after discovery of Australia by Dutches. It was created from the name of the Dutch ship "Arnhem".

Lots of names of English travelers and seafarers also are immortalized on the map of Australia: island Flinders, Flinders Range, river Flinders, reeves Flinders. All these objects were called in honor of the English seafarer Mathew Flinders, who has suggested to call the newly opened land "Australia" in 1814 (instead of New Holland). Names of the Eyre Peninsula, the river Eyre, Lake Eyre are connected with a name of the farmer, sheep breeder, traveler, who in the first time has laid a transcontinental route between the western and east areas of the continent.

The Murchison River, Mitchell, Start Shout, the mountain Ogastes are called in honor of the people, who have made the contribution to change of the continent.

The highest point of Australia - Mr. Kosciusko is called in honor of the national hero of Poland T. Kosciusko, who was born and lived in young years on the Belarusian land.

Therefore, in the course of the English colonization of Australia gradually there was a usual English-speaking toponymy. There were names characterizing features of the nature of the called object or the reflecting historical events.

As example we will provide the name of a bay on east coast of the continent - Botany Bay (a botanical bay) on the bank of which the city of Sydney later has grown. The name of a bay has been caused by the fact that here during the parking of the ships of D. Cook in 1779 samples of unknown in Europe of plants have been collected.

The plain in the south of Australia, which adjoins the Big Australian gulf, has another natural character. The famous researcher of this part of the continent John Eyre in 1841 called the plain for its emptiness Nullarbor that means in Latin "wood-free". In English pronunciation this name sounds Nullarbor, so it also is written down on all maps.

One of the most important features of formation of the Australian toponymy - transfer of names from the mother country. For example, Wales in England and New South Wales - the state in Australia, the city of Hastings in England and the name of the city and mountain system Hastings in Australia; the city of Liverpool in England and the name of the mountain system Liverpool in the Australian Alps; the city of Newcastle in England and the city of Newcastle in Australia and so on.

The English Newcastle is the center of the coal area, where coal mining is conducted from the XIII century. Expression " to bring coal to Newcastle" is widespread in England and means the same, as Russian "to go to Tula with the samovar". Therefore, it is no wonder that in the largest coal basin of Australia there was a city with the same name, as in England.

But many of physiographic objects and small settlements have kept native languages in the names. They have been borrowed by Europeans directly indigenous people in the course of colonization of Australia.

Revival and preservation of local toponymy have been caused by two main reasons. First, the carried-out large-scale mapping of all territory of the continent demanded the enormous number of names. It was difficult to manage one English terms as many names repeated several times on the next sheets of the map. Increase in interest in natives, their language, culture, traditions was the second cause of revival of native toponymy. There was a fashion to use words of natives at assignment of names to houses, streets, to the enterprises, the ships, magazines, etc. On small-scale maps of Australia, which have supplied our schools, native names aren't enough. It is clear because on general education maps only large objects are put, and they generally have the English origin. However, it is necessary to resemble names of large objects at the heart of the native origin. It is the city of Kalgoorlie, the river Murrumbidgee (the right inflow of Murray), the river Uorrego (the right inflow of Darling) and some other. Semantic value of these names hasn't remained.

It is worth noting the name of the capital of Australia - Canberra. In due time the colonial Australian authorities have begun an arque of what city to give the status of the capital of colony. Two cities - Sydney and Melbourne were applicants. This process lasted long time. Parliamentarians have squabbled, without having agreed to what city to be the capital. After all negotiations have decided to make the capital the small resort town located between Sydney and Melbourne with the name Canberra that in translation from language of the Australian natives means "between two identical hills" or, according to other version, "meeting place". This word also belongs to the concrete place - a bend of the river flowing through Canberra.