80 HKCOHD.S OF THK AUSTRALIAN MUSEyM. 



family name ar, (Jrt|>e BeJford is derived, apparently identical 

 with that of Yaparico given in Captain Cook's narrative^ as 

 that of an individual with whom the " Endeavour " crew came 

 into personal contact. Amongst the latter, we have siniiles 

 drawn from shape, soil, vegetable or animal life'^ Tamal-nobun 

 (^=foot-one) is applied to a mountain in the neighbourhood of 

 Cape Bedford which rises sheer vertically frou) the surrounding 

 plain. Katu (=end, extremity) is Stanage Point., Broadsound, 

 wliilst WoUo-in (= iguana's tail) is one of the western spurs in 

 the neighbouring Normanby Range. Dogai' ( =sand) expresses 

 the country at the base of Mount Saunders, Endeavour River, 

 between it and the sea,\and Wargain (=clean sand) the stretch 

 of coast-line between Port Clinton and Shoalwater Bay. Bipu 

 (=:any large creek) is the area soutli of the Fitzroy River be- 

 tween Yaamba and Craiguauglit. VVarra (=wild guava), 

 Butcha (=honey-suckle), Bitchal (=small grub) and Riste 

 (=sand-fly) denote respectively Gracemere, Bayfield, Yaamba, 

 and Raspberry Creek country, and are all indicative of the local 

 phenomena prominently met with ( W. H. Hoivers). The limits 

 of the different ti-acts of country are of course invariably 

 natural:— a mountain range, desert, plain, forest, scrub, coast- 

 line, or river. Rivers are named after the tracts of country 

 through which they run, any large-sized stream thus bearing 

 dozens of names in its course. The Munbarra Gold-Field was so 

 named after the word Munbar, the mountain range east of the 

 Starcke River, the country on either side of the stream here 

 being Dun-jo, the river itself being accordingly called Piri-dunjo. 

 So again, the Mclvnr River, at its mouth, is Piri-kulal, at 

 Wallace's Selection Piri-bindi, and at its junction with Cocoa 

 Creek Piri-wundal. The same holds good at Princess Chorlotte 

 Bay, vvhere the Koko-warra term for a river is tai-ir, whence a 

 poi'tion of the Lower Normanby liiver at the crossing is known 

 as Tai-ir-karwin. In some cases, owing to the close proximity of 

 two streams, identical terms are applied ; thus the Koko-warra- 

 speaking people call both Marrett River and Birthday Creek 

 Tai-ir-arii-o. A similar practice of naming rivers is found on 

 tlie Gulf-coast, between the Nassau and Staaten Rivers, and in 

 the far western areas. At every chief encampment, nay, at 

 every recognised camping-ground, there is a name for every 

 landmark, or whatever else can possibly be used as such in the 

 vicinity; each sandliill, water-hole, river-bend, stony ridge, 

 gully, pathway, bigger or peculiarly shaped tree, indeed any- 



- Hawkesworth's Edition, London, 1773. 



^ Mi . '1\ Petrie gives several examples in his native place-names. 



