The name Perth itself is of course Scottish. It was chosen in 1829 by the future Governor of the newly proclaimed colony of Western Australia, Captain James Stirling. Captain Stirling, himself a Scot, was happy to implement the wish of Sir George Murray, Secretary for the Colonies, that the settlement be named for Perthshire, which was not only the birthplace of Sir George but also his parliamentary seat at Westminster. Of the names of the 351 suburbs in the Perth-Rockingham-Mandurah Metropolitan area, 62 (17.7%) can be found in Scotland or are connected with Scotland in other ways. Of course, some of the names are used in other parts of the British Isles as well, but half of them (8.8%) are unique to Scotland or are readily identifiable with places in Scotland that are based on the same names.
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 - see the table below for Perth, Western Australia.
Official suburbs and other localities with names that are definitely or most probably of Scottish origin are:
- Applecross (Highland).
- Ardross (Fife and Highland).
- Armadale (two places in Highland and one in West Lothian).
- Attadale (Highland).
- Bassendean (Scottish Borders).
- Brigadoon (there is a place called Auld Brig o' Doon just south of Tam O'Shanter Experience and Burns Cottage tourist attractions in South Ayrshire - see illustration). Brigadoon is of course the name of a musical by Alan J Lerner and Frederick Loewe about a mythical Scottish village that comes to life once a century for one day only. The Perth suburb takes its name from a farm owned by the brothers David and Alexander Bell, both of whom were born in Scotland.
- Burns (Aberdeenshire, Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway and Shetland Islands; also the Scots poet Robert Burns).
- Craigie (Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee City, Fife, Perth & Kinross and South Ayrshire).
- Dalkeith (Argyll & Bute, Midlothian and Perth & Kinross).
- Duncraig (Highland).
- Eden Hill (a mountain in Argyll & Bute).
- Erskine (Renfrewshire).
- Forrestdale and Glen Forrest - Glen Forrest combines the elements Glen (to reflect the suburb's setting in hilly terrain) and John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia. Forrestdale also commemorates John Forrest who, in addition to being the first Premier, was one of the best known early explorers in Western Australia.
- Forrestfield (North Lanarkshire).
- Helena Valley and Mount Helena by association- there is a Helenamore in Aberdeenshire, near Windyheads Hill.
- Kinross (Perth & Kinross). That's Kinross House shown here.
- Lesmurdie (Lesmurdie House in Moray) - the Perth suburb was actually named for Lesmurdie Cottage, a shooting box near Dufftown in the former county of Banffshire.
- Lockridge (East and North Ayrshire).
- Melville (Melville House in Fife and Melville Grange in Midlothian).
- Murdoch (there is a Murdoch Head in Aberdeenshire).
- Perth (Perth & Kinross) and East, North, South and West Perth by extension
- Rossmoyne - there is a definite Scottish connection concerning Rossmoyne, a name that was apparently made up after a visit to Scotland by the township developer and his family in 1937. Coincidentally, there is also a suburb called Rossmoyne in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Silver Sands - there is a Silversands Bay in Fife to the east of Aberdour on the Firth of Forth.
- Stirling (Aberdeenshire and Stirling).
- Thornlie (Thornliebank in East Renfrewshire and Thornliemuir in Renfrewshire).
Other suburbs with names that can be found in Scotland but that are not unique to Scotland are:
Although the above suburban names can be found as placenames in Scotland, it does not necessarily follow that the Perth suburb concerned was named after the place in Scotland. In several instances they definitely were, but in many cases the connection with Scotland was more indirect. Burns, for instance, was named after a farmer who ran sheep in the area, Craigie honours an early councillor of the City of Wanneroo, and Stirling is named for Admiral Sir James Stirling, a Scotsman who became the first Governor of Western Australia. Thornlie is apparently based on Thornliebank in East Renfrewshire, but reached Perth via Thornlie Bank in Madras, India.
- Ashfield (Argyll & Bute, Borders, Moray, South Ayrshire and Stirling) also commonly found in England and Wales.
- Bellevue (Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Orkney Islands and Perth & Kinross) also in England, Ireland and Wales, sometimes spelt Belle Vue.
- Belmont (Scottish Borders, Shetland Islands and South Ayrshire) also found in England, Ireland and Wales. The Perth suburb is thought to be named after an estate in England.
- Bertram (there is a Bertram House in South Lanarkshire) also a Bertram House in North Yorkshire and a Bertram Hill in Northumberland.
- Canning Mills and Canning Vale (Canning Knowe in the Shetland Islands) but there is also Canning Town in London. These suburbs actually commemorate George Canning, the British Prime Minister at the time of Stirling's expedition to Western Australia.
- Carmel (Carmel Bank and Water in East Ayrshire and Carmelhill in the City of Edinburgh) but Carmel on its own occurs frequently throughout Wales as well as the USA; its origin is most probably biblical.
- Claremont (Fife) and Mount Claremont by association; but names with Claremont as an element are fairly common in England as well. Perth's Claremont was apparently named for Clara Morrison, the landowner's wife.
- Eglinton (there is an Eglinton Castle and Eglinton Park in North Ayrshire as well as Port Eglinton in Glasgow) also the town of Eglinton to the east of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The Perth suburb was actually named after a ship that was wrecked on the nearby coast in 1852.
- Greenwood (Scottish Borders, Moray and South Lanarkshire) also in England and Ireland.
- Hamilton Hill (Scottish Borders, and also in Glasgow, spelt Hamiltonhill) but also found in two places in England; Hamilton on its own is typically Scottish. The picture here is of the family mausoleum constructed in Hamilton by the 10th Duke of Hamilton on a misty November evening. The mausoleum is said to be the largest ever built apart from the Pyramids in Egypt.
- Henderson (Henderson's Rock in Argyll & Bute) but there is also a Henderson's House in the north of England. Henderson is a Scottish surname, the Perth suburb being named for Admiral Sir Reginald Henderson.
- Highgate (Dumfries & Galloway and North Ayrshire) but far more commonly found in both England and Wales. Perth historians attribute the name to the town of Highgate in the English county of Kent.
- Hilton (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Fife, Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Perth & Kinross and Stirling) but found just as commonly throughout England.
- Inglewood (Clackmannanshire) also in England. It is just as likely, however, that the Perth suburb was named after Inglewood in California or a Norwegian ship of that name that docked at Fremantle during the gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century.
- Kelmscott (Scottish Borders) but actually named for the town in Oxfordshire in honour of Archdeacon Scott, one of the first ordained ministers in Perth.
- Lynwood (Scottish Borders, spelt Lynnwood) there is also a Lynnwood in Cumbria. Lynwood is a fairly common name in American cities.
- Midland (East Ayrshire and Orkney Islands) also in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Perth suburb was actually named after the Midland Railway Company.
- Mount Hawthorn (there is a Hawthorn in Scottish Borders) but Hawthorn is also found all over England and in south Wales.
- Mount Pleasant (Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, East Ayrshire, Fife, Highland, Moray and Orkney Islands) also all over England, Ireland and Wales as well as Australia, Canada and the USA it would seem. Since the Perth suburb adjoins other suburbs that have a definite Scottish origin, it is likely that its origin may be Scottish in this instance.
- Peel Estate (there is a Peel in Angus and Scottish Borders) - Peel is also found in northern England and on the Isle of Man.
- Port Kennedy - this suburb was named in honour of Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy, Governor of Western Australia between 1855 and 1862. Sir Arthur, however, was an Irishman who, after leaving Western Australia became Governor of Vancouver Island (Canada), Sierra Leone (West Africa), Hong Kong and finally Queensland. The "Scottish" connection, in this instance, is therefore very indirect indeed, probably stemming from the days of the Scottish plantations in Ulster.
- Red Hill (Aberdeenshire) also all over England; in the case of the Perth suburb the name is purely descriptive of the colour of the earth in the area.
- Stake Hill (a hill in Dumfries & Galloway) also three places in northern England
- Stratton (Highland) but more common in south-western England
- Victoria Park (City of Glasgow - see illustration) and East Victoria Park by association but Victoria Park is even more commonly found all over England as well as in other Australian, Canadian and South African cities.
- Westfield (Aberdeenshire, Scottish Borders, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Moray, North Lanarkshire, Perth & Kinross, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian) but found just as commonly throughout England.
- Wilson - there are several places in Scotland based on the surname of Wilson. The list includes Wilsonhall (Angus), Wilson Burn and Wilson's Pike (Scottish Borders), Wilson's Noup (Shetland Islands) and Wilsontown (South Lanarkshire). Wilson is even more commonly found in England, including the town of Wilson itself in Herefordshire and Leicestershire. The Scots Wilsons are a sept of Clan Gunn and now have their own family tartan. The Perth suburb commemorates Mr G.H. Wilson, a member of the Road Board for 43 years.
- Woodlands (Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Fife, Highland, Perth & Kinross, South Lanarkshire) also all over England and is also found in Ireland and Wales
Acknowledgments:
Marmion has a "Scottish ring" about it as is the title of one of Sir Walter Scott's poems but the Perth suburb was actually named for Peter Marmion who operated a whaling station in the area in 1849. Marmion is a family name of Norman origin (there is a place in Normandy called Fontenay-le-Marmion), resulting in Marmions in both England and Ireland. The name therefore appears to have no connection with Scotland beyond its use by Sir Walter Scott.
Perth City and Suburban Maps, 2002 (Travelog, a division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). Government of Western Australia, Department of Land Information (www.dola.wa.gov.au/home.nsf). Websites, placename gazetteers and published Ordnance Survey maps of British and Irish cities, towns, villages and counties.
© Ian Kendall
If you wish to contact Ian about his research, his e-mail address is iankendall@bigpond.com.
Melbourne, Australia, May 2004
Revised, December 2004
