A similar list has been created for:
Elsewhere on Rampant Scotland there is a collection of Scottish Placenames which can be found in other parts of the world - probably taken there by Scottish emigrants. But Ian Kendall, who now lives in Melbourne, has been researching more deeply into Scottish placenames around the world and he has produced an impressive list of the suburbs of a number of towns and cities with Scottish connections - this page covers Melbourne.
Of the names of Melbourne's 513 suburbs, neighbourhoods and municipalities, 103 (20.1%) can be found in Scotland, or are based on Scottish family names or Scottish words. Of course, some of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well, but many of them (13.3%) are unique to Scotland or are readily identifiable with places in Scotland that are based on the same names.Official suburbs and other localities with names that are definitely or most probably of Scottish origin are:
- Abbotsford (Scottish Borders - the residence of Sir Walter Scott) though there is also an Abbotsford in West Sussex, England.
- Aberfeldie (Perthshire, spelt Aberfeldy. See illustration).
- Ardeer (North Ayrshire).
- Armadale (two places in Highland and one in West Lothian).
- Arthur's Seat (mound in Edinburgh. The Melbourne Arthur's Seat has a chairlift!).
- Bellfield (Aberdeenshire, Fife, Highland, Perth & Kinross and South Lanarkshire).
- Blairgowrie (Perthshire).
- Braeside (Aberdeen City and Inverclyde).
- Broadmeadows (Dumfries & Galloway and three places in Scottish Borders). Although this name also occurs in northern and central England, the Melbourne suburb was actually named for an estate in Berwickshire, a former county that now forms part of the Scottish Borders.
- Burnside (two places in Angus and one place in each of Fife, Moray, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian; also Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet).
- Cairnlea (South Ayrshire and Stirling).
- Calder Park (Calder in Highland and Renfrewshire, both minor rivers; Calder Water in North Lanarkshire gave its name to Calderpark in Glasgow, the site of the former Glasgow Zoo).
- Campbellfield - although there are no places in Scotland with this name, Campbell is a well-known Scottish family name. The Campbells were once the most powerful of all the Highland clans. The origin of the name is Gaelic - Cambeul -meaning 'crooked mouth'.
- Carnegie (Angus - and the steelmaker/philanthropist Andrew Carnegie who was born in Dunfermline - see the illustration of his birthplace).
- Carrum (Perth & Kinross) and Carrum Downs by association; their origin is Aboriginal, however, and not Scottish.
- Chirnside Park (there is a Chirnside in the Scottish Borders, as well as a Chirnsidebridge and a hotel called Chirnside Hall).
- Coldstream (Scottish Borders).
- Craigieburn (Falkirk and Dumfries & Galloway).
- Dallas (Moray).
- Flemington (Angus, Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire; also Flemington House and Loch Flemington in the former shire of Inverness). Although a place by this name can also be found in Wales, the local historical evidence strongly suggests a connection with Scotland, either through Flemington in Inverness-shire or, less likely, Robert Fleming, a local businessman who supplied meat to patrons of the local race course.
- Glen Huntly (there is a Huntly in Aberdeenshire, as well as many other references to Huntly throughout Scotland as in Huntly Burn, Castle, Cott, Hall, Rigg, etc).
- Glen Waverley (Waverley railway station - see illustration. The name comes from the Sir Walter Scott novels). There is also a Waverley Abbey in Surrey, an English Heritage site. Founded in 1128 but now a ruin, Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery set up in Britain. It is possible that Sir Walter Scott may have named his novel for this abbey.
- Glenferrie has a definite connection with Scotland although there is no place in Scotland by this name. The name owes its origin to a property in the area owned by a Scottish settler, Peter Ferrie.
- Glengala - possibly based on Gala Water, the river in the Scottish Borders on which the town of Galashiels is situated.
- Glenroy (valley in Lochaber, Perthshire).
- Gowanbrae - there is no trace of a Gowanbrae in Scotland but there is a Gowanhill in Aberdeenshire, south-east of Fraserburgh. Gowan is a Scots word for a daisy, more particularly the mountain daisy and the element 'brae' (pronounced bray) means a hill or hillside.
- Gowrie (Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire).
- Greenvale (Highland, two places in the Orkney Islands and one in the Shetland Islands).
- Hallam (Highland).
- Hume (Scottish Borders). The Hume/Home family were powerful in the Scottish Borders - that's their tartan here.
- Keilor (Perth & Kinross, spelt Keillour) and Keilor Downs, Keilor East, Keilor Lodge, Keilor North and Keilor Park by association.
- Kerrimuir (Angus, spelt Kirriemuir).
- Kilsyth (North Lanarkshire) and Kilsyth South by extension.
- Lyndale (Lyndale Point on Loch Snizort, Isle of Skye).
- Macaulay - the MacAulays are a Scottish clan descended from two entirely separate sources, Gaelic and Norse.
- Macleod and Macleod West - Macleod is an ancient Scottish clan of Norse origin whose ancestral seat is Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye.
- McCrae - this suburb on the Mornington Peninsula was named for Andrew and Georgiana McCrae who came to Melbourne from Scotland in the 1840s.
- McKinnon - the MacKinnons are a branch of the clan Alpin, claiming descent from Fingon, a great-grandson of Kenneth MacAlpin. The name means 'son of the fair born' in Gaelic.
- Menzies Creek - Menzies is a Scottish family name of Norman origin. The name was first carried to Scotland in the 13th century by Robert de Meyners, Great Chamberlain of Scotland. Australia's - and Melbourne's - most famous Menzies was Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, Prime Minister from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966. The photo of the portrait of Sir Gordon was taken in Menzies Castle in Perthshire where it hangs in a place of honour.
- Mill Park (Argyll & Bute).
- Montrose (Angus). One of the reasons for the popularity of the name Montrose throughout the English-speaking world may have to do with Sir Walter Scott's novel The Legend of Montrose, published in 1819.
- Moreland (Perth & Kinross).
- Mount Waverley (Waverley railway station - pictured here).
- Niddrie (Edinburgh and Longniddry in East Lothian). The name comes from the Brythonic (a form of Welsh once spoken in that part of Scotland) "Newydd" meaning "new" and "tref" meaning "house" or "hamlet",
- Olivers Hill - there is an Oliver in the Scottish Borders.
- Ormond (Ormond Castle in Highland, now a ruin but once the home of the Black Douglases many centuries ago).
- Patterson Gardens and Patterson Lakes - Patterson is a variant spelling of the Scottish family name of Paterson ('Patrick's son'). The Paterson clan was originally located on the north side of Loch Fyne in Argyll. Patterson, according to Black (1996), is one of the most common family names in Scotland.
- Roxburgh Park (Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders).
- Ruthven (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Scottish Borders, Highland and Moray).
- Skye (Inner Hebrides).
- Spotswood (Scottish Borders, spelt Spottiswoode).
- St Andrews Beach (St Andrews, Fife and the patron saint of Scotland).
- St Kilda (Western Isles - see illustration above) and St Kilda East and West by association. According to the Penguin Dictionary of British Place Names (2003) the name of this remote island derives from an old Norse word 'skildar' meaning 'shields', creating a bogus 'saint' in the process of its anglicisation.
- Strathmore (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bure, Highland and Perth & Kinross) and Strathmore Heights by extension.
- Viewbank (Aberdeenshire and Perth & Kinross).
- Watsonia - the name of this suburb commemorates a Scotsman, James Watson, who was a landowner in the 1840s.
Although most of the above suburban names can be found as placenames in Scotland, it does not necessarily follow that the Melbourne suburb concerned was named after the place in Scotland. In many instances they probably were, but in some cases the connection with Scotland was more indirect. For instance, Glen Huntly was the name of a fever stricken ship that docked in Port Phillip Bay in 1840. A quarantine station was set up on Point Ormond, Elwood (then known as Red Bluff). The suburb of Ormond itself was named for the Victorian philanthropist Francis Ormond and St Kilda was also named after a ship rather than the island off Scotland. Carrum, on the other hand, is only coincidentally Scottish. This suburb ultimately takes its name, apparently, from a swamp known in the 1840s by its Aboriginal name (Carrum Carrum, Garrum Garrum, or Garem Gam).
Other suburbs with names that can be found in Scotland but that are not unique to Scotland are:
- Avondale Heights (Avondale in the Shetland Islands) - Avondale is also found in England and Ireland.
- Baxter - there is a Baxterknowe in Perth & Kinross and Baxtersyke in East Lothian, both based on this Scottish family name (see tartan). Baxter was (and is) a common surname in Angus. It is an occupational name derived from the Old and Middle English words for a baker. Baxter also appears in several placenames throughout England and there is a Baxter's Bank in mid-Wales as well. The Melbourne suburb was named for Benjamin Baxter, Clerk to the Bench of Magistrates in Melbourne in 1838 and a landowner in the area. Although bearing a Scottish name, Benjamin Baxter actually came from Ireland.
- Bell (Bell Bay in North Ayrshire, Bell Craig in the Scottish Borders and in Dumfries & Galloway, Bell Hill in Borders, Bell Rock in Fife and South Ayrshire, Bell Sike in Borders, Bell Stane in North Ayrshire, and Bell Wood in Aberdeenshire) - Placenames starting with this Scottish family name are also found all over England.
- Bellevue (Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Orkney Islands and Perth & Kinross) also in England, Ireland and Wales, sometimes spelt Belle Vue.
- Berwick (Aberdeenshire; Berwick used to be a separate county before its amalgamation in the 1970s with neighbouring counties to form the Scottish Borders). Berwick is also found in England and Wales, with Berwick-upon-Tweed being the best known.
- Black Rock (Argyll & Bute, Highland and the Orkney Islands) but just as common in England and is also found in Ireland and Wales. The Melbourne suburb was actually named for a place in Ireland.
- Blackburn (Aberdeenshire, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Moray, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian) and Blackburn North and South by association; Blackburn is found just as frequently in northern England. It is more likely, however, that the name commemorates an early settler in the area.
- Brookfield (Renfrewshire) also all over England and on the Isle of Man.
- Burleigh (Perth & Kinross) also in southern England. Burleigh Castle near Kinross is shown above.
- Clayton (Fife) and South Clayton by association, though far more commonly found throughout England.
- Deer Park (Dumfries & Galloway, and Highland) also three places in England. The name of the Melbourne suburb is probably purely descriptive of the fact that deer were once kept in the area by the Melbourne Hunt Club.
- Fairfield (Clackmannanshire, Shetland Islands and Stirling) even more commonly found throughout England and is also found in Ireland.
- Forest Hill (a hill in Dumfries & Galloway) but far more likely to be named for one of the many places in England, including the south London suburb.
- Graham (there are many places in central and southern Scotland beginning with Graham from the surname) also a few just over the border in Northumberland and Cumbria.
- Hawthorn (Scottish Borders) and Hawthorn East by association; also found in England and Wales.
- Hillside (Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Inverclyde, Moray, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross, Shetland Islands and South Lanarkshire) but just as commonly found in England, sometimes spelt Hill Side, and is also found in Wales.
- Kings Park (City of Glasgow and Stirling) also in Bournemouth, England and Carmarthenshire, Wales.
- Kingston (East Lothian) also all over southern England and in Wales.
- Knoxfield - there is a Knox Hill in Aberdeenshire, Knox Knowe in the Scottish Borders and Knoxfauld in Perth & Kinross but the name is also found in England, including the village of Knox on the outskirts of Harrogate in North Yorkshire.
- Manor (Stirling) but very common throughout England.
- Montague (Perth & Kinross) also in England.
- Newlands (Scottish Borders and City of Glasgow) also in England.
- Newmarket (Western Isles) also in England and Ireland.
- Newport (Highland) also in England, Ireland and Wales - Newport is Wales' third largest city and is also one of the best known towns on the Isle of Wight in southern England.
- Preston (Scottish Borders and East Lothian) but commonly found throughout England.
- Red Hill (Aberdeenshire) also all over England.
- Solway (an arm of the Irish Sea known as Solway Firth, bordered on the north by Dumfries & Galloway) - there is also a Solway Moss in Cumbria, the scene of King James V's defeat by the English in 1542. The Solway Firth is effectively a continuation of the border between Scotland and England.
- Southbank (Aberdeenshire, Midlothian (spelt South Bank) and North Ayrshire) also in England and Wales, spelt South Bank.
- The Basin (Orkney Islands) also in England and Wales.
- Thomastown (Aberdeenshire) but found more commonly in Ireland and is also found in Wales.
- Victoria Park (City of Glasgow) also all over England.
Other placenames in Melbourne that have a "Scottish ring" to them, but that have not yet been established as places that actually exist in Scotland or that are connected with the country in other ways include Glen Eira, Glen Iris, Ivanhoe and Ivanhoe East. Ivanhoe, of course, is the title of one of Sir Walter Scott's novels but the setting for this novel was in Medieval England. Glen Eira and Glen Iris may well prove, on further investigation, to have a Scottish connection. Glen Eira, however, sounds distinctly Welsh ('snow valley') though this name is improbable in sunny Melbourne.
Two other well known Melbourne suburbs appear to have connections with Scotland, although this is not obvious from the names of these suburbs. Balwyn is apparently a name that was made up by Andrew Murray, a Scottish journalist and wine connoisseur. He named his house 'Balwyn', meaning 'house of the vine', using the Gaelic Bal and the Saxon Wyn. The suburb of Rosanna, near Watsonia (see above) was named after James Watson's wife, Elizabeth Ann Rose. Interestingly, Macleod, a suburb that sounds very Scottish and a number of whose streets bear Scottish names, is situated in between Watsonia and Rosanna.
Acknowledgments:
- A.W. Reed (1973). Place Names of Australia (A.H. & A.W. Reed, Sydney)
- Brian and Barbara Kennedy (1989). Australian Place Names (Hodder & Stoughton, Sydney)
- James D. Scarlett (1975). The Tartans of the Scottish Clans. (Collins, Glasgow and London)
- George F. Black (1996). The Surnames of Scotland (Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh).
- Melway, 2003 (Melway Publishing Company)
- Lenore Frost, member of the Essendon Historical Society
- Members of the Victorian Committee of the Australian National Placenames Survey.
- Websites, placename gazetteers and published Ordnance Survey maps of British and Irish cities, towns, villages and counties.
© Ian Kendall
Melbourne, Australia, June 2004
(Revised December 2004)If you wish to contact Ian about his research, his e-mail address is ian.kendall1@bigpond.com.
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