Names of NT: Towns
Acacia Hills
A southern Litchfield Shire locality which together with Acacia Creek running through the locality derive their names from the acacia shrub in the area. Further to the south, the Manton River goes through an 'Acacia Gap' before reaching the Adelaide River.
Adelaide River
Adelaide River
The township is named after the river. The river was first discovered by C Keys and L.R. Fitzmaurice when the HMS Beagle surveyed the coast of the Northern Territory in 1839. They named the river in honour of Queen Adelaide, then the dowager Queen of England and widow of King William IV.
Alice Springs
Alice Springs
The springs after which Alice Springs is named lay to the north-east of the town and were discovered in 1871 by the team building the Overland Telegraph Line. The surveyors were William Whitfield Mills and John Ross. Mills wrote that he had discovered a pass through the MacDonnell Ranges which led to an area 'with numerous waterholes and springs, the principal of which is the Alice Spring which I had the honour of naming after Mrs. Todd.' Sir Charles Todd, the then Postmaster-General of South Australia after whom they named the Todd River, had been the driving force behind the building of the Overland Telegraph. Lady Alice Todd was his wife.
Arltunga ruins
Arltunga
Recalls a tribe of the Arrente Aborigines who had lived in the area for at least 22 000 year before the arrival of Europeans.
The name was first seen on maps drawn by Dutch cartographers following the visit of Dutch navigator Abel Tasman in April 1644. On the charts he drew he marked the mainland he sailed alongside as Arnhem's Land, as it was in that locality that the Dutch vessel, Arnhem, under Willem van Coolsteerdt had explored in May 1623. In February 1803, acknowledged the visit in that Coolsteerdt had named one of the cliffs Cape Hollandia after his homeland and marked his own charts with the names Cape Arnhem and Arnhem Bay.
Auld
This northern Litchfield Shire locality has been named to commemorate William Patrick Auld's initial exploration of this area in 1865. Auld who first came to the Territory with John McDouall Stuart in 1862, came again with Boyle Finniss to Escape Cliffs in 1864, and with Surgeon B Ninnis on HMS Beatrice in April 1865, he carried out the initial exploration of the area to the west of the Adelaide River - to the Howard River, King Creek and Port Darwin.
Sir Henry Ayers
Ayers
This Hundred which takes in Berry Springs and extends to the south part of the Darwin Harbour is named after Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia (Premier) and who was honoured by the explorer WC Gosse in 1873 in naming Ayers Rock in Central Australia.
John Henry Barrow
Barrow Creek
The creek was named by John McDouall Stuart on 13th July 1860 after John Henry Barrow, a preacher, journalist and politician who had migrated to South Australia in 1853. At the time of the creation of the town he was Treasurer of South Australia and a clergyman. The story goes that McDouall Stuart was somewhat of a hard drinker, and when he felt the need to repent it was to Barrow's church that he went.
Batchelor
This locality derives its name from the Batchelor Experimental Farm established there in 1912 by Dr J A Gilruth. The experimental station was named after the South Australian Labour politician Egerton Lee Batchelor (1865-1911) who became Minister for the Northern Territory in 1911. In 1954, the Territory Enterprise Pty Ltd established a private mining town there (designed in an octagonal shape) to mine uranium at nearby Rum Jungle.
Bees Creek
This south western Litchfield Shire locality derives its name from the stream 'Bees Creek', named by Surveyor George McLachlan after his survey cadet, Tom Bee. McLachlan was in change of Goyder's No 6 Survey Party when the Town of Palmerston (Darwin) was laid out in 1869. McLachlan and Bee surveyed the Sections around Wells Creek and Bees Creek.
Black Jungle
The name 'Black Jungle' which first appeared on a plan of the 'Umpity Doo Homestead' block, Agricultural Lease No 28 in 1910. The Jungle with this descriptive name was part of Koolpinyah Station granted to the Herbert Brothers in 1907 for agricultural purposes. Botanist FAK Bleeser collected many palms in the Jungle in the 1930s. Bankers Jungle and Black Jungle are remnant rain forest areas and the latter is a Conservation Reserve. It is not known who 'Black' was.
Edwin Gordon Blackmore
Blackmore
This south western Litchfield Shire locality adjacent to the Blackmore River takes its name from the River which was named by G W Goyder during the 1869 Survey of Port Darwin and Environs after Edwin Gordon Blackmore who was the Clerk of the SA Legislative Council and Clerk of the Parliament. Blackmore served in the Taranaki Rifle Volunteers in 1864 in New Zealand prior to serving as Clerk of the Parliament SA until 1887. Blackmore Point and the Blackmore River appear on Goyder's 1869 Survey of Port Darwin and Environs.
The road to Borroloola
Borroloola
The origin and meaning of the name is obscure. Some sources have suggested that it means 'tea-tree', others suggest that it translates as 'place of the paperbarks', still others believe it means 'fresh or running water'. Yet others simply say that it is the Aboriginal name for the locality.
Camp Creek
This south western Coomalie locality is named after the pastoral property of that name.
Smith Point Beach, Cobourg Peninsula
Cobourg Peninsula
The peninsula was named by the explorer Phillip Parker King after Queen Victoria's uncle, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg. King also named the bay Port Essington after his friend Vice Admiral Sir William Essington.
Collett Creek
This north western Coomalie locality derives its name from the stream Collett Creek which was named by Surveyor W Harvey after Bob Collett, a teamster, on 13th November 1870. Collett and Harvey were members of one of Goyder's teams during the Survey of Port Darwin and Environs. Collett Creek (30 kilometres south from Southport) was the location of the 'Travellers Rest Hotel' operated by E Gomez from June 1874 until the murder, in March 1880, of the then proprietor Robert E Holmes. The hotel was a stopping place for teamsters and travellers moving between Southport and the Pine Creek Goldfields or the Katherine.
Coolalinga
This central Litchfield Shire locality derives its name from the name used by Len Cant in the 1970s for his Store and Caravan park on the Stuart Highway at the 19 Mile. Since the establishment of the Coolalinga Store, the area has become an important commercial centre for the Litchfield Shire.
RAAF personnel at Coomalie Creek airstrip during World War II
Coomalie Creek
This eastern Coomalie locality is named after the stream - 'Coomalie Creek' running though the locality. Previously called the West Branch of the Adelaide River, Coomalie Creek is believed to have been first recorded by Surveyor AA Briggs in 1913 when he and Surveyor Muntz where surveying the area adjacent to the Adelaide River. For many years the origin of Coomalie Creek, together with Glenluckie Creek, were unknown. In 1995, following Dr Mark Harvey study of Aboriginal toponyms in the environs of Darwin, it was found that these two creek names may be corruptions of the aboriginal names - 'Gumili' and 'Ganlaki' respectively.
Sir Dominick Daly
Daly
This locality takes its name from the early townsite of Daly "which was surveyed as part of Goyder's survey of Port Darwin and Environs in 1869 and was obviously named after the nearby Daly Range, which in turn had been named, in 1862, by John McDouall Stuart after the Irish Governor of South Australia, Sir Dominick Daly. The pegged townsite (and nearby cemetery) was never occupied under title nor effectively used as a townsite. Its few streets contain the names of the survey staff who helped carry out the pegging survey. Auld's Lagoon (called by the Aborigines "Gwiki") is adjacent to the townsite of Daly.
Daly River
Daly Waters
Recalls Sir Dominick Daly, the Governor of South Australia. The town takes its name from the river and the nearby Daly Range, which in turn had been named in 1862 by explorer John McDouall Stuart.
Darwin / Darwin River
This south western Litchfield Shire locality takes its name from the Darwin River which flows through the locality. The Darwin River was given its name by Goyder in his 1869 Survey of Port Darwin and Environs to the river. Captain Wickham of the HMS Beagle in 1839 had previously named Port Darwin after his friend Charles Darwin. The Darwin River Dam, at the rivers headwaters, was opened by William McMahon as Prime Minister in 1972 and took over as Darwin's water supply from Manton Dam.
Dundee Beach / Dundee Downs / Dundee Forest
These localities on the southern shore of Bynoe Harbour and inland from Fog Bay are named after the subdivision of these names. The 'Dundee' is believed to be named after the popular 1988 film Crocodile Dundee.
Eva Valley
This locality is named after the property of that name which was situated on Miles Road to the south west of Batchelor. The area was originally known as Banyan Farm, in the 1950s, when owned by Boyne Litchfield. When purchased by the Childs family, who held the land during the 1960s and 70s, the property was renamed Eva Valley after Eva Childs, wife of Bill Childs who were joint owners. Following the sale of the land by the Childs family and subsequent subdivision, the area has continued to be known as Eva Valley.
Boyle Travers Finniss
Finniss Valley
Finniss Valley is named as the stream, Finniss River flows through the locality. The Finniss River was named by Litchfield to perpetuate the name of the commandant of the Escape Cliffs settlement, Colonel Boyle Travers Finniss.
Freds Pass
What is today called the Stuart Highway was until the 1930s, Fred's Pass Road, the main road leading out of Darwin from the Daly Street Bridge through Freds Pass, in the Daly Ranges, to the Town of Daly and Auld's Lagoon. These features take their names from Fred Litchfield and Patrick Auld who in 1865 explored the area today known as Litchfield Shire. The Freds Pass Reserve was created in the post Cyclone Tracy period (1974) on the original Freds Pass Road and adjoining land as a major recreation area for the Shire. The locality is centred on the Reserve, which is recognised throughout the Shire as Freds Pass.
Fly Creek
This locality takes its name from Fly Creek which was applied by William Harvey when surveying sections of the Hundred of Cavenagh. As there were no members of Goyder's party with that name, it is assumed that Harvey was worried by flies in the area.
Ormiston Gorge near Glen Helen
Glen Helen
Glen Helen Gorge is believed to have been named by Richard Warburton after the eldest daughter of him employer, Alexander Grant. The name was given to one of the first pastoral leases in Central Australia which occupied the locality. Today the term Glen Helen is applied to the lodge, the gorge near the lodge and the surrounding 368 hectare Nature Park. Glen Helen is known to local Aborigines as Yapalpe and the Finke River is Larapinta which means 'serpent'. It was a favourite meeting place for the Aboriginal people from the West and Central MacDonnell Ranges.
A beach on Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt
Groote Eylandt is of Dutch origin, meaning 'big island' or 'large island'. Dutch navigators Willem van Coolsteerdt and Jan Carstenszoon had sailed the vessels Arnhem and Pera, along the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria in May 1623. Charts resulting from the voyage marked the island as Speult's Island. Abel Tasman, explored the Arnhem Land coast in 1644 and marked it on his map as Groote Eylandt, which means Great Island. It is presumed this was intended to be read as descriptive rather than the island's actual name.
Gunn Point
This locality takes its name from Gunn Point is the point or peninsula of land on the coast between the mouths of the Howard and Adelaide Rivers, to the north-east of Darwin. The point gets its name from Lieutenant G S Gunn who, in 1886 with Captain McClear, carried out a coastal survey of the area in HMS Flying Fish. The peninsula, until the mid 1990s, was the site of the Gunn Point Prison Farm.
Helpman
This proposed locality on the western side of the Adelaide River, near the river's mouth, perpetuates the name of Benjamin F Helpman, Mate of HMS Beagle, who in 1839 had explored the River mouth and helped give the River its name - after Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV. He had much faith in the river's potential and John McDouall Stuart was aware of his plan and work when he set out to cross the continent from Adelaide to the north coast.
Herbert
This new locality, in the vicinity of Benham and Benjamin Lagoons, has previously been considered part of Humpty Doo. In order to contain the size of Humpty Doo, it was decided to establish a new locality to the north of Pioneer Drive. The locality name commemorates the Herbert Brothers, who settled at Humpty Doo (1908) and Koolpinyah developing an agricultural/pastoral enterpriseover the ensuing 70 year period. Oscar Herbert and his brother Evan both died in 1974 and are buried in simple graves at Koolpinyah Station.
Hermannsburg
Taken from the town in Germany where the two missionaries who set up Hermannsburg Mission in 1877 had trained.
Hughes
This locality derives its name from the war-time airfield which was named after WA Hughes, the Director of Mines in the Northern Territory before the war, who had inspected the site with US Army Colonel Sverdrup in early February 1942 and recommended its use as an air-field.
Humpty Doo shopping centre Humpty Doo
The name was first recorded for a cattle station called 'Umpity Doo' held by Oscar Herbert. a number of explanation for the origin of the name have been suggested. One source claims it is taken from the Army slang term "umpty" used by military personnel in the area during the war years for the dash when reading morse. Author W Hatfield in his book, I Find Australia (1943), claims that the name is derived from the colloquialism "everything done wrong or upside down". Elsie Masson's book, Untamed Territory, (1914) refers to the picturesque "Umdidu", which was translated by a journalist in 1953 into 'Umdudu'. This was supposed to be an English language corruption of an aboriginal term which meant "a popular resting place".
Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu National Park Kakadu
As far as can be determined the name 'Kakadu' was given to the people of the Alligator River region by the noted anthropologist and biologist Sir Baldwin Spencer. Some authorities have suggested that in the language of the local Aborigines 'Kakadu' or, as it is sometimes spelt, 'Kakudju' or 'Gagadju', doesn't have a specific meaning, and that it in fact identifies the Aboriginal people who traditionally lived in the north western section of the park, their language and culture.
Katherine Gorge Katherine John McDouall Stuart passed through the area in 1862 on his sixth and successful journey across the continent. On 4th July 1862 he crossed the Katherine River and recorded in his diary: 'Came upon another large creek, having a running stream to the south of west and coming from the north of east. This I have named 'Katherine', in honour of the second daughter of James Chambers Esq.' Chambers was a South Australian pastoralist who had become obsessed with the idea of an overland telegraph link with Europe and had sponsored the first five of Stuart's expeditions. Stuart reciprocated by naming a number of places in the Northern Territory after members of Chambers' family. There is some argument over Stuart's spelling of the name, as Chambers' wife's name was Katherine but, according to most sources, his daughter's name was spelt Catherine.
Kings Canyon
Kings Creek, which flows through the Canyon, was named by
Ernest Giles in 1872. In his 30th Octember 1872 journel entry, Giles wrote: "The creek upon which I encamped I called King's Creek, after Mr Fielder King, who is a resident with Mr McCulloch, and also an old and kind friend of mine."Koolpinyah
The original grants in 1908 to the Herbert Brothers were for leases at "Umpty Doo" and "Koolpinyah". They later combined their operation at Koolpinyah. Their homestead was near a waterhole called by the aboriginals "Gulpinyah", which was interpreted for their station name as "Koolpinyah". The Herbert Brothers, the sons of Justice Herbert, continued on their property until their deaths in 1974.
Lake Bennett
Lake Bennett is named after the dam and reservoir - Lake Bennett which is the main feature in the area. The dam was constructed by George and Ken Bennett in 1980, having purchased the land in July 1979.
Lambells Lagoon
Surveyors Daniel Daly and Gilbert McMinn surveyed Sections 560 and 561, Hundred of Guy, in June 1869 and showed two lagoons on their diagram. Goyder's Survey of Port Darwin and Environs indicated that the name 'Lambells Lagoon' had applied in 1869. Lambells Lagoon is named after the young Accountant and Postmaster at Fort Hill, J H Lambell, who kept the accounts and looked after the mail for the survey groups. Lambell issued instructions on behalf of Goyder, recalling parties etc when required. The Lambells Lagoon area and the adjoining Black Jungle to the west is a joint conservation area, whilst the Lambells Lagoon locality contains good soil and is being developed as a horticultural area.
Livingstone
This locality derives its name from the war-time airstrip which was named after John D Livingstone, Jnr, who was born in 1915 in Clarksburg, West Virginia, USA. On 4th April 1942, Lieutenant Livingstone was apparently wounded during action over Darwin, but managed to fly to the newly completed 34 Mile airstrip where he crash landed, dying in the resultant inferno. He was buried at 'The Gardens Cemetery' the following day. The 34 Mile strip was later named Livingstone in his honour.
Lloyd Creek
Lloyd Creek is one of two creeks in the area which were named by the Finniss Party in 1864/5 and later incorporated in the Goyder surveys of the Hundreds in 1869. The creek was possibly named after a survey team member.
Malacca Creek
Fred Litchfield's diary of 5th June 1865 refers to the crossing of the Adelaide River at the 'Narrows' and encountering 'Malacca Creek' on the western side of that River. Also, W P Auld uses the name on his 1865 exploration from Escape Cliffs to Port Darwin. Whether its origin lies in the shady malacca tree of Melaka or derives its name from the Straits of Malacca or a naval ship which perpetrates the city's name, it can be said this creek name was first applied in 1865. The erroneous name 'Melacca Creek' was applied in post-war years.
Mandorah Beach Mandorah
This locality on the Cox Peninsula, across the harbour from Darwin, is named after "Mandorah", a guest house built in the area by Allan Hartwig. The name was first officially recorded as an address on correspondence between Mrs Florence Hartwig and the Lands Department in May 1948. Mr Allan Hartwig held Occupation Licence No. 242 of about 20 acres. Although the name appears first in 1948, the name could have been applied during or just after World War II.
McMinns Lagoon
McMinns
Lagoon appeared on Goyder's plan of the Survey of Port Darwin and
Environs in 1869. It was probably applied by George McLachlan who
surveyed this area, after his colleague surveyor, Gilbert Rothersdale
McMinn (above right), if not by Goyder himself. McMinn migrated to
South Australia in 1850 and on leaving school, took up surveying. Prior
to coming to the Territory as a Senior Surveyor under Goyder in 1869,
he was at Escape Cliffs in 1864 with the B T Finniss expedition.
Mataranka Thermal Springs Mataranka
Of Aboriginal origin.
Melville Island Melville Island
Named by explorer
Phillip Parker King in 1818 after the British aristocrat, Viscount Melville. It is one of the Tiwi Islands, to the north of Darwin.Middle Point
This locality technically derives its name from the ridge of fertile upland country jutting out as a "middle point" into the open plain country on the edge of the coastal plains of the Adelaide River. The CSIRO Research Station and the Middle Point School were established there in the wake of the Humpty Doo Rice Project and associated rice experiments. The original Marrakai Station was established on the River nearby.
Murrumujuk
This locality on the coast of Shoal Bay, south of Gunn Point, has been provisionally set aside for a residential subdivision. The area was part of Alf Hart's original Agricultural Lease in 1923. Murrumujuk is of Aboriginal origin and relates to the Whale Dreaming.
Noonamah
The name was applied by the Army in 1941, when the Military Board ascribed a series of names to new military depots and camps in the NT. Berrimah and Larrimah were two other names applied. Noonamah was taken from the language of the Wagaman Aboriginal people and means 'plenty of tucker and good things'. Noonamah contained a number of Army wartime units and some wartime recreation events were held in the area.
Pine Creek mine Pine Creek
Named after the local creek which was crossed in December 1870 by the teams constructing the
Overland Telegraph Line. The creek was notable, as the name suggests, for the many pines on its banks. One of the line workers, Sydney Herbert, noted, 'This creek was by no means large, but was remarkable for the pines growing there'. Ironically, although the town has always been known as Pine Creek it was officially named Playford on the 24 January 1889. At the time Thomas Playford Sr. was the South Australian Commissioner of Crown Lands. The town continued to be known as Pine Creek in spite of the government's attempt to honour him. It was not officially gazetted as Pine Creek until 20 September 1973.
The road to Renner Springs Renner Springs
The springs were named after Dr Renner who was dispensing medical advice to the team working on the Telegraph Line when they passed through the area in 1872.
Ross River
Named after the explorer John Ross who was appointed by Charles Todd to lead an advance expedition through the centre to determine a route for the
Overland Telegraph Line. Scotland, Ross arrived in Australia in 1837 and soon became an accomplished bushman working for the wealthy South Australian station owner, Thomas Elder.
Forner Rum Jungle mining site Rum Jungle
The reason for the name is unclear, though there are three stories which give varying explanations as to its origin. The officially accepted story is that the jungle and adjoining land gained its name from an incident around March 1873, when John Lewis's teamsters, whilst carting stores from Southport, a small port town across the harbour from Palmerston (now Darwin), to the mining fields around Pine Creek, tapped a cask of rum and delayed the team for several days.
Another explanation, according to Jessie Litchfield in her "Far-North Memories", suggests that it was so named 'because a party of government officials once went there on important departmental business. They were lost among their empty bottles, and a relief party was sent out to show the way to go home'. A third suggestion is that the local hotel keeper once ran out of all liquor apart from rum and one of the campers dubbed the place Rum Jungle because rum was all there was to drink in the middle of the jungle.
White Craggy Island, Sir Edward Pellew Islands Sir Edward Pellew Islands
In April 1644 Abel Tasman thought the islands were part of the mainland and named them Cape Vanderlin, after Cornelis Vanderlyn, a councillor the of Dutch East India Company and Governor-General of the Dutch East indies, 1645-50. Flinders in 1802 found Vanderlin to be an island, and he named the group after Captain Sir Edward Pellew (later Admiral Viscount Exmouth) of the Royal Navy.
Southport
During Goyder's Survey of Port Darwin and Environs in 1869, four small satellite towns were surveyed in the hinterland around Darwin. Southport, as one of these satellite towns was pegged at the junction of the Blackmore and the Darwin Rivers and soon became the commencement point for overlanders to the Pine Creek goldfields. When, in 1885, the rail link between Palmerston and Pine Creek bypassed the town on a more direct route, Southport slowly declined in status. Wells, floor slabs and other relics are all that remain from the once prosperous town which was larger than Palmerston. The old Cemetery contains some 60 people who died at Southport during those early years. Only in recent years have people again begun to reside on the freehold lots of this old historic townsite.
Stapleton
This locality takes its name from the Stapleton Creek which was named by Surveyor G McMinn after James L Stapleton, a field operator during the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line and later Officer in Charge of the Port Darwin Telegraph Station, during 1871. Stapleton as Senior Telegraph Operator at Barrow Creek was speared on 22 February 1874 and died the following day, aged 41 years. As with Collett Creek and Rum Jungle, during the late 1870s Stapleton Creek was the site of a hotel 'Our House Hotel' with Edward D Matthews as proprietor from June 1874. It was 67 kilometres from Southport. In the early period of the North Australian Railway, trains stopped at Stapleton Creek. During the early 1900s, a siding was placed at Stapleton Creek, expanded during the War to a loop line which continued in use as an ore train crossing point in the early 1970s.
Tanami Desert vista
Tanami Desert
Of Aboriginal origin, believed to be the Aboriginal name for the area.
Tennant Creek Tennant Creek
Explorer
John McDouall Stuart passed through the area during his 1860 expedition and named the creek after his friend and sponsor John Tennant, the father of the South Australian pastoralist and politician, Andrew Tennant (1835-1913). The town was named after the creek when it was gazetted in 1934. The naming of some of Tennant Creek's gold and copper mines was quite offhand. The Peko Mine was named for a miner's dog, while the Burnt Shirt Mine was so dubbed when a shirt hung out over a camp fire to dry caught alight as the strike was made.Ti Tree
The origin of the name is unknown. One of the first features in the area to be named was Ti Tree Wells which was developed during the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line.
Tortilla Flats
The Tortilla Flats locality is named after the former Government Experimental Farm of that name. The origin is derived from John Steinbeck's book Tortilla Flats, 1963, as it was thought at the time Steinbeck's characters were matched by those working on the farm. The Experimental Farm commenced in 1958 with the view to cattle rotation, rice and pasture growing experiments. The farm was sold at auction in 1990.
Tumbling Waters
The locality derives its name from the town which was named after the rapids "Tumbling Waters" where Mr R C Burton discovered gold in 1869 whilst prospecting for minerals on behalf of Goyder. The Town of Tumbling Waters was surveyed by A H Smith, 4 miles south of Southport on the Blackmore River, as part of Goyder's Survey of Port Darwin and Environs. A construction camp for the Overland Telegraph Line was established at Tumbling Waters whilst a wayside hotel was erected on the coach road to the goldfields (now called Mira Road) in 1873. Surveyor A L McKay extended the town further north in 1874. The townsite declined in importance when, in 1885, the rail line replaced the coach road to Pine Creek.
Uluru
Uluru is the Aboriginal name for Ayers Rock.
William Gosse, wh sighted the monolith on 19th July 1873, named it after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.Wagait Beach
This locality on the Cox Peninsula, across the harbour from Darwin is named after Wagait Beach which in turn was named after the Wagait Tower. The Wagait Tower was constructed during World War II overlooked the beach and was visible for some miles out to sea. It was destroyed in 1974 by Cyclone Tracy. The name Wagait or its derivative Wogait, was first recorded by Mackillop in 1893 for the Aboriginal tribal group which lived along the coast north of the Daly River.
Wak Wak
This proposed locality is named after aboriginal name for the area 'Wak Wak' at the request of the Shire Council.
Wauchope
Named after John Wylie Wauchope who was a construction worker on the old telegraph line between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. Unlike the New South Wales town of the same name, it is pronounced "walkup" rather than "war-hope".
Turtle Beach, Wessel Islands Wessel Islands
Named by Matthew Flinders, 6th March 1803. It recalls the Dutch vessel, Wesel, which was one of three ship despatched under Gerrit Thomarz Pool (Klein) to explore this coast in June 1636. The voyage was fraught with problems and was abandoned after natives attacked and killed crew members. Flinders chose the name because it was marked as 'Wessel's Eylandt' on A Dutch chart he was following. It appears to be a coincidence that these were the coastal features named Kape Wesel (Cape Weasel) and Wesels Eilanden (Weasel Island) on the charts of Lenaert Jacobsoon, who sailed these coasts in the dutch ship Mauritius in August 1818.
