The Town Formerly Known As...

posted by Scott Andrew Bird
Tags : Australia

This is a listing of several Queensland towns which have changed their names over the years. This has helped me enormously when examining old census forms, birth certificates and so on.

Hervey Bay (formerly Wide Bay)

Irvinebank (formerly Gibbs Camp)

Originally known as Gibb's Camp, the name was changed to Irvinebank by North Queensland mining legend John Moffat to remind him of his birth place of Newmilns on the river Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.

Marburg (originally named Marburg, renamed to Townshend, then back to Marburg)

During the First World War the Queensland Government replaced the name Marburg with the name Townshend, named after a British general. At the end of the war the people of Marburg asked for the old name to be returned, which the government did.

Miles (formerly Dogwood Crossing)

Formerly known as Dogwood Crossing, the town is situated on Dogwood Creek, named by German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt in 1844. The town was renamed Miles in honour of the Queensland Colonial Secretary, William Miles.

Rolleston (formerly Brown Town)

Rolleston - originally known as Brown Town when it was first surveyed in 1865 but was later renamed Rolleston after one of the original settlers, Christopher Rolleston.

Yandina (formerly Native Dog Flat, later Maroochie)

Yandina is Maroochy's oldest surveyed township. The town was called Maroochie until it was named after a nearby cattle run "Yandina". This name was embraced by locals who rarely used the name Maroochie as they preferred the town's original name: Native Dog Flat.