Sydney Travellers' Guide: The Names of Sydney

Geographical Feature Names:
Bays, Rivers and Creeks - West

Parramatta River: taken from the name of the local Aboriginal tribe, the Burramattagal or Burramedigal.

Greenwich Point: believed to be named after nearby Greenwich House, built by boat builder George Green in 1836. The name Greenwich originated either from Greenwich on the Thames in London, England (above) or is named after Green himself. If it is named after the London suburb, which seems the most likely, it was the first of many districts along the Parramatta River shoreline to be named after localities on the River Thames.

Burns Bay: recalls Irish convict and local squatter, Terrence Byrne. Originally known as Murdering Bay as it was a hideaway for escaped convicts and runaway sailors.

Woodford Bay: origin unknown.

Butchers Block Point: so named because a murdered man's dismembered body was once found there.

Yacht Bay: origin unknown.

Tambourine Bay: named after a notorious Sydney character named Tambourine Nell who had set up camp here to avoid the police. After a long search they found her and took her into custody.

Linley Point: origin unknown. Possibly named after an early white settler.

Newcombe Point: named after GW Newcombe, land grantee.

Alexandra Bay: named after Princess Alexandra (right) (1844-1925), wife of King Edward VII.

Onions Point: named after an ironmonger, Samuel Onions, who took up land in the area in 1835.

Clarkes Point: named after early resident and land owner, John Clarke, who bought land on the Hunters Hill peninsula in 1834. Aboriginal name: MocoBoula.

Fern Bay: name describes the vegetation around the bay.

Pulpit Point: so named because rock formation resembled a pulpit.

Lukes Bay: possibly named after carpenter Matthew Luke, a convict who arrived per Admiral Gambier in 1811. Luke settled in Lane Cove area after his emancipation.

Huntleys Point: recalls Alfred Huntley, who bought land here in 1836 and built Point House in 1851. Huntley, who ran Turkish Baths in Sydney, later became the chief engineer of the Australian Gas Light Company. His son later became an engineer and built many of the fine houses at nearby Hunters Hill.

Wallumatta Bay: the name of an Aboriginal tribe living on the north side of Parramatta River. Bennelong, who was befriended by Gov. Phillip in 1788, is believed to have been a Wallumatta tribe member.

Three Brothers Rocks: three similar shaped rocks near the water's edge.

Bedlam Point / Bedlam Bay: after the mental hospital built near it, which was named after the English asylum Bethlehem, corrupted to Bethlem, then Bedlam. Rising up from the bay are the grounds of what was once the Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital. This hospital, once known as the 'lunatic asylum' was established at Bedlam Point in the 1820s. The patients were guarded by a detachment of military who also operated the nearby signal station, one of five connecting Sydney with Parramatta. In 1829, the asylum closed, pending the opening of a new facility at Tarban Creek. This new facility finally opened in 1838 and was known as the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum. The facility was eventually incorporated back into the Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital.

Looking Glass Bay / Point: was given its name when Governor Phillip and Lieutenant Bradley made an early expedition up the Parramatta River. On 15th February 1788, the party stopped and the Governor gave an Aboriginal man a hatchet and a looking glass. In his diary, Bradley commented that the Aboriginal quickly conceptualised the notion of reflection by comparing the looking glass with his reflection in the water. This meeting occurred at Looking Glass Point, the western headland of the Bay. This point was formerly known as Glades Point.

Glades Bay: named after John Glade, an early settler and ex-convict who operated a 10 acre farm on Glades Point (Looking Glass Point). Thus named in the 1880s, it was previously known as Doody's Bay. European settlement of this area had begun with a land grant to John Doody and Anne Benson in 1795/6. In 1880 the land was subdivided for residential settlement and the name Gladesville given to the surrounding suburb.

Raven Point: named after Capt. William Raven, who took up 100 acres here in 1795.

Morrisons Bay: named after Private Archibald Morrison, of the NSW Corps who received a 55 acre land grant in 1795.

Putney Point: named after its English counterpart on the River Thames. Originally known as Farrell's Point after an early landowner, James Squire Farrell.

Kissing Point Bay / Kissing Point: thus named by Capt. John Hunter in February 1788. A 'kissing point' is a naval term defined as "that point near the head of an estuary beyond which deep water vessels could not proceed without being grounded on the mud flats". The term 'kissing' refers to the vessel brushing its keel on the bottom of the waterway. There is still deep water off Kissing Point but further west, the river becomes shallow with depths averaging less than three metres.

Charity Point: first known as Dinner Point as travellers on the journey from Sydney to Parramatta would arrive at the point around dinner time. Its name was changed to Charity Point when it became the place where the Governor distributed blankets to the colony's Aboriginal population every Christmas time during the mid 19th century. Aboriginal name: Mar-ray-mah.

Robinsons Point: named after an early settler, Ellis Robinson.

White Horse Point: legend has it that at one time there used to be a white rock on the point having the appearance of a white horse rearing on its hind legs. Another explanation is that the wind blew against the tide from Iron Cove caused white tops, better known as white horses, to appear on the water.

Sommerville Point: originally Figtree Point because of its predominance of fig trees, it was named by Balmain Council after Mr AW Sommerville, Town Clerk for 50 years.

Iron Cove / Iron Cove Creek: named because Iron Cove Creek flows into it, The creek was originally called Iron Bark Creek because of the Ironbark trees which were predominant in the area prior to clearing. Aboriginal name: go-mo-ra.

Callan Point: the name given to nearby Gary Owen House when it was purchased in 1864 by Sydney businessman John Gordon.
Brief history: initially a combination of purchases by Crown Solicitor and Police Magistrate John Ryan Brenan. In 1839 he bought what he then named the Garry Owen estate. His residence, Garry Owen House, was on an elevation overlooking the Parramatta River, with a tree lined avenue (part of which survives) from wrought iron gates on Balmain Road through spacious gardens. In 1841, Brenan bought an additional three acres west of his estate and built Broughton House, which he sold with its extensive grounds in 1845. Garry Owen House was a focus for social life in the area until Brenan's bankruptcy in 1864 forced him to sell the estate to Sydney businessman John Gordon. Gordon renamed the property Callan Park, and in 1873 subdivided the land for auction as a new waterfront suburb. Instead, with remarkable foresight, the Colonial Government bought the whole 104.5 acres as a site for a new lunatic asylum to be designed according to the enlightened views of the American Dr. Thomas Kirkbride.

Dobroyd Point: name recalls that of the property of early landowner Simeon Lord, who named his property Dobroyde Farm after Dobroyd village in Yorkshire, England. The land was given as a dowry to Lord's daughter Sarah Ann Lord, who married Dr. David Ramsay.

Rodd Point: recalls pioneer settlers, the Rodd family, who were well known and influential in the area. Brent Clements Rodd (1809-1898) bought land from the Five Dock Farm estate in 1836. By 1850 the Rodd family owned most of the foreshore of Iron Cove. In 1859 Brent Rodd paid a deposit for Rodd Island but later forfeited. Brad Rodd, who emigrated to Australia as a boy with his father in 1822, was a wealthy Sydney merchant.

Half Moon Bay: thus named because of its shape.

Sisters Bay: it is a sister bay to Half Moon Bay.

Long Cove Creek: Iron Cove was originally known as Long Cove. The creek is thus named following the common practice of naming a creek after the bay or cove into which it flows and vice versa. The cove's name is descriptive. The creek enters the cove via the Hawthorne Canal. It is thought that this waterway was originally named Battle Creek because it was the site of a riot by convicts building the first timber bridge at this location. The bridge that carries Parramatta Road over the creek is still known as Battle Bridge. It is a sandstone arch bridge constructed in c1873, with additions made in c1937 to facilitate road widening.

Hawthorne Canal: John Stuart Hawthorne (1848-1942). Member of the Legislative Assembly for Leichhardt from 1894 to 1904. It carries the water of Long Cove Creek.

Gambling Creek: recalls John Gambling, who was granted 40 acres in the Lewisham area on Gambling Creek. The creek is now a covered drain which flows into Hawthorne Canal.

Birkenhead Point: the name given to the land surrounding the point when it was subdivided in 1854. The name recalls an English town on the Mersey.

Slaters Bay: origin unknown.

Rodd Point / Island: recalls Brent Rodd, a local landowner who paid a deposit for the island but later forfeited. The Rodd family were among the community leaders during the 19th century.

Wrights Point: recalls settler William Wright, a merchant, whaler and sealer who occupied the whole peninsula.

Drummoyne Bay: name taken from Drummoyne Park, the family estate of settler William Wright. His property was named after his family home town on the Clyde in Scotland. Aboriginal name: Warrembah.

Five Dock Point / Bay: named after the 1,500 acre farm of Surgeon John Harris' (1754-183) which once covered the whole peninsula. The name is said to refer to five rocky inlets between the Parramatta River and Hen & Chicken Bay.

Hen & Chicken Bay: thought to have been named after two sandstone rock formations at the entrance to the bay that vaguely resemble a hen and a chicken. The bay also holds three smaller bays, Exile, Canada and French. A small, unnamed freshwater stream originally existed at the head of Hen and Chicken Bay, and indeed, the whole area was swampy marshland. The creek drained to the north from a peneplain of shales and clays which overlaid the sandstone. The result of this was a large, shallow bay with muddy margins in which the Grey Mangrove flourished. In this area, the Long Bottom Stockade was developed. This establishment was used as an overnight refuge for travellers en-route to Parramatta via the Parramatta Road.

Canada Bay: A number of French-Canadians participated in a rebellion against the British, in the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec in 1837. The rebellion was quashed by Sir George Arthur, a former Governor of Van Diemen's Land. The British took many prisoners, of which 29 were executed and 149 sentenced to transportation for life to Australia. Those of British descent were sent to Van Diemen's Land and the French-Canadians sent to Sydney. They arrived on the 25th of February 1840. Generally these 'convicts' were treated as prisoners-of-war and were allowed comparative freedom while they were detained at the Long Bottom Stockade. In 1842, these Canadian convicts were given tickets-of-leave and by 1844 most had received a free pardon. Of the 58 French-Canadians that were sent to Sydney, two died, one married a settler from Dapto on the South Coast and 55 returned to Canada.

Exile Bay: named after the 58 French Canadian prisoners transported in 1840 after the second abortive rebellion of 1837-38 in Quebec, Canada. The 12 ringleaders were hanged in Quebec. The transportees were housed in the adjoining Longbottom Stockade Gaol.

France Bay: see Canada Bay.

Abbotsford Bay: name taken from the surrounding area which was named after the home of doctor, philanthropist and cabinet minister, Sir Arthur Renwick (1837-1908). It was built in 1890 and named after a Scottish village near Melrose Avenue on the Tweed River where 19th century poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott lived when he wrote his Waverley novels. Aboriginal name: Bigi Bigi.

Blackwall Point: origin unknown.

Kings Bay: origin unknown.

Cabarita Point: Aboriginal word meaning 'place by the water'. Originally known as Correys Gardens. The name is only one of just three locations on Sydney Harbour which retain their Aboriginal name, a policy promoted by Surveyor General of NSW, Major Thomas Mitchell and was first used in land documents in 1856 Some also suggest that it was assisted by a young clerk in the Surveyor General's Office, namely Henry Kendall, who became one of Australia's best known early poets. Kendall Bay is immediately west of the Cabarita headland.

Kendall Bay: thought to be named after either the poet Henry Kendall or his uncle, Joseph Kendall, a well-known whaling captain. Henry Kendall worked as a young clerk in the Surveyor General's Office when the bay and nearby Cabarita Point were named (see Cabarita Point above). Kendall Bay is the site of a large wharf that was built to discharge coal brought by sea from the Felton Bank Colliery near Mainland in the Hunter Valley. This wharf, minus its coal handling equipment, remains there today. The coal was used in the Mortlake Gas Works of the Australian Gas Light Company which was situated on the western side of Kendall Bay.

Breakfast Point: so named as Captain John Hunter stopped there for breakfast on 5th February 1788 while on an exploratory survey of the harbour. Ten days later when Governor Phillip came to inspect, the party stopped at the same place, again for breakfast. When AGL's Mortlake plant was in full operation it used nearly 460,000 tonnes of coal per year. This was brought from Hexham on the Hunter River by colliers which, like those steaming from Newcastle, were also known as the 'Sixty Milers'. However, the distance travelled to Sydney from Hexham was closer to 87 nautical miles (160 km). Breakfast Point has also been known as Bachelors Point (after John Batchelor, First Fleet Marine, HMS Sirius), Pleasant Point and Green Point.
Aboriginal name: Booridiow-o-gule.

Mortlake Point: taken from the nearby suburb of Mortlake. Like many suburbs on the Parramatta River, Mortlake is named after a town on the Thames in England (above). Once known as Bottle Point.

Majors Bay: the name is believed to date back to Major Francis Grose, a Second Fleeter and lieutenant-governor, who settled in the Concord area in 1793. Major Grose named the area Concord, a Quaker word meaning 'brotherly love'. In 1776, Grose had been a junior officer during the American War of Independence and he had fond memories of the village of Concord in Massachusetts where the war originated. An alternate explanation is that it refers to Major Nichols, the father of Isaac Nichols, the first postmaster of NSW, who owned land in the area.

Nichols Point: recalls Isaac Nichols (1770-1819), a former convict and Australia's first postmaster, an early white settler and landowner.

Yaralla Bay: in 1797, ex-convict Isaac Nichols was granted 20 hectares of land near Majors Bay, where he established a farm and built a house. Over the years he acquired more land and by the time of his death in November 1819, Nichols' land at Concord covered more than 280 hectares. His orchard produced quality apricots, apples, cherries, figs, grapes, lemons, limes, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pomegranates, plums and strawberries. The name is of Aboriginal origin.

Rocky Point: descriptive.

Brays Bay: originally known as Horseshoe Bay because of its shape. Named after settler John Bray who established a farm here in 1794 and called it Brays Cove. Bray's family continued to own land in the area up until 1914, when they sold part of their land to Tulloch's Phoenix Ironworks.

Uhrs Point: honours George Uhers, one time sheriff of New South Wales who built his house on the point.

Powells Creek: named after Edward Powell (1762-1814) who was granted 80 acres in the vicinity. Powells Creek flows through the green areas of Mason Park, Bressington Park and Bicentennial Park. It was named after Edward Powell, one of the district's earliest settlers who was granted land on the shores of Homebush Bay. Until World War II, the creek was largely untouched and followed a natural meandering course through mangrove forests, delivering fresh water to Homebush Bay. In 1948 the Creek was straightened and transformed into a concrete stormwater canal at its southern end. In 1993, the concrete was removed in the areas around Bicentennial Park.

Wentworth Point: honours an early settler to the district, D'Arcy Wentworth (176?-1827), who arrived as ship's surgeon with the second fleet on the Neptune. He was the father of William Charles Wentworth, explorer and statesman.

Homebush Bay: the name recalls the village of Home Bush which sprang up at the turn of the 19th century. It was named after the land grant of Captain Laycock, which he called his home in the bush. Aboriginal name: Arowanelly.

Haslams Creek: named after an early settler and shepherd, Samuel Haslam, who took up land around Homebush Bay in 1797 and in the Lidcombe area in 1804. His Homebush grant was the first made in the area.

Duck River: named by Captain Hunter in February 1788 during an exploratory trek up the Parramatta River. Presumably named because of ducks seen or caught in the area. The area from Duck River to Parramatta became part of the land owned by John Macarthur. On the river's western shore today stands the Shell Oil Refinery. The refinery was established in the 1920s and was taken over by Shell in 1927. Initially 22 barges brought the crude oil from the Gore Cove Terminal to the refinery. These barges were a familiar sight on the river for 40 years. Eventually, the oil was transported by pipeline from Gore Cove to the refinery.

A'Beckett's Creek: origin unknown. The Western Motorway follows the line of this creek between Church Street to Alfred Street, Granville. The two sections of A'Beckett Street run adjacent to the creek.

Clay Cliff Creek: Governor Arthur Phillip camped beside this creek on April 22, 1788, the day before he discovered good soil at Parramatta, which caused him to found a settlement there. The creek flowed through John Macarthur's property.

Domain Creek: it flows through Parramatta Park, which was set aside by Gov. Phillip in 1789 as the Governor's Domain.

The Ponds Creek: the Killarney Chain of Ponds once existed on the creek.

Subiaco Creek: originally called Bishops Creek after Thomas Bishop, an ex-marine who received a grant of land in the area in 1791. He later sold it to another settler Thomas Schaeffer. Thomas Schaeffer acquired 56 hectares of land between the two creeks and on this property he established a vineyard. Originally Schaeffer had been granted 16 hectares of land by Governor Phillip in 1792. He was an ex-soldier who had fought for the British in The American War of Independence and had arrived in New South Wales with the Second Fleet in 1790. Thomas Schaeffer's vineyard was the first vineyard to be established in the colony. In 1798, he sold this property to Captain Henry Waterhouse who had just sold his land on the southern shore on the eastern side of Duck River. In 1800, Captain Waterhouse sailed for England. He never returned to New South Wales but did correspond with Macarthur who was also in England from 1801 to 1805.

Vineyard Creek

Vineyard Creek: Sydney's first privately owned vineyard was planted along the banks of the creek by Thomas Schaeffer in 1792.

Toongabbie Creek: of Aboriginal origin, said to be derived from "tuga" meaning "thick wood". Another source suggests it means "meeting of the waters" referring to the confluence of Toongabbie Creek and Quarry Creek where the Toongabbie Convict Farm was established in 1791.

Quarry Branch Creek: branch of Toongabbie Creek beside which a rock quarry was dug.

Darling Mills Creek: named after a steam-driven flour mill established in 1823 by John Raine at North Rocks where the creek and Hunts Creek met. The creek was named after Raine's mill, which he named Darling Mill in honour of Gov. Ralph Darling who had granted the land on which it was built.

Finlaysons Creek: origin unknown. It flows to the east of and parallel to Finlaysons Street for part of its length.

Coopers Creek: origin unknown.

Quarry Branch Creek: a branch of Darling Mills Creek on which there was a quarry.

Christmas Bush Creek: possibly named because christmas bushes were common here.

Excelsior Creek: takes the name of the Reserve surrounding a significant length of the catchment.

Rifle Range Creek: A rifle range existed near the junction of this creek with Darling Mills Creek until the 1950s.

Saw Mill Creek: a Red Cedar timber mill operated at the head of the valley in the early 1800s.

Bellbird Creek: the name is considered to represent the Bell Miner which is often heard in the forest here.

Blue Gum Creek: one of two such named creeks in the Baulkham Hills Shire. It rises in the vicinity of Oakes Rd and Mahers Rd, West Pennant Hills. The Blue Gum forest of this valley is well known in the district.

Castle Hill Creek: the reason for giving the name is not known, but it was used by Gov. Philip Gidley King for the Government Farm he established in the Hills district in 1801.

Hunts Creek: Samuel Hunt, brother-in-law of Joseph Seville, who, in the 1820s, was granted 50 acres south of the creek adjoining the Windsor Road. Hunt lived on the property and worked the farm.

Pages Creek: origin unknown.

Cattai Creek: taken from the name of the local Aboriginal tribe, the Cattai.

Blue Gum Creek: one of two such named creeks in the Baulkham Hills Shire. A watercourse about 11km long. It rises about 3km SW of Middle Dural and flows generally W then NW into Cattai Creek.

Archer Creek: recalls Isaac Archer, who was granted land through which this watercourse runs. Isaac Archer was a private in Capt. Campbell's company of marines and he received his grant of land from Governor Phillip in 1972.

Buffalo Creek: probably named after HMS Buffalo, a ship on which Captain Raven and Captain Kent, both landholders in Ryde, sailed.

Charity Creek: origin unknown. Also known as Saltwater Creek.

Glades Creek: commemorates the first settler, John Glade, who arrived as a convict in 1791 to serve a 7 year sentence. He died in 1848 and was buried in St Anne's Cemetery. Glade's farm was subdivided into smaller farms and sold in 1841, by which time the Gt. North Road had been constructed through the area.

Blacktown Creek: taken from land in the area that Gov. Macquarie reserved for the exclusive use of the Aborigines of the Sydney area. On it a Native Institute, known as 'Black Town', was built at Plumpton to assimilate the Aborigines into European ways. It failed and was closed in 1833.

Lalor Creek: the name either recalls a local family or Peter Lalor, the rebel miner leader of the Eureka Stockade near Ballarat in November 1854. The former seems the most likely as Peter Lalor had no known connection with the area.

Pendle Creek: named after the locality of Pendle Hill through which it flows. The locality is named after Pendleton in Lancashire, the centre of England's cotton industry. In 1932, George Bond established a cotton spinning mill here and requested that the railway station be built near his mill and that it be named after Pendleton in Lancashire, England, the centre of Britain's cotton industry.

Girraween Creek: Aboriginal name for locality of the same name, said to mean a place where flowers grow. Also known as Greystanes Creek. This latter name has been officially discontinued however it still appears in street directories.

Smalls Creek: origin unknown. Possibly named after an early white settler.

Caddies Creek: origin unknown. Possibly a derivation of Cattai, the name of the local Aboriginal people.

Second Ponds Creek: origin unknown.

Eastern Creek: origin not known. Presumed to be an eastern border to a farm or land grant.

South Creek: flows south from the town of Windsor

Rickabys Creek: origin unknown. Possibly named after an early white settler.

Bells Creek: recalls local property owner, Alexander Bell, who discovered an alternative route over the Blue Mountains, via Richmond, which is named after him. Bell arrived in Sydney on the Young William, with his wife and seven children, on 12th July, 1807, as an ensign in the 103rd Regiment, New South Wales Corps. When he played a prominent role, as the officer in charge of the guard at Government House, during the Rum Rebellion on 26th January, 1808, he was the next day made magistrate for the Hawkesbury in place of Thomas Arndell, a Bligh supporter.

Breakfast Creek: breakfast was enjoyed here by early explorers.

Claremont Creek: taken from the name of the property of William Cox at Windsor. He acquired Claremont in 1822.

Byrne Creek: origin unknown.

Werrington Creek: One of the first and largest grants in the Werrington area was in 1806 to Mary Putland, the widowed daughter of Gov. William Bligh. She married Sir Maurice O'Connell a few years later and in 1910 received a further grant of 1,055 acres in 1810 on which they built their home, Werrington House. The creek flowed through their property.

Blaxland Creek: John Blaxland elder brother of explorer Gregory Blaxland. He was granted a large parcel of land in the area in 1815 by Gov. Macquarie which he named Luddenham Estate.

Cosgroves Creek: believed to be named after William Cosgrove, a servant to Gregory Blaxland. He accompanied Macquarie on his trip to the Cowpastures in 1815 and became a settler and constable in the Parramatta district.

Oaky Creek: origin unknown, possibly after the casuarina trees which were originally called oaks.

Bungarribee Creek: Aboriginal name first recorded as the name of the home of settler John Campbell, built in 1824.

Badgerys Creek: a free settler, James Badgery, who was granted 640 acres through which the creek flowed. He named it Exeter Farm.

Kemps Creek: Anthony Fenn Kemp, ensign with NSW Corps who received a land grant in the area in 1820. The creek flowed through his property, which he called Mount Vernon.

Bonds Creek: George Bond who established a cotton spinning mill on the creek in 1923.

Reedy Creek: descriptive of the vegetation around the creek.

Prospect Creek: name given to the area through which the creek flows by Capt. Watkin Tench in 1789 whilst exploring, searching for good farming land.

Ropes Creek: named after Anthony Rope, a convict who arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. He married female convict, Elizabeth Pulley in May 1788. Rope learned bricklaying whilst working at Brickfields near Sydney and later moved to the Nepean District. In 1806, the Ropes were renting 48 acres on the Nepean and by 1820 had been granted 20 acres in the district.

Orphan School Creek

Orphan School Creek: named because it flowed through land allocated for use by an orphan school. In 1800 Governor King established a Female Orphan School to provide shelter for orphaned and abandoned children. He secured William Kent's house in Sydney as accommodation; established a regular income for it by way of port duties and provided for its long-term needs with secular equivalents to the glebe &endash; land reserves to support livestock from which the institution could earn an income. The largest land holding was in Western Sydney &endash; I2,000 acres between Eastern Creek and Ropes Creek at modern day Bonnyrigg. Smaller allocations were at Grose Farm (Camperdown) and at Parramatta.

Cabramatta Creek: taken from the name of the local Aboriginal tribe, the Cabrogal.

Clear Paddock Creek: origin unknown. Possibly because it ran through a cleared paddock of an early farm here.

Hinchinbrook Creek: named after a property through which it flows. The 2,000 acre Hinchinbrook property was originally granted to Barron Fieldon his appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court of Civil Judicature in NSW. It is not certain from where the name Hinchinbrook came but it was apparently the name of the Estate of John Montague, Earl of Sandwich, and was used by Captain Parker King to name an island of the Great Barrier Reef.

Green Valley Creek: name taken from the local school. Established in 1882, the original request had been for a school named Summer Hill Public School but this was denied as there was already a Summer Hill school in the Hunter Valley. So the name suggested and accepted by the Department was Green Valley.

Bringelly Creek: early settler Robert Lowe named his land grant Bringelly (1814) after his wife's birthplace in England. The creek ran through the property.

Thompsons Creek: Scottish migrant Andrew Thompson who established a farm in the St. Andrews area.

Nepean River: Sir Evan Nepean (right), 1st Secretary to the British Admiralty. What is today known as the Nepean district was called Evan By Gov. Phillip when the area was first explored and the river named in 1788.

Yarramundi Lagoon: 'Yarra' is the local Aboriginal word for the Red Gum tree, "mundi' means 'one'. Thus, Yarramundi means 'one Red Gum tree'.

Grose River: named by Captain William Paterson in September, 1793 when exploring it. The name commemorates the Colony's Lt. Governor, Francis Grose.

Mahons Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler, Thomas Mahon, an associate of John Blaxland.

Rivatts Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler.

Lynchs Creek: possibly named after Thomas Lynch, a former Private, Royal Veteran Company, who was granted 100 acres in 1823.

Shaws Creek / Shaws Ridge: believed to be named after an early white settler.

Frasers Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler.

Cranebrook Creek: named after Cranebrook House, the property of settler James McCarthy, who received the 100 acre grant in 1803.

Fitzgerald Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler. Also known as Evans Plains Creek. The Emu Plains district was originally called Evans by the early colonists. It takes its name from Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Secretary to the British Admiralty, after whom the Nepean River was also named.

McCanns Island: believed to be named after an early white settler, Patrick McGann, who received a grant of land in the Evan District (Emu Plains) in 1818.

Cripple Creek / Cripple Falls: recalls a horse owned by Mr. Lane of Agnes Banks which won the Penrith Cup on New Year's Day 1824 before a crowd of 5,000.

Jacksons Falls: believed to be named after an early white settler, James Jackson who arrived as a convict per Agamemnon in 1820. He worked at the Emu Plains Convict Farm. The name is no longer gazetted.

Purgatory Creek: believed to mark the Purgatory of Gregory Blaxland's Luddenham Estate.

Peach Tree Creek: a grove of peach trees was planted near the creek.

Surveyors Creek: origin unknown.

School House Creek: a school once stood near the creek.

Mulgoa Creek: the name is of Aboriginal origin meaning 'black swan'. The Mulgoa Valley was important to the Aborigines: the creek marked the Purgatory between two major linguistic groups (the Dharug and the Gundungurra); it was the route along which different tribes travelled when attending ceremonies, and it was close to the Nepean River which provided a permanent water supply and food reserves which could be relied upon during periods of drought.

Littlefields Creek: possibly after Thomas Figget Littlefield, land grantee in the Prospect district.

Glenbrook Creek: named after the locality through which it flows. The locality was thus named by a resident Alfred Stephen. The name was suggested not only for being pleasant, but also suggestive of water and of low grounds, a name considered descriptive of the locality.

Euroka Creek: believed to be of Aboriginal origin. The name was also given to an iron paddle steamer, a 170 tonne vessel built at Balmain, Sydney in 1897. It was converted to a collier and operated on the 'Sixty Miler' run between Newcastle and Sydney.

Warragamba River: name is of Aboriginal origin.

Megarritys Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler.

Baines Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler, possibly Rev. James Bain, who was granted land in the vicinity.

Jerrys Creek: origin unknown. Possibly named after an early white settler.

Duncans Creek: origin unknown. Possibly named after an early white settler.

Scotcheys Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler or the property of an early settler that was named after Scotchey Hill in Dorset, England.

Beres Creek: believed to be named after an early white settler.

Bushrangers Creek: bushranger John Donohue and his gang had their hideout on the creek. Donohoe and his gang were surrounded by a detachment of soldiers near the creek on 1st September 1830. Private Muggleston brought Donohoe's reign of terror to an end with a shot through the head.

Bents Basin: Ellis Bent, the first land grantee in the area. In 1809 the Colonial Office in London appointed barrister Ellis Bent as Deputy Judge-Advocate to the colony. He served as Judge Advocate of the colony of New South Wales between 1810 and 1815.

Forest Hill Creek: possibly because of its location to Forest Hill.

NB: creeks flowing into the Nepean River upstream from Forest Hill Creek are listed in the South West section.

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