What’s in a name? Our suburbs’ nomenclature

Nomenclature: noun [mass noun] the devising or choosing of names for things

Have you ever wondered about the names of Adelaide’s suburbs? Where they come from… what they mean… Some are simply descriptive names, such as *Outer Harbor – literally a harbour further out from Port Adelaide (it’s almost unworthy of a mention). Others bear more personal meanings particular to the people who named them.

Recently The Advertiser newspaper published an A-Z list explaining the nomenclature of suburbs and areas in the metropolitan region. This week’s Adelaide’s Yesterdays segment featured a chat about some of the more interesting ones.

The history of the naming of Coromandel Valley grabbed our attention – when the ship Coromandel arrived here in 1837, ten of its crew deserted and sought refuge in the valley now bearing its name. In our discussion, Steve was quick to brand the deserters as convicts for their actions, but Brett could see a point of difference and felt less harsh towards the men. I suggested that I think the name ‘Coromandel Valley’ sounds romantic – but it was pointed out that maybe I’m just easily romanced!

The naming of Flagstaff Hill has a simpler, yet still interesting background to it. While I thought it may have been named after someone called Mr Flagstaff, in reality it was named in reference to the hill in the area where Colonel William Light erected a flagstaff during his survey. Simple as that.

Osmond Gilles was the first Colonial Treasurer of South Australia. His name has been attributed to several areas around Adelaide, even roads – Gilles Plains was named after him, as well as Glen Osmond, Mount Osmond, Gilles Street in the city, and OG Road at Klemzig. It’s interesting that OG Road is actually just that – the abbreviation of ‘Osmond Gilles’, installed as the full name of the road.

Klemzig was named after a German town, but due to anti-German sentiment during the First World War, it was altered to Gaza around 1916. The new name was in reference to a WWI battlefield. The suburb’s name reverted to Klemzig in 1935, remaining so despite the onset of WWII a few years later. Today, the suburb still bears reflections of its past, as it is the home of the Gaza Sports and Community Club.

While Holden Hill is apparently a corruption of the name of original landowner Robert Haldon, nearby Hope Valley was named by William Holden, a local butcher and storekeeper. In 1842 his store burnt to the ground, but ever the optimist he declared that he was “inspired by hope” to carry on and start again. The sad truth is that he later left the area after his wife was killed in an accident in 1851.

A lot of local names were set in tribute to boroughs and towns in the United Kingdom. In this way, Kensington in Adelaide’s east was named by Charles Catchlove after Kensington near London. The podcast team had a chuckle over Kensington Gardens being formerly referred to as Pile’s Paddock.

Kilburn was originally known as Chicago, although our information suggests this was never officially recognised by the Land Titles Office. Kilburn got its name from the area in north-west London.

Pine Forest was the original name for the area now called Nailsworth, as it was once covered by native pine trees. The name was changed when local farmer Enoch Fry came up with Nailsworth, after the place in England.

Sadly, the naming of Newton has nothing to do with Bert and Patti. The actual reason is that, during the 1850s, the road leading to Woodforde in the Adelaide foothills was referred to as the “Road to New Town”. This later became Newton Road, and the name was eventually used to cover the area.

Finally for this week, we looked at the naming of Pasadena, south of the city, which was possibly named after Pasadena in California, USA. This name was adopted in 1967 when local residents strongly opposed the proposal of the name Centennial Park – the name of the local cemetery in the area, which was established in 1936 (100 years after South Australia’s proclamation as a new state colony).

* if anyone can tell us why we drop the ‘u’ in harbour for places like Outer Harbor and Victor Harbor, please let us know!