1824 to 1842: Using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names

In the 1830s, Major Mitchell carried out a trigonometrical survey of the area around Sydney. He often used Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names on his plans for the rivers, mountains and other features. 

I have put down the native names, which I received from an intelligent black, of many localities, whereof the names will thus be preserved when the people who use them are no more.^{NSW Legislative Council Votes & Proceedings 1855 Vol II p.37} 

Mitchell instructed all the surveyors working under his control to do the same.

In 1928, he directed one of his surveyors to be:

particular in noting the native names of as many places as you can on your map. 

In about 1833, he wrote to another member of his staff, saying:

I will not suffer any surveyor to give any river or place any other than the proper native names.^{Australian Encyclopedia 1958, Vol 7 pp130-1, Dept Natural Resources & Mines library} 

It was after stating that the Aborigine people could 'furnish names for every flat and almost every hill', that Mitchell went on to say that settlers frequently selected their grants under such names.

Assistant Surveyor James Warner, in a letter to the Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Mitchell, suggested the name Tchew-worr for the parish which he had just surveyed some blocks of land: 

I do myself the honor to forward to you, a plan and description of six surburban allotments in the Parish of Tchew-worr (which name of the land so situated I obtained from the aborigines).^{Warner J 1848}

On receiving this letter, Mitchell noted it with the following comments:

There is a disposition in half witted surveyors to spell savage names with redundant consonants.  The name is simply, I suppose, Chuwar.  A copy of the circular on the subject to this assistant surveyor.^{Warner J 1848}

The above circular is one issued by Mitchell on 5 September 1829. It was soon after this that he became the Surveyor General of New South Wales. 

The circular to all surveyors instructed them on methods of achieving uniformity in the use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place names.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words and meanings from surveyor McCabe's fieldbook, 1854

1860 to 1880: Place naming given to Queensland Government

Before Queensland became a colony, place naming was a responsibility of the New South Wales Surveyor General. 

After separation in 1859, place names were supplied by Queensland Railways Department, Post Office and the Department of Public Instructions (now the Education Department), for approval by the Department of Lands and the Surveyor General.

1881 to 1900: Continuation of Aboriginal place naming

The policy of using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names for natural features continued under various Surveyors' General. When W.A. Tully instructed Surveyor C.D. Dunne in 1883, he said:

You will be good enough in the course of your survey to ascertain the native names of the creeks, hills, lagoons and waterholes and to furnish as nearly as possible by the spelling of the words, the pronunciation used by the Aborigines.

Surveyors in Queensland were still placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander names on their plans up to the 1950s.

1921 to 1950: Unofficial place names system

During the 1920s, the then unofficial Place Names Committee, under the guidance of Governor Nathan, approved place names and began a card system of information retrieval. 

The Place Names Board did not become official until 1958 when the Place Names Act was passed in parliament.

1951 to 1985: Place Names Act passed in parliament

The first Queensland Place Names Act of 1958 was passed in parliament and officially established the Place Names Board, which approved place names throughout Queensland.

1986 to the Present: Towards defining all Australian localities

In 1988, a revised 'Queensland Place Names Act' was passed and as a consequence saw the Queensland Place Names Board disbanded. 

The third Queensland Place Names Act was passed in 1994. This act gave ministerial authority to approve submitted names. 

As a result of a meeting of the Geographic Names in Australasia (CGNA) in 1996, a resolution was passed. This involved all States endeavouring to have suburb/locality boundaries formalised as a matter of urgency. 

At present, Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Mines has been successful in completing 99% of that charter. The names and boundaries are recorded in a database held by the department. They are available within the Digital Cadastral Database (DCDB) and SmartMap Information Service (SMIS).

 

Further current place names information